 Poster: A snowHead
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The last day of my first week dawned bright and blue. Unfortunately there was a general strike and all the lifts were closed. Three brothers from Liverpool and I decided to walk (snowboarders) or skin up to the middle station cafes.
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IMG_0121 by foilflyer2, on Flickr[/img]
After several cups of tea. I pressed on and an hour and a half later was almost level with the top of the chair. Traversing right brought me into the silver birches and a gentle ski down through the woods to the hotel. Later I went for a stroll round the golf course
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IMG_0234 by foilflyer2, on Flickr
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which brings you to a Gulmarg institution: taking tea with Mr Khan the tailor.
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IMG_0237 by foilflyer2, on Flickr
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Shabir told me that he had been followed by a snow leopard during a night ski 2 days before so we hatched a plan to meet up that evening and skin up to the middle station. I had seen plenty of evidence of snow leopards during the week in the form of dog and sheep carcasses.
The top gondola was closed due to high winds and I spent the day messing about on the chair with an Aussie couple and doing some avalanche training. Beside the chair at a spot called St Mary's shoulder is a red flag and somewhere below it the ski patrol bury a transceiver or 2 strapped to a board. It's quite good fun seeing how quickly you can locate it.
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IMG_0290 by foilflyer2, on Flickr
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That evening we skinned up under the stars to the cafes to find the snowboarding brothers having a party!
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IMG_0291 by foilflyer2, on Flickr[/img]
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IMG_0296 by foilflyer2, on Flickr[/img]
The ski down through the woods was fantastic but no sign of any leopards - perhaps, in retrospect, this was a good thing.
By now I had worked out how to speed my way up the mountain in the mornings. I had acquired a pre-paid pass for Phase One which allowed me to get straight on the gondola without having to queue for a ticket and Shabir would meet me in the queue for Phase 2.
The next 2 days saw a repeat of the Shark Peak day and even though in hadn't snowed for a week it was still mostly untracked, but it was starting to get a bit wind crusted at the top.
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IMG_0255 by foilflyer2, on Flickr[/img]
A quick word on kit. Most skiers seemed to be using fat rockered skis with touring bindings. In fact I have never seen so many pairs of banana skis in one place. I had Icelantic Shamans with normal bindings and used Alpine Trekkers which worked fine though some Marker Barons would have saved some weight and bulk. I also wish I had powder baskets on my poles. Everyone except the odd Russian carries full avy kit. Roughly half the people had airbags and I saw one or two Avalungs. Most had helmets though I must confess I don't. On the climbs it was warm and I was stripped to one base layer.
Brian Newman of the Gulmarg Avalanche Center http://www.gulmargavalanche.org/ gives a very good talk every Tuesday evening where he stresses that once out of the small patrolled area you are on your own as far as rescue goes. For this reason I invested in an airbag.
During the second week a Swede broke his Femur on the Drang side. This is a potentially life threatening injury. It took over 12 hours and was late into the night before he was off the mountain and he decided to travel home before being operated on. A reminder that skiing in Kashmir is very different to Europe.
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IMG_0272 by foilflyer2, on Flickr[/img]
Evenings were mostly quiet affairs unless you are Russian. The Hotel Highlands Park is a good place to have a Kingfisher beer or two. I was treated to a slap up scoff at the new, over the top,5*Khyber Spa which I can report was excellent. I also went to listen to a local band at a nearby house.
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IMG_0191 by foilflyer2, on Flickr[/img]
Most of the hotels are built for summer tourists and the heating and hot water can struggle a bit. The food was plentiful and pretty good.
I ate everything and drank the tap water and hardly even farted during my stay, so long as you don't count the days with curried beans for breakfast.
I shared a room with an Aussie snowboarder - well nothings perfect.
Of the 13 days:
The top gondola ran on 6
the chair ran on 4
1 day was Phase 1 only
2 days the lifts didn't run.
I spent about £100 on lift tickets.
The last 2 days the snow returned and it was white out at the top of the chair and about 2' of fresh snow. Lower down was slightly less and heavier snow.
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IMG_0322 by foilflyer2, on Flickr[/img]
We joined a group for a run down to Drang.
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IMG_0332 by foilflyer2, on Flickr[/img]
Laying down fresh tracks for miles in the woods was a great way to end.
In the evening the snow boarding brothers and I drove down to Lake Dal for supper and a night on a house boat
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IMG_0354 by foilflyer2, on Flickr[/img]
after supper a pashmina salesman paid a visit. He was in luck as I needed to get something for Mrs G.
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IMG_0344 by foilflyer2, on Flickr
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An early start the next morning.
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And it was off to the airport.
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IMG_0362 by foilflyer2, on Flickr[/img]
It was a fantastic yet sometimes frustrating trip.
Would I go again?
If the opportunity arose - Yes
Is it likely - No
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IMG_0139 by foilflyer2, on Flickr[/img]
I should say finally that Ski Himalaya were brilliant and I would heartily recommend them to anyone who wants to go.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Thu 28-02-13 17:38; edited 3 times in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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sounds like a great trip, would you go back?? BTW You don't need to do the img tags if your taking the BBCode straight off flickr.....
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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What happens if you get an itch?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Looks like an amazing experience. Thanks for sharing.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Sounds like you weren't exactly enamoured with the terrain? Would you be bothered to make the opportunity to go again, or would you rather go elsewhere?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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clarky999, The terrain is great. What was frustrating was the way the lift tickets were sold, the frankly hopeless way the lifts were run and the inability of the ski patrol to get the mountain open in time for a full days skiing On average the top lifts were open between 11 and 3 on 6 days out of 13 which is pathetic considering there was daylight from 7 till 6. Part of the problem is getting the lift workers up from the valley in the morning and part is the culture of a summer resort which doesn't respond to winter sports needs. The lift company is state owned and there is no motive to run it efficiently or sell tickets.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Fri 1-03-13 15:58; edited 1 time in total
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Excellent info and pics. Many thanks.
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Very nice TR. I can see the frustration but I guess it goes a bit with the territory. Can imagine sooner or later India's burgeoning middle classes will ensure the string and ducttape vibe is replaced by soulless spa hotels.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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BertieG, thanks. It keeps it's place on the list then 
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