Gulmarg '11

So far so good this year. No disasters as yet like the debacle last year at HAWS and I hope there is nothing in store, Lord willing.

I arrived at Gulmarg on the 19th hoping to ski down the Afarwat at least a couple of times. But injuries compel me to postpone it for a few days. The highest point on the Afarwat is about 4200 m and a 1500 odd meter drop has some really steep slopes. Powder, often crusty snow is characteristic of the mountain and this makes for some awesome runs.

I have not been skiing for a while now, so I thought it best to spend some time familiarizing with my gear and practice on the slopes within Gulmarg before skiing down the imposing Afarwat. 3rd may be the 4th of March may be the day to head out to the top.

Siva, a colleague from my former work place was keeping me company this winter. I got him to learn the basics of skiing. Capt. Mahajan, the VP at JIM & WS was kind enough to enroll Siva to the Basic Course at his institute.



In the evenings we would head out for a stroll around Gulmarg. This would involve a short hike to Khilanmarg or to The HAWS via BSF Bn 4. The hikes were an opportune moment for Siva to try out his Nikon SLR and the swanky new Samsung Galaxy. Or we would head out to Tangmarg or to the market place or to a local restaurant to try out the local cuisine. Rista easily makes it to my favourites list. The days were spent honing ones skills on the numerous slopes that Gulmarg had to offer.