The Guide from Gulmarg
Goes for gold
I read aloud from Wikipedia: “Originally called ‘ Gaurimarg’ by shepherds, its present name “Gulmarg’ was given in the 16th century by Sultan Yusuf Shah, who was inspired by the sight of its grassy slopes emblazoned with wild flowers…” Ashiq interrupts me and finishes the sentence “Jahangir once collected 21 different varieties of flowers from here.”
The road bordered by rigid avenues of poplar gives over to flat expanses of rice fields interspersed with picturesque villages (I’ve seen them in the summer). Depending on the season, nature’s colours could be the translucent green of spring, summer’s rich emerald, or autumn’s golden hues, when scarlet chillies festoon windows of village homes.
A long queue of cars can only mean that we’ve made it to Tangmarg, a small transit village; this is as far vehicles without 4x4 can go. From here on the climb to Gulmarg begins through fir-covered hillsides and often precipitous turns made even scarier by the slippery ice covered roads.
We slowly make our way up, old Hindi film songs leaking out of the dashboard.
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Two British Army Officers, Major Headow and Major Metcarp, established the Ski Club of India at Gulmarg in 1927 with late Peston Ji as its Secretary. Skiing grew rapidly in Gulmarg and became a popular sport among the British Army Officers. Two main events were held. One during christmas and the other on the occasion of Easter. The slopes above Khilanmarg were used for competitions and the pony trail from Gulmarg to Khilanmarg was kept open during winter.
After the departure of the British in 1947, the resort virtually collapsed. Government of India revived the resort in mid sixties by formulating a comprehensive project for developing Gulmarg as an International Ski Resort. A Ski School was set up to train National Ski Instructors. A chairlift was installed. Ski Equipment was imported. The Resort had been earmarked for receiving UNDP assistance. Skiing once again revived and Gulmarg was on way to becoming the only Ski Resort in the Himalayas. However, after the initial euphoria, the development of the resort got bogged down in bureaucratic details and ego clashes.
The Central Government interest, as usual, started waning and the progress became very slow. The Project was kept alive for namesake only. On the local level, the State Government took many steps to keep the sport going among the local youth. A large number of locals were trained in skiing, some of whom took part in the Asian Winter Games as well as Winter Olympics.
New equipment was imported and three ski lifts were installed for beginners. After Rajiv-Farooq accord in 1987, the Project received a fresh impetus. The experts agreed that the good slopes of Gulmarg were above the tree line on the Affarwat Mountain. However, these were inaccessible due to absence of a mechanical lift to the top. A project to set up a Gondola/Cable Car to the top was conceived and initiated for installation through the French Company Pomagalski. However, Gulmarg faced another collapse after the eruption of turmoil in 1990. The whole project got stalled. After a gap of about ten years, work on the Gondola was once again taken up.
Today Gulmarg is home to the world’s highest cable car.
The 1st phase of the Gondola takes visitors to the height of 3080 mts. to Kongdori Station and the second stage of the Gondola goes up to the height of 4200 mts.
9 a.m. We slowly move on along towards the lift, we are going all the way to the top today. Our plan is to take one of the many bowls it has to offer and make our way down to the village of Tanmarg, some 14 kms from where we started.
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The Golden boy
Zahoor Ahmad Shaik calls Gulmarg his home in winter.
Born 6 kms away in the holy village of Baba reshi, a mystic around whose darga the village has taken shape. Summers are spent selling snacks and vegetables to the pilgrims in the small market that hugs the darga.
As the winter settles in, Zahoor along with his brother Maqsood and Ejaz move into a small room they rent in an old cottage perched on a ridge at the far end of Gulmarg. For the next four months they will call this place home. Living and working together, they will be guiding beginners and experts alike around the thrilling but dangerous mountains around Affarwat. An invaluable service in the mountains known for frequent avalanches and it’s proximity to the Line of control, the dangerous border with Pakistan. These four months of guiding skiers around the mountains is an important life line for the young of this remote village of Baba reshi. An unlikely place for winter sport champions.
