After more snow we were back to that usual feeling of ‘Gondola Opening Anticipation’! The snow had consolidated somewhat and it meant the avalanche control crew could ski cut rather than having to bomb on this occasion. The day before I was mucking about at the Gondola bottom station trying to stick a rail that was a small bridge with some exposure – unfortunately the rail got the better of me and resulted in some badly bruised/ if not cracked ribs, back and arm – that’ll remind me that I’m a powderhound and not a park rat!
Dosed up on 4 large Ibprufens through the day and the 2nd phase was open just before 12pm. Being a Gulmarg Season’s Pass holder allows you the privilege to go to the front of the queue for your first run. It’s worth the 25,000 Rupees just for those golden few times to claim pole position in Gondola number 1, albeit being quite expensive as far as international standards go! And again I claimed that position and beat my mates to drop into the main gondola bowl first! It was fast silky, smooth chalky goodness. I managed 6 runs off the top finishing in an Afferwat Summit and skiing 5th bowl and the singing trees. We had some Kingfisher Premiums to wash down our Bakshi Burgers and mull over a sweet day, before jumping in a jeep to get over to the Avalanche Talk, held at Pine Palace on the Gondola side of strawberry valley. It’s always a very infomatitive catch up with the local crew and newcomers for that week. It gives a great overview of what’s going down and a perspective of how the mountain works and of course some great insights into Avalanche awareness from a localised point of view!
I decided to pull in a rest day after this epic and nurse my bloody sore ribs – coincidentally it was the first One Day International cricket match between New Zealand and arch rivals Australia playing in Napier. I kicked back all day and watched the action as the balance tipped back and forwards throughout the match. The Kiwis got there in the end winning by 2 wickets and 5 balls to spare – a close one indeed! I also won 150 ruppees from the locals, but they’ll have a chance to win those back as the Aussies are reknowned for their tenancious abilities to come back. C’mon the Kiwis and we’re looking forward to another 2nd phase opening Friday arvo or Saturday for sure!
Showing posts with label Himalayas skiing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Himalayas skiing. Show all posts
Friday, 5 March 2010
Another epic day at Gulmarg, Kashmir and the Kiwis beat the Aussies watched by an injured powder hound!
After more snow we were back to that usual feeling of ‘Gondola Opening Anticipation’! The snow had consolidated somewhat and it meant the avalanche control crew could ski cut rather than having to bomb on this occasion. The day before I was mucking about at the Gondola bottom station trying to stick a rail that was a small bridge with some exposure – unfortunately the rail got the better of me and resulted in some badly bruised/ if not cracked ribs, back and arm – that’ll remind me that I’m a powderhound and not a park rat!
Dosed up on 4 large Ibprufens through the day and the 2nd phase was open just before 12pm. Being a Gulmarg Season’s Pass holder allows you the privilege to go to the front of the queue for your first run. It’s worth the 25,000 Rupees just for those golden few times to claim pole position in Gondola number 1, albeit being quite expensive as far as international standards go! And again I claimed that position and beat my mates to drop into the main gondola bowl first! It was fast silky, smooth chalky goodness. I managed 6 runs off the top finishing in an Afferwat Summit and skiing 5th bowl and the singing trees. We had some Kingfisher Premiums to wash down our Bakshi Burgers and mull over a sweet day, before jumping in a jeep to get over to the Avalanche Talk, held at Pine Palace on the Gondola side of strawberry valley. It’s always a very infomatitive catch up with the local crew and newcomers for that week. It gives a great overview of what’s going down and a perspective of how the mountain works and of course some great insights into Avalanche awareness from a localised point of view!
I decided to pull in a rest day after this epic and nurse my bloody sore ribs – coincidentally it was the first One Day International cricket match between New Zealand and arch rivals Australia playing in Napier. I kicked back all day and watched the action as the balance tipped back and forwards throughout the match. The Kiwis got there in the end winning by 2 wickets and 5 balls to spare – a close one indeed! I also won 150 ruppees from the locals, but they’ll have a chance to win those back as the Aussies are reknowned for their tenancious abilities to come back. C’mon the Kiwis and we’re looking forward to another 2nd phase opening Friday arvo or Saturday for sure!
