Skiing on the 'Roof of the World'

I WAS quite excited as the minivan rounded the last few bends of the narrow road that snaked up the mountain. We'd been travelling above the snowline for several kilometres and the snow was banked up high on either side of the road to Gulmarg. I'd been told that the ski fields here were remarkably good. "Remarkably good?" I thought, especially as I was in India, not a country best known for its snow let alone its ski fields.

While the snow-capped peaks of Nepal and Bhutan were well-known to me, for some reason India was never on my skiing radar despite it having excellent snow coverage as I was discovering on my ascent of the mountain.

Things have been somewhat uneasy in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and troops still maintain peace along the troubled border with neighbouring Pakistan. Fighting here has been some of the fiercest the world has seen in the past few years.

Various shaky ceasefires along the Indian-Pakistan border and the state of Jammu and Kashmir have provided people in India's only Muslim-dominated state with hope that they may soon be returning to the peaceful paradise for which Kashmir is best known.

It was a good time to visit the area as most people were fasting during the holy month of Ramadan and my visit to Gulmarg coincided with the Festival of Eid or what is known in Asia as Hari Raya.

The villages along the road from Srinagar to Gulmarg were being decorated by local villagers who were very much in a festive mood. Many were heading back from the markets laden with festive goodies such as food, drinks and clothing for the children. As I was travelling, I had no family with whom to celebrate so skiing was an opportunity too good to miss.

While there were few cars heading to the slopes I wasn't too troubled and eagerly anticipated the opportunity to have the ski runs to myself. There was little interest shown by the counter staff of the Hilltop Hotel upon my arrival in Gulmarg as they were more interested in the ball-by-ball description of a cricket match being telecast from somewhere else in India. Indians are passionate about cricket and I decided it was best to wait for an ad break to complete the check-in formalities.

The hotel lobby was deserted but still I didn't think twice about this until I asked the cricket-loving reception staff about obtaining ski equipment as I had been informed that there were several places in Gulmarg that hired out ski equipment to travellers like myself who'd left their equipment at home.

A sudden fall in a wicket at the cricket distracted the staff and I had to repeat my request. However, it was met with total bewilderment. I was informed that as it was the eve of the Festival of Eid and all but luckless staff who were half attending me and watching cricket had returned back down the mountain to celebrate with their families.

My long journey up the mountain was looking like a failed mission and I started to ask myself why it had been recommended to me by the tourist authorities in the first place. It seemed that both they and I were on a giant learning curve.

Skiing in India is still a novelty with limited facilities but with its rising middle class, it won't be long before the snow fields will be full of local skiers. The country's premier resort of Auli in Uttaranchal state has 5km long slopes that are getting more developed with each passing season. There are also ski-able slopes and skiing facilities in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

!Known as "the Meadow of Flowers", Gulmarg is an extensive meadow surrounded by mountainous peaks rising up to Mount Apharawat at 4,511m. In summer, golfers drive along the fairways of the meadows and, in winter skiers zig zag across the snow-covered basin.

!Gulmarg Golf and Country Club is supposedly the world's highest golf course steeped in colonial history. While the description of the golf course in a 70s regional travel guide, describing it as the "hub of the universe" maybe somewhat of an exaggeration these days, it could be for those golfers who believe that the game holds the meaning to life.

Winter visitors will find skis more useful than a set of clubs as over two metres of powder snow blanket the Gulmarg vale. Due to my dilemma of not be able to hire ski equipment I made the best of what was available. Fortunately, the gondola up the mountain was being operated by a skeleton staff.

The main winter attraction is the gondola that rises to 4,300m in altitude. Here virgin ski slopes packed with the finest powder snow awaits skiers in what is considered Asia' highest ski-able snow. In addition, a few t-bars and rope pulls transport a handful of skiers up beginner and intermediate slopes. I noted that advanced skiers could enjoy exhilarating snow above the tree line and down long uninterrupted runs.

Back at the lodge I found my accommodation reasonably comfortable with central heating and a restaurant serving good Kashmiri food featuring lots of chicken and mutton.

For those looking for a great night's apres-ski, this is not the place. There wasn't much to do at night except tramp across the snow to the neighbouring Gulmarg Inn but there were no signs of life there either.

While I failed in my attempt to ski the region's highest ski fields, I saw enough to lure me back. The Brunei Times