Zahoor’s talent got spotted early when he competed in the junior asian ski slalom event held in Gulmarg in 2008 when he was only 18 years old. With only a season’s worth of skiing under his belt, he managed to come in second in a race competing with national and international athletes.
A year after that he qualified as a ski instructor and a mountain guide. He has not looked back ever since. Competing in both national and international events held in Gulmarg, as well as Auli and Himachal Pradesh. He has amassed a lot of medals, competing across multiple events and disciplines.
He says a little sheepishly, “i want to go to the Olympics maybe the Asian Games”.
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The Storm
We were supposed to head to the drang bowls today, steep tree runs that start an hours trek left of Mt. Affarwat. But the weather has turned on us. It has been snowing the whole day. With this amount of snowfall the gondola service has been halted. Visibility is very low and there’s not much to do other than keep warm or the occasional snow fight.
Day 2. It is still snowing outside. We’ve used up all our wood and we need some more. Zahoor and i make our way to the shed behind our room. The door is completely covered with snow. To get to the wood we must shovel all the snow aside. This is going to take a while.
Day 3. It’s still snowing. Zahoor walks into our room and looks at me and chuckles, “We have to get the snow off the roof, the house is 50 years old, it might collapse.” A little anxious we put on our boots and head out to inspect the roof situation. In a flash Ashiq and zahoor are on the roof and shovelling massive amounts of snow tirelessly. They continue as the blanket of grey turns to blue.
Day 4 . It’s 3 am. and i can’t get any sleep, i peer outside the window but i can barely see anything. I leave my room and make my to the row of windows in the lobby. It’s dark, i put my camera on the highest iso and press the shutter. I review the picture on the screen. It’s stopped snowing and i can see twinkles of star amidst the digital noise.
Day 4- It’s 9 a.m. The sun is out finally and the skies have completely cleared. For the past few days there has been no electricity and no respite from the heavy snowfall. The good side- a metre of new snow, snow fights and conversations.We put on our gear, happy to shrug the lethargy of the past few days and head out to the slopes and take in the newly born sun.
The Gulmarg experience can be summed up in one word — terrain. The highest gondola in the world takes riders to 12,500ft above sea level and the nearest peak, just minutes away by skinning, rises to a jaw-dropping 14,000ft. From here, endless fresh lines plunging into the surrounding couloirs of Mt. Affarwat. Visible in the distance is Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest peak in the world, and Nun Kun, the ninth highest Himalayan peak. When the gondola closes due to heavy snowfall(like it did), the most incredible below-tree-line riding in the world opens up, delivering you to the doorstep of century old villages.
Six months later- Zahoor calls and tells me he has qualified for the downhill slalom at the Asian Winter Games to be held at Sapporo, Japan, in January 2017. This will be his first major international competition.
From learning on broken skis left by tourists to the Asia’s highest level of competition, he has carved a path of his own, against the seeming odds.
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GLOSSARY
A
Alpine Skiing: Downhill as opposed to Nordic skiing or Telemark skiing.
Apres-Ski: Time spent in the bar after a day of skiing.
B
Baseplate: A very important part of your bindings. The baseplate sits at the bottom of your bindings in contact with the ski/snowboard and transfers all of your movement into the ski or board.
Binding: The thing that connects your boot to your ski or snowboard. The bindings on skis are designed to release the boot in the case of a fall. Snowboard bindings don’t auto release.
Black Run: Advanced level ski slope for good skiers and snowboarders.
Blue Run: A gentle slope suitable for beginner skiers and snowboarders.
Button Lift: A ski lift with a round plastic disc at the end of a long pole. The disc is placed between the legs and gently pulls skiers and boarders up the slopes.
Blue Bird: A clear day with blue skies and no clouds.
C
Cable Car: A large aerial lift that transports skiers and snowboarders up the slopes.
Carving: Turns where the edges of the skis or snowboard are used.
Carving Skis: Narrower skis designed for tight, clean turns.
