Surely he was joking! I could only manage six to eight powder runs each day. At a minimum of 3000 vertical feet per run and maximum of 6000, that’s 18,000–30,000 vertical feet per day and as much as 210,000 feet per week. That’s if your legs can keep going! Luckily Tariq’s massages were perfect before sleep after a big day and a hot bucket bath.
The rising sun blazed into our verandah. The mountain looked silky white, calm and ready. Across the Gulmarg Meadow village children were arriving on an overloaded, ancient and gaudily painted bus for their winter holiday ski lessons with Vijay and his Kashmiri instructors.
We wanted to be first in line on the top gondola before the bloody Russian snowboarders got there. Our guide ensured we got the first gondola — he wanted fresh tracks too!
Our Kashmiri head guide Majeed Bakshi — “Billa”, as he is affectionately known — turned out to be the greatest friend and skiing companion among the many mountain people I have known in 30 years of skiing worldwide. From the moment I met him on the slopes of Gulmarg in January 2006 — and gifted him my K2 Seth Morrison skis — we were warm friends and he safely guided New Zealanders who stayed at the Kiwi House. His natural athletic ability, fast and fluid skiing, and high–energy enthusiasm, had us all laughing and greatly enjoying our daily adventures in the Himalayan powder.
Billa established Gulmarg Powder Guides with eight other experienced local guides. He was the first Kashmiri guide to be certified by the Jammu and Kashmir State Government. In 2007, Billa and I established the NZ Ski Club of Kashmir, a not–for–profit charity, with a rented house at Gulmarg for New Zealand skiers and snowboarders each winter from January to March.
The purpose is to provide the Kashmiri guides, school children, and university students, as well as the staff at the Kiwi House, with used snow clothing and equipment donated by New Zealanders. This includes skis, snowboards and mountain safety gear such as goggles, helmets, packs, shovels, first–aid, avalanche transceivers and probes (for locating skiers buried in an avalanche).
Training is provided for the guides to help them establish a world–class guiding service for international skiers visiting Gulmarg as well as ski or snowboard instruction for the local children. The NZ Ski Club is currently seeking applications for two ski instructors and two snowboard instructors for Jan/Feb 2009.
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Article courtesy of Snow Centre NZ.