At the top of Apharwat Peak — a summit, situated at a height of 4,390 metres above the sea level — Sabiya Nabi takes a deep breath and looks all around to admire the panoramic view of dazzling snow, clear sunshine and endless mountains topped by fluffy clouds. One last time, the 21-year-old checks her gear and then skis down the slope into the meadows of Gulmarg in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Nabi, one of the few Kashmiri Muslim women in the field, has been skiing here since 2007. For more than a decade, Gulmarg has become her second home during winter, just as it has for thousands of snow sports enthusiasts seeking adventure on the piste.
Even as dwindling snow elsewhere has affected winter tourism, Gulmarg has quietly made the most out of its ample snowfall with adventure-loving enthusiasts converging at the ski resort from across the globe.
Gulmarg, nestled in a bowl-shaped valley in the Himalayas, has been fortunate enough to have ample snow in recent years, and set at an altitude of 2,600 metres, the town has earned a reputation as a perfect place for snowboarders and skiers.
“The Himalayas are known for remarkable deep and dry snow [with the consistency of curry powder],” Billa Majeed Bakshi tells Weekend Review, who runs a helicopter ski service. “The snow quality in Gulmarg is absolutely unique due to the high altitude plus the very southern exposure of the continent at around 35 degrees’ latitude. High quality curry-powder snow with perfectly spaced pine trees, open alpine bowls and virgin and undiscovered peaks, makes the experience the best in world. You find tree-line skiing as a complete adrenalin rush as well as moderate skiing through some villages.”
This year though, the snowfall was low compared to previous years — but it was enough for Gulmarg to host several competitive events.
Mohammed Yousuf, the general secretary of the Sports Council of Jammu and Kashmir, said that the fact that Gulmarg is getting snow and other towns remain dry makes it even more important.
The Council, for example, held a mega winter championship with more than 200 athletes participating.
“We had to shift a number of events from Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh to Gulmarg as this was the only place that got ample snow for skiing,” Yousuf says. “There was a huge response for Alpine Skiing, Nordic Skiing and Snowboarding. Not only tourists — even local children — are coming in droves to ski.”
Gulmarg’s slopes are best suited to general and intermediate-level skiing, and for winter adventure sports. With both tested skiing slopes and virgin mountainous slopes, Gulmarg has enough room for everybody.
“One of the best things about Gulmarg is that it is not crowded,” explains Nabi, a regular skier here. “One gets a lot of space to enjoy the games and practice.” She had planned events in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand cancelled due to a lack of snow, but at Gulmarg everything went smoothly.
Nabi has also been to Iran or skiing this past season and notes that although Gulmarg has a lot of catching up to do with the world’s leading ski resorts, it is definitely the best India has to offer. “Gulmarg is ideally located close to the city and has cable cars and chairlifts and other facilities, which are lacking at other winters sports destinations in India,” she said. “Here, a skier has easy access to the higher reaches that offer multiple options for sports-loving people.”
She and an other competitor were part of the team that represented India in the Asian Junior Asian Alpine Ski Championships in Iran.
A delayed snowfall this year meant that the season was extended — a boon for winter tourists — with skiing possible in some sheltered high slopes through to the middle of April.
“Gulmarg is known for adventure tourism,” explains Hanief Balkhi, the CEO of Gulmarg Development Authority that oversees the town. “It has virgin high altitude peaks and tourists from all around the world like them. This is sort of uncharted and untested territory and skiers love this thrill. That’s why they want to come here.”
Gulmarg also offers dangerous high-altitude slopes that attract adrenaline junkies. These tourists either trek towards them or are dropped on the peaks by helicopter from Bakshi’s company. Ever since he started the Gulmarg operation, it has grown year-to-year, with tourists booking well in advance and coming from across the globe.
“Clear sky, loads of pow, some steep runs, some longer, and an amazing Vietnam-style flight down the canyon on the way back,” enthuses Adrien Barthel from Singapore, who had the chance to ski down the slopes using the heli-ski service. “Definitely coming back and hoping for more snow this year.”
However, with thrill and adventure comes risk too. This year, two skiers got caught in avalanches when they skipped down from some dangerous slopes just after a fresh snowfall.
“Unfortunately, we lost two international adventure sports enthusiasts, one from Sweden and the other from Russia,” notes Balkhi. “Both the tourists ventured into avalanche-prone zones despite the warnings and ultimately had to pay a heavy price. Several other tourists were also trapped in the avalanches but the rescue teams were successful in saving their lives.”
With more tourists coming every winter, the authorities in Gulmarg are planning to expand facilities, and there is a plan to add yet another ski slope that will be more adventurous and extend the resort’s capacity.
“This winter has been exceptional for us,” Balkhi says. “Although tourists gave a miss to other resorts due to a lack of snowfall, in Gulmarg we experienced a daily average of between 1,000 and 2,000 tourists. These came from almost all the states of India and countries ranging from South East Asia to Europe and the Americas.”
Gulmarg has also seen its share of military activity with one of the best-known slopes occupied by the Army-operated High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS).
“The slope under the control of HAWS is undoubtedly one of the best slopes but unfortunately it is not open for civilians,” Nabi says. “On rare occasions, like during some competitions, the authorities allow civilians to use the slope.”
HAWS operates the slopes and a building for training the army for deployments in high mountains and on glaciers along the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Gulmarg is closer to the LoC and care needs to be taken while skiing in the back country. This season, a group of tourists lost their way in the dead of night and wandered dangerously close to the border before they were intercepted by an Indian army post.
Balkhi agrees that much more needs to be done to develop Gulmarg, and work has already been started in this regard.
“Gulmarg has a lot of potential and the government is working on a comprehensive plan to exploit it,” he says. “The development of new slopes and more facilities for tourists is being undertaken and, from next year, there will be more to offer in Gulmarg.”
He hopes that soon it will be one of the busiest and best ski destinations in the world.
Haroon Mirani is a writer based in Srinagar, India.
