What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about skiing or a ski resort? Certainly not Shammi Kapoor screaming Yahoooo!
[youtube XDH8uzVcRds]Living in a tropical country it makes one wonder that how many of us would have actually thought of learning skiing? Very few. Out of the few people who might be interested, many do not know that there are ski resorts in India. Most of the people are content by going to Shimla, Manali, Kufri where hoards of people are throwing snowballs at each other while horses poop all over the place. Adventure tourism is a growing segment in the country and is steadily gaining ground. Skiing is one of the popular adventure activity that is drawing increasing number of people each year.
Main ski resorts in India are Gulmarg (Kashmir), Narkanda (Himachal Pradesh) and Auli (Uttarakhand). We will be talking about the skiing programs offered by the HPSTDC ski resort at Narkanda, Himachal Pradesh.
People are of the opinion that only athletes can do skiing. To break this thought the HPTDC has taken initiative to extend the sport to common man. They have started conducting many courses in skiing at Narkanda. They have qualified instructors trained by the Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports. They impart training to students under a designed seven day program from 10th January to March, every year. The training Gears and equipment too are provided by them.
The package includes lodging at Hotel Hatu on twin sharing basis, full boarding, lodging and free skiing lessons. The package cost of Rs. 5300 per person. A 3 days short course ski package is also offered. The charges are Rs. 3150 per person on twin sharing basis, full boarding, lodging and free skiing lessons.
This year the first skiing courses started from10 January. Currently the third skiing course is in progress and the fourth one will start on 3 March and end on16 March 2013. Due to abundant snow, Narkanda drew a lot of enthusiasts its slopes
Apart from the thrill of learning a new exquisite sport there can be many reasons for one to take a break. Walking on skis in the mountains, in the forest, on the fields, on a lake or any place where there is snow, gives your a certain calm feeling in your body and soul. It’s like free therapy. People say that once you are a little good at it, skiing is like riding a bike. The feeling of a rush in your body when you set off down a hill with a face cold as a Popsicle is truly worth experiencing!
So next time you think of an adventure holiday, check out www.adventurehimalaya.org. For any travel requirements you know Gozocabs can arrange a cab for Narkanda.
The skiing training programs are organized by
Dear Sir,
I would like to know whether Cross Country Skiing is available in Narkanda or not.
Cross country skiing requires groomed trails for classic as well as skating technique.Are there trails in Narkanda? If so there should be a map of these trails and also of their elevation profile. In the absence of the above,I should conclude that cross country skiing is not available in Narkanda.