On The Slopes of India
What goes up Indian Himalayan peaks ski-wise must come done, says Swadesh Kumar.
But the descent will be a great deal more rapid for those who choose to schuss with his company than the ascent, promises Kumar, managing director of Shikhar Travels, a New Dehli-based tour company.
The swashbuckling Kumar, who goes by the moniker Capt. Swadesh, is a prominent figure in India Himalayas tourism, and among offerings his company has are opportunities to trek up peaks in the world’s loftiest mountain range and then ski down. The skiable peaks include one reaching 6,800 metres, an upward journey that may take a week, with the guided ski groups tenting at night. After reaching the 6,800 metres, they then ski down to a spot that’s around 4,300 metres above sea level on a trail marked by red flags.
“In 40 minutes you can come down,” Kumar reports, adding clients who undertake the adventure tend to be “professional skiers” from Austria.
“You just zoom down. It’s very exciting.”
The skiing tends to be done in May, a time when there’s “hardly any” avalanche risk. Only some peaks are suitable for skiing, with Kumar noting they must have slopes and for obvious reasons be free of rockfaces that may not be easily visible to skiers.
Kumar says those wanting to try an Indian slope must be fit for the upwards journey.
And he promises a totally different experience from skiing in the likes of the Alps, famed for modern and comfortable resorts with chairlifts and gondolas that whisk skiers who have less time and likely less stamina than his clients up mountainsides.
“We don’t want that,” states Kumar, who would view modern lifts as a blight on a dramatic display of nature. “I don’t want to screw up the mountain.
“This is not meant for children.”
Pictured during a Toronto visit are Kumar (r) and Anil Oraw of Indian Tourism Canada.