Dosed up on 4 large Ibprufens through the day and the 2nd phase was open just before 12pm. Being a Gulmarg Season’s Pass holder allows you the privilege to go to the front of the queue for your first run. It’s worth the 25,000 Rupees just for those golden few times to claim pole position in Gondola number 1, albeit being quite expensive as far as international standards go! And again I claimed that position and beat my mates to drop into the main gondola bowl first! It was fast silky, smooth chalky goodness. I managed 6 runs off the top finishing in an Afferwat Summit and skiing 5th bowl and the singing trees. We had some Kingfisher Premiums to wash down our Bakshi Burgers and mull over a sweet day, before jumping in a jeep to get over to the Avalanche Talk, held at Pine Palace on the Gondola side of strawberry valley. It’s always a very infomatitive catch up with the local crew and newcomers for that week. It gives a great overview of what’s going down and a perspective of how the mountain works and of course some great insights into Avalanche awareness from a localised point of view!
I decided to pull in a rest day after this epic and nurse my bloody sore ribs – coincidentally it was the first One Day International cricket match between New Zealand and arch rivals Australia playing in Napier. I kicked back all day and watched the action as the balance tipped back and forwards throughout the match. The Kiwis got there in the end winning by 2 wickets and 5 balls to spare – a close one indeed! I also won 150 ruppees from the locals, but they’ll have a chance to win those back as the Aussies are reknowned for their tenancious abilities to come back. C’mon the Kiwis and we’re looking forward to another 2nd phase opening Friday arvo or Saturday for sure!
Friday, 19 February 2010
3 days of epic powder at Gulmarg, Kashmir!
After snowing for nearly 2 weeks I was seriously starting to lack vitamin D and needed a sound dosing of sunshine! The Gulmarg snow safety team planned to get an early start and avalanche control work underway in the morning, but as per usual it was contingent on the military delivering the explosives. They arrived late and bombing didn’t start until late morning and after some waiting we finally got the green light at 2.30pm as the sun was shining. As a season’s pass holder I was lucky to be able to go straight to the front after a lie in, and skinning up monkey hill from the police station it was poised to go off. The first gondola delivered us to nearly 4000m and we could see the acres of fresh light powder in the shadowy light, as it licked off from a light breeze, completely untouched and ready for us to purge. I hit the steep fall line leading me into the gun barrel and it was deep 60-70cms of pure smoke – the lightest powder we’ve had this season! What a run and with closing time normally 3pm the Gulmarg snow safety team did a great job, with plenty of sunshine left in the day, to keep the gondola open until after 4pm. I managed to get in 2 more sweet sweet runs into 2nd bowl which were steep and deep, some of the best powder I’ve skied in my life and a just reward for putting up with power outages, no internet, blocked water pipes and backeris over 2 weeks and we finally got what we were all waiting for – Super Pow!
Day 2 I was guiding Swiss clients Jerome and Laura – ex ski instructors from Champrey and really expert skiers – the perfect clients to go rip fresh lines with. We hit the ‘Shadowlands’ nailing 4 runs before lunch, including our first run in 4th bowl completely to ourselves then onto Shaggy’s face. Shaggy’s face is named after an Australian guy ‘Shaggy’ tragically lost his life on this face in 2007 being caught in an avalanche and dieing due to trauma. It’s a steep face that gets lots of loading and gets great north-facing snow. After lunch we hit the summit, to Laura’s delight, traversing behind the ridge to 5th bowl (skier’s left) and again not too many tracks down there, skiing the bowl fall line getting it fresh. Laura and Jerome were cranking turns and for the second time Jerome, pulled a front flip within his turn (not hitting any lip) and kept on skiing – just brilliant! Down to their hotel for a well deserved beer - what an epic day!
Day 3 I went riding with the kiwi boys and skinned in behind the Apherwat summit going direct to the Shark’s Fin Col. Kerry and Scotty dropped the bowl, while Ted and I climbed to the summit and headed down the ridge to the ‘Bananna Chute’. A very steep 50-55 degrees colouir that is rock walled and needing full commitment. We had a great ski and skinned up to the ridge making our way over to 6th bowl (skier’s left). We climbed through the rocks to access a chute in between 5th & 6th that leads back into 5th bowl and it was super light powder - again. We traversed across skier’s left getting absolutely primo and just let it rip all the way down into the forest coming out above the High Altitiude Warfare School, where they had set up camp with igloos, little pine huts and snow made pot plants. Gulmarg always seems to come up with little surprises!
www.sunstoneadventures.com
Day 2 I was guiding Swiss clients Jerome and Laura – ex ski instructors from Champrey and really expert skiers – the perfect clients to go rip fresh lines with. We hit the ‘Shadowlands’ nailing 4 runs before lunch, including our first run in 4th bowl completely to ourselves then onto Shaggy’s face. Shaggy’s face is named after an Australian guy ‘Shaggy’ tragically lost his life on this face in 2007 being caught in an avalanche and dieing due to trauma. It’s a steep face that gets lots of loading and gets great north-facing snow. After lunch we hit the summit, to Laura’s delight, traversing behind the ridge to 5th bowl (skier’s left) and again not too many tracks down there, skiing the bowl fall line getting it fresh. Laura and Jerome were cranking turns and for the second time Jerome, pulled a front flip within his turn (not hitting any lip) and kept on skiing – just brilliant! Down to their hotel for a well deserved beer - what an epic day!
