Gulmarg

I'm still up in Kashmir, and while there has been a little unrest down in the city of Srinagar, up in the mountains there has been nothing but blue skies and fresh tracks. I needed a little break from the city, and situated just 45 km from Srinagar is a little ski hill called Gulmarg. This place is amazing. It has some of the highest elevation skiing in the world. People travel from all over the world just to ski and board here. But because of the the elevation the weather can be a little tricky and people can be stuck staring at the clouds wondering when the upper Gondola will open so they can ski the epic powder that is Gulmarg.
Luckily I timed it perfectly, and on my first full day there the upper lift was open for the first time in a few days. and I was able to ski some of the most amazing untracked bowls all day under a beautiful blue sky. Skiing here is kind of like a drug, since you don't by a day pass you just pay by the run, so when you get finished from an amazing run, you just want another hit of the powder. A ticket costs 5 dollars, unless you can sneak onto the gondola, which wasn't too hard. Once you get to the top, you are sitting at over 13,000 feet, and if your lungs are up to it you can hike up another 600 feet to the summit, from there you can choose from a handful of beautiful powder bowls that funnel you back down to the lower chair which is at 10,000 feet. I ended up doing 7 runs the fist day, and 4 more the second. After that, since I hadn't bee on a board for a year my legs were shot. Plus since I was a little rusty I took a few spills. But it was a great trip up there. It was super simple, I just rode the mountain, drank tea, read my book and relaxed for 3 days. I had a cheap room, by Gulmarg standards, so when I woke up in the morning, and all the wood in the stove had expired, it was below freezing and there was ice on the inside of the windows. I brought the sleeping bag, so that kept me plenty warm.

I'm now back in Srinagar, leaving tomorrow, headed to more stable and warmer land. I have a had a very memorable experience up here. I purchased some carpets, which when I get back to the states hopefully I will be able to sell them and make a few thousand dollars. I was invited out to a village to a family engagement party where I saw a Muslim engagement where all the men in both families get together and discuss the parameters of the two living together and marrying. This is followed by some intense prayers, then an amazing meal of meats and rice. I have met the people, ate the food. Listened to them talk of how they all want peace. And most of them want to be free from India. When I tell them about traveling India, they correct me and say, "you're not in India, you're In kashmir." I will definitially return in the summer time, when the high mountain passes are open and get away from the cities and into some of the villages of the Indian Himalayas.

Tomorrow I'm off, booked a ticket to the hippie yoga village of Rishakesh, where the Beatles hung out for a while. I'll probably hate it, but it's a gate way to some other nice places. Thanks for reading and don't be a stranger.