To celebrate the launch of Gulmarg Heli Ski’s inaugural season from January 10 to February 20, 2011, Gulmarg Heli Ski are giving away a full heli ski or snowboard day in an online competition. But that’s not all, the winner gets to ‘name their run’ with a first descent.

How do you enter? Post a comment on the competition page by answering the question – “what makes Gulmarg Heli Ski your ultimate skiing or snowboarding destination?” The most innovative or inspiring blog wins. Competition starts on December 1 and runs until January 10 2011 with the winner announced on January 11 2011.

Jonty Fernandez is not one to shy from adventure. A Kiwi living in Dubai with a healthy appetite for skydiving, marathon running, mountain biking and snow-riding, he enjoyed an epic trip out to Gulmarg in 2009 and has been singing its praises ever since:

”For any versed mountain rider Gulmarg, Kashmir offers a super-unique and life-changing experience. Gulmarg, its people, the atmosphere, surrounding mountains, snow conditions, local food, value for money, and amazing powder riding make for an unparalleled adventure. Access to these mountains is a special opportunity.”

Jonty Fernandez, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Snowsports photographer Camilla Stoddart made the mission to Gulmarg recently, stoked on the chance to lap up the culture, plenty of big mountain skiing, and amazing photo shoot terrain. Here’s a snippet from her Gulmarg blog:

“”… the sun finally shines and leaves us with 20cm fresh snow and clear skies. Glad to finally see the mountains, we start to shoot photographs. The terrain is such fun. Huge bowls and ridges of untracked pow leading into sparse paper trees and wind-lips. These mountains are huge!”

Camilla Stoddart, Verbier, Switzerland

What a rush. I took it straight to build up speed, feeling my K2 Pontoon lift up and float — just as the rockered pin–tail powder weapon is designed to do — and let out a rebel yell……….

Martin Jones runs a snow sports business and spends part of the year travelling to India, Europe and North America.

New Zealanders who stay at the Kiwi House in Gulmarg do so at a reduced rate of NZ$385 per person per week, which includes delicious Kashmiri cuisine. In return guests are asked to give generously to the charity, donating used clothing and equipment. The Kiwi House overlooks the world’s highest golf course, has a lounge with cable TV, video, music, a dining room, kitchen and staff quarters. As well as electric heating, lighting and hot water it has a bakari (wood burning stove) in each room and the house has been completely refurbished, ready for next winter.

For more information on donating to the NZ Ski Club of Kashmir (Inc) or on visiting Gulmarg from January — March 2010 contact martin@sportive.co.nz

Read more:

• Heaven on Earth (Part 1)
• Heaven on Earth (Part 2)
• Heaven on Earth (Part 3)

Article courtesy of Snow Centre NZ.

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.

Read more:

• Heaven on Earth (Part 1)
• Heaven on Earth (Part 2)
• Heaven on Earth (Part 4)

Article courtesy of Snow Centre NZ.

“So you need to have a transceiver, probe, shovel and experience in using them to perform a rescue, safe route-finding knowledge and you should ski in a group and go one at a time. And it’s best to take a local Kashmiri ski guide who can help with gondola tickets, translation, organise taxi pick-up at the village 6000ft below, route-finding through the forest and river valley, and recommend where to get the best Kashmiri food for lunch!”

I’d always loved hot spicy Indian food … that was it, I was ready to go.

We flew Qantas through Sydney and Singapore to Delhi where we overnighted, soaking up the hospitality of a people known as the Italians of Asia. Next day Kashmir’s capital Srinagar beckoned through our Kingfisher Airline’s window as the wing tip skimmed the Himalayan Ranges that ringed the valley below.

At Srinagar Airport a new terminal was under construction, aimed at catering for the growing number of travellers attracted by the natural beauty of the “Jewel in the Crown of India”. The pine forest parks, meadows of flowers, streams and rivers, and Himalayan views are truly gorgeous.

We registered with the tourist police and were soon on the 45km highway to Gulmarg, ski bags strapped to the roof of a decrepit white Tata taxi. The highway was also undergoing major works to widen it to four lanes, inspiring chaotic crowding, horn tooting and perilous overtaking manoeuvres that narrowly avoided head-on collision.

Unfortunately, rubbish was everywhere – they didn’t seem to have tidy Kiwi habits – but once we arrived at the 8500ft Gulmarg Village it was all buried under a pristine white blanket of fresh snow.

At the Kiwi House, Tariq, our cook and servant, brought us hot lemon-honey-ginger tea and lit the bakari fires to warm our four-bedroom, four- bathroom house. We had 100 satellite channels of Bollywood and Hindi dance music and a large front sunroom, overlooking the snow-covered golf course, in which to store all our skis and boards. Even better, we were only a five-minute walk from the gondola.

Nineteen-year-old Tariq was learning to snowboard on a donated Ride Yukon 164cm powder board. Like all Kashmiri men he was lean and strong, especially at altitude. The day before, he had gone to the top of the gondola at 14,000 feet for the first time, riding a powder ridge and steep shoulder off the side of Mt Affarwhat – 3000 vertical feet – back to the mid station. No problem!