Day 3 I went riding with the kiwi boys and skinned in behind the Apherwat summit going direct to the Shark’s Fin Col. Kerry and Scotty dropped the bowl, while Ted and I climbed to the summit and headed down the ridge to the ‘Bananna Chute’. A very steep 50-55 degrees colouir that is rock walled and needing full commitment. We had a great ski and skinned up to the ridge making our way over to 6th bowl (skier’s left). We climbed through the rocks to access a chute in between 5th & 6th that leads back into 5th bowl and it was super light powder - again. We traversed across skier’s left getting absolutely primo and just let it rip all the way down into the forest coming out above the High Altitiude Warfare School, where they had set up camp with igloos, little pine huts and snow made pot plants. Gulmarg always seems to come up with little surprises!
www.sunstoneadventures.com
Monday, 28 December 2009
Skiing in Gulmarg with a local girl
Gulmarg has earned the distinction of being the best ski resort in Asia, not to mention home to the highest ski slopes in the world
I plug in my ipod, check the tension on my skis and look around. We're skiing in Gulmarg and I see John Falkner standing by the gondola at 15,000 feet in masterful yoga stretch. To me John is God of the slopes, a veteran and regular on the soaring Apharwat peaks of Kashmir. Like me, he visits annually with his group of ski-crazy friends and advanced European skiers. A quick nod of approval from him, a short prayer, and I'm ripping down 13,000 feet of powder off the world's highest slope for the first time. Everything in front of me is white and I see kilometers of snow, glistening like diamonds, waiting to be kicked up like dust as my skis fly over.
Skiing in powder is the ultimate ski experience. The feeling of lightness, ease, and grace is incomparable. But the first time you venture into powder you may feel more like a fly in a spider's web than a bird on the wing.
Luckily learning how to ski on Gulmarg's well groomed slopes is easy.
Skiing was first introduced in these parts by two British Army officers who established the first ski club here in 1927. But it wasn’t until five or six years ago when Gulmarg's name first started to appear on the ski cognoscenti's hotlist.
Gulmarg is a small hill village situated in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir at the western extremity of the Himalayas in a mountain range called the Pir Panjals. Its name when translated means "meadow of flowers." It's 35 miles from Srinagar, the state capital and would, on a good day, take you about an hour and a half to drive up.
Skiing in powder, I think, is the ultimate ski experience.
— Zainab Nedou
I learnt how to ski in Gulmarg and then skied in different parts of the world but there's a special connect that forms between you and the mountains of Gulmarg that makes me want to run back every year. Probably because I'm Kashmiri. Or maybe it's because the slopes here are so perfect. In Gulmarg, with the use of snow-grooming equipment, a skier can learn to ski, and become quite proficient. There are well groomed slopes for beginners and intermediates. After you have mastered those you can easily move to what is locally known as the first phase of "The Gondola" -- a medium-to-intermediate run of approximately 2.5 kilometres of groomed piste.
Ski snobs love it because Gulmarg gets some of the heaviest snowfalls in the Himalayas. The high altitude snow remains cold, crisp and light for days on end. The snow cycle is unusually regular, often snowing every seven days for two to three days delivering over a meter of fresh powder at a time. The steep powder bowls stretch across the range, offering 1,000 meter vertical runs, not to mention skiing off the highest gondola in the world at nearly 4,000 meters altitude. There are even some 'super steeps' here, up to 65 degrees, to really get the endorphins flowing.
The diversity of skiing in Gulmarg means that you can experience what you want, when you want. Extreme backcountry, off-piste, on-piste, the highest gondola in the world or even resort skiing; take your pick. If company is a concern know that you’ll be skiing and boarding with professionals who know their playground (read: internationally qualified ski guides and mountaineers) and even trained Kashmiri locals. If first aid is what you're worried about, doctors and ski patrol personnel are always around. The medical staff even have snow mobiles for medical emergencies.