Chair Lift: An aerial ski lift that you sit on and rest your skis or snowboard on a bar.
Crevasse: A deep and sometimes hidden crack in a glacier.
Cross-country Skiing: A discipline using narrow skis along flat tracks and gentle hills rather than ski slopes.
D
DIN Settings: Deutsche Industrie Normen in German, this is the tension release setting that determines at what pressure your binding releases the boot on a fall.
Drag Lift: A lift that simply pulls you up the slope as you stand on your skis or snowboard.
Downhill Edge: The edge of the ski that is on the downhill side as your are traverseing the mountain.
Downhill Ski: The ski that is on the downhill side as you traverse the slope.
E
Edge: Used for control whilst turning, this is the metal strip on the edge of the ski or snowboard.
Equipment: Refers to your skis, snowboard, boots and ski-poles.
F
Fakie: Skiing or snowboarding backwards.
Freestyle: A style of skiing or snowboarding that focuses on jumps, tricks and aerials.
G
Goggles: Worn to protect your eyes against sun, wind and glare.
Gondola: An aerial lift that is enclosed and generally faster than an open chairlift.
Grooming: Where large piste basher machines flatten and smooth the snow on the slopes. Usually done throughout the night in most ski resorts.
H
Hard Pack: Snow that has been compressed down as far as it will go, making it hard packed.
Heliskiing: Getting a lift from a helicopter to off-piste areas that are otherwise inaccessible, in order to ski on fresh powder snow.
I
Ice: When the snow on the slopes becomes like ice as it hasn’t snowed for a while.
Inside Edge: The ski that is on the inside of a turn.
L
Lift Pass: A lift pass is a ticket that allows you to use the ski lifts.
M
Moguls: Moguls are bumps set out on a slope — usually found on black runs and used by advanced skiers.
O
Off-Piste: A snowy area away from the marked ski slopes. Popular with freestyles and people that enjoy powder snow.
Outside Ski: The ski on the outside of a turn.
P
Packed Powder: The perfect ski conditions where new snow has been groomed or ridden over to pack it down.
Piste: The French word for “ski slope”.
Piste Basher: A tracked vehicle used for grooming ski slopes to even out the snow and prepare the slopes for skiers.
Powder: Fresh snow that hasn’t been packed down. Found off-piste or just after a heavy snowfall.
R
Red Run: Intermediate level slope. Great for our Improver Level courses
Rope Lift: Usually found in beginner ski areas, this is a lift where you hold onto a slow moving rope and it gently pulls you up the slope.
S
Salopettes/Ski Pants: Warm, waterproof trousers designed for snow sports.
Schussing: Skiing straight downhill without turning.
Ski Area: The area of the mountain designated for skiers. Usually marked by flags or ropes at the edges of the slopes.
Slalom: A downhill ski race between tightly spaced gates that must be passed through with short, quick turns. To see more about Slaloms at Chill Factore, click here
Slope: A slope is an area of snowy hill that is designated for skiers/snowboarders.
Slush: Wet snow, snow that is melting.
Snowplough: A beginners technique where the skis are held in a ‘V’ formation with the tips almost touching. It allows for slowing down and turning.
Skinning:refers to the act of attaching climbing skins to the bottom of alpine skis or splitboards as to allow uphill travel on downhill skis. Once the ascent is complete, the skins are removed before descent.
T
T-Bar: There are two types of T-bar lifts — singles and doubles. Each are a T bar suspended from a moving line. With a single T-Bar lift, the bar goes between our legs and pulls you up the slopes. The double is shared with a friend and one half of the T goes behind your bottom.
Tips: The front end of the skis.
Traverse: Skiing across a slope in a zigzag pattern rather than straight down.
U
Uphill Edge: The edge of the ski that is on the uphill side when traversing the slope.
Uphill Ski: The ski that is on the uphill side as your traverse the slope.
W
Wax: Used on the underside of skis and snowboards to help them glide smoothly over the snow.
White Out: When visibility drops to almost nothing; caused by heavy snowfall, fog, or a combination of the two.