Next morning After a bucket bath – a large bucket of boiling water, a running cold tap, and a large white tiled bathroom with drain hole and squat stool – he brought us porridge, scrambled eggs, spicy rajma beans, pirata, tea, and a smile. The loud speakers at the mosque echoed the mullah’s reading from the Koran calling the Muslim faithful to prayer before dawn.

“How many runs today, Tariq?” I asked. “Twenty to Tangmarg, eight to Babareshi, three Monkey Hill and Mt Affarwhat Shark Fin hiking two times.”

Read more:

• Heaven on Earth (Part 1)
• Heaven on Earth (Part 3)
• Heaven on Earth (Part 4)

Article courtesy of Snow Centre NZ.

“How would you like to come skiing with us for two weeks in the Kashmir Himalaya?” asked Verbier guide John Falkiner. What could I say? There are some invitations you cannot decline. There was only one thing to say: “Where and when?”

“Gulmarg Ski Resort, Kashmir, India – the highest gondola in the world. January and February are the powder months, and it really dumps, dropping 6-9ft with each snowfall. There are fine, windless days and blue skies for weeks after each storm, and at that altitude the snow just gets drier every night.

“There aren’t many foreigners – about 100 in the entire resort. A mix of Russian snowboarders, Italians, French, Germans, Swiss, Austrians and Israelis, plus lots of Aussies and Kiwis getting their off-season powder fix!”

I was in. But I wondered what the Kashmiri people were like and the political situation. Falkiner had all the answers.

“Look, mate, we’re going powder hunting – who gives a stuff about the political situation. But it’s cool. The Kashmiris are warm and friendly mountain people, farming in the summer and buried under snow in the winter. In the spring they can tend their cherry and apple trees or move up to their high altitude summer pastures right were we’ll be skiing.”

“Of course there will be lots of Indian tourists riding the gondola for family photos in the snow, and maybe they will take a ski lesson with a local instructor, but the big mountain free-riding, and off pisté touring is all left to foreigners like us.”

I was curious to know if there was any ski patrol…

Read more:

• Heaven on Earth (Part 2)
• Heaven on Earth (Part 3)
• Heaven on Earth (Part 4)

Article courtesy of Snow Centre NZ.

I came in 1989 with John Falkiner (Australian mountain guide based in Verbier). We brought a crew of 9 with 2 photographers, 1 film cameraman, 1 tri-pod wallah, and 5 telemark skiers(ourselves) and spent 6 weeks skinning up Affarwhat (before the gondola, before the war). Brian Dyson and Belinda Jones from Wanaka were the ONLY westerners at Gulmarg when we arrived. The little poma lifts and the little chair were working but no one around.

What where your first impressions?

Coming from Verbier, Switzerland it was like going back in time to the stone age (horse & cart).

What draws you to return to Kashmir regularly?

A combination of the powerful mountains drawing me up and the kindly warmth and spirit of the Kashmir peasant farming people.

What was the catalyst for the formation of the New Zealand Ski Club of Kashmir project and your motivation to bring the project to light?

We have so much in our everyday lifestyle at home in NZ that we take for granted. I saw the opportunity to give something to the children of Gulmarg and have now given 4 years of equipment, clothing and business advice which this winter included 8 instructors volunteering their time and energy to teach 120 kashmir children to ski. You will have some nice images of the happiness, pride and achievement felt by these kids, their families (and our NZ Ski Club instructors too).

When did it begin?

When I gave my K2 Seth Morrison skis to Billa.

What does the NZSCK seek to achieve both now and in the future?

Continue with education, equipment, workable business models – I want to add value to Kashmir fruit primary produce by building a co-operative jam and preserved fruit factory. Also build a modern ski resort over on Sunshine side (free enterprise rather than government operated).

How do you view your role in the organization?

I put up ideas from my experience in the western ski industry and discuss with Billa and his father. We are business partners in a company HIMALAYA Adventure Sports Tourism & Helicopters Private (India) Limited which operate a number of small businesses.

Can you describe what it is like to be the head of a volunteer organization in Kashmir?

It cost me personally a lot of money, time and effort. But it is definitely worthwhile when I see the look of delight on kids faces as the do their first descent on gondola phase One and receive their end-of-course certificate of achievement and race through their result for slalom ski race course. I guess I have always been keen to spread the love for skiing.

The volunteers within your team this year are all very interesting and educated people do you play a role in constructing the crew?

With one email to the NZ Ski Instructors Alliance office in Queenstown I had more applicants than I needed. Even though the 8 volunteer instructors at Gulmarg during Jan/Feb 2009 are from many different countries, they all qualified as instructors with the NZSIA.

Do you have any frustrations/ beautiful moments that you can to share?

Powder turns off the 14,000ft summit of Gulmarg (the worlds highest gondola) with two of the instructors Jenny and Jeff during early Jan.

How can people either volunteer either funding or their time to your organization?

Contact martin@sportive.co.nz