You'd be crazy not to be inspired by the raw beauty of Kashmir, the relentless pursuit of adventure, the thrill of slashing through untracked snow and the exhilaration of dropping into effortless runs, followed by a hot meaty meal, a warm brandy and a feather pillow.
The added advantage with skiing in Gulmarg is that it offers reasonably priced boarding and lodging and brand new equipment to hire for a ski holiday that won’t break the bank.
The Nedou’s Hotel, for example, is run like an old British lodge. The Lounge there, with the biggest wood stove in the valley, is lively till the wee hours of the morning with people nursing their drinks and discussing their day. Skiing in Gulmarg is definitely a place to make friends that last.
source:
http://www.cnngo.com/mumbai/play/skiing-kashmir-162328
www.sunstoneadventures.com
I plug in my ipod, check the tension on my skis and look around. We're skiing in Gulmarg and I see John Falkner standing by the gondola at 15,000 feet in masterful yoga stretch. To me John is God of the slopes, a veteran and regular on the soaring Apharwat peaks of Kashmir. Like me, he visits annually with his group of ski-crazy friends and advanced European skiers. A quick nod of approval from him, a short prayer, and I'm ripping down 13,000 feet of powder off the world's highest slope for the first time. Everything in front of me is white and I see kilometers of snow, glistening like diamonds, waiting to be kicked up like dust as my skis fly over.
Skiing in powder is the ultimate ski experience. The feeling of lightness, ease, and grace is incomparable. But the first time you venture into powder you may feel more like a fly in a spider's web than a bird on the wing.
Luckily learning how to ski on Gulmarg's well groomed slopes is easy.
Skiing was first introduced in these parts by two British Army officers who established the first ski club here in 1927. But it wasn’t until five or six years ago when Gulmarg's name first started to appear on the ski cognoscenti's hotlist.
Gulmarg is a small hill village situated in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir at the western extremity of the Himalayas in a mountain range called the Pir Panjals. Its name when translated means "meadow of flowers." It's 35 miles from Srinagar, the state capital and would, on a good day, take you about an hour and a half to drive up.
Skiing in powder, I think, is the ultimate ski experience.
— Zainab Nedou
I learnt how to ski in Gulmarg and then skied in different parts of the world but there's a special connect that forms between you and the mountains of Gulmarg that makes me want to run back every year. Probably because I'm Kashmiri. Or maybe it's because the slopes here are so perfect. In Gulmarg, with the use of snow-grooming equipment, a skier can learn to ski, and become quite proficient. There are well groomed slopes for beginners and intermediates. After you have mastered those you can easily move to what is locally known as the first phase of "The Gondola" -- a medium-to-intermediate run of approximately 2.5 kilometres of groomed piste.
Ski snobs love it because Gulmarg gets some of the heaviest snowfalls in the Himalayas. The high altitude snow remains cold, crisp and light for days on end. The snow cycle is unusually regular, often snowing every seven days for two to three days delivering over a meter of fresh powder at a time. The steep powder bowls stretch across the range, offering 1,000 meter vertical runs, not to mention skiing off the highest gondola in the world at nearly 4,000 meters altitude. There are even some 'super steeps' here, up to 65 degrees, to really get the endorphins flowing.
The diversity of skiing in Gulmarg means that you can experience what you want, when you want. Extreme backcountry, off-piste, on-piste, the highest gondola in the world or even resort skiing; take your pick. If company is a concern know that you’ll be skiing and boarding with professionals who know their playground (read: internationally qualified ski guides and mountaineers) and even trained Kashmiri locals. If first aid is what you're worried about, doctors and ski patrol personnel are always around. The medical staff even have snow mobiles for medical emergencies.
You'd be crazy not to be inspired by the raw beauty of Kashmir, the relentless pursuit of adventure, the thrill of slashing through untracked snow and the exhilaration of dropping into effortless runs, followed by a hot meaty meal, a warm brandy and a feather pillow.
The added advantage with skiing in Gulmarg is that it offers reasonably priced boarding and lodging and brand new equipment to hire for a ski holiday that won’t break the bank.
The Nedou’s Hotel, for example, is run like an old British lodge. The Lounge there, with the biggest wood stove in the valley, is lively till the wee hours of the morning with people nursing their drinks and discussing their day. Skiing in Gulmarg is definitely a place to make friends that last.
source:
http://www.cnngo.com/mumbai/play/skiing-kashmir-162328
www.sunstoneadventures.com
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