Skiing to town

By Sam Lozier, Boston.com Correspondent 

Ski blogger Sam Lozier is spending a chunk of this winter in Kashmir, India at Gulmarg.

During the planning stages of this trip, one of the most appealing aspects of Gulmarg was the ability to ski from place to place, not just around a manicured resort. Daydreams of skiing out of my hotel, down several thousand feet of fresh powder to one of the towns down the valley, passed the time as I worked and saved up for the trip during the fall.

As of yesterday, I no longer have to simply imagine it. After an early morning spent hiking laps on Monkey Hill, Wes, Matt, Allen, Reiley, Amit and I skied off the back, and kept on skiing until we got to Tangmarg, the next town down the valley. It wasn’t perfect: we had to take our skis off and walk a few times, and the snow got rather heavy near the bottom, but it was just about everything I’d hoped for while back in the States.

 Wes Roon skiing Monkey Hill on the way to Tangmarg.

Allen Taylor 

We skied some amazing snow on the steep terrain up high, and explored some mellower trees down low, then skied right into downtown Tangmarg.

After skiing up to the ATM, and buying cookies at the Snow Bakery, we ate lunch at a small restaurant with a great mountain view. Full, and errands completed, we sent Amit to haggle for the lowest price on a taxi.

Four hundred rupees, a few delicious macaroons, and one hair-raising taxi ride later we were back in Gulmarg ready to do another lap. I’ve never had the privilege of skiing in France or Switzerland, where it’s my understanding, it’s possible to ski right into quaint, little mountain towns, but this was about the closest thing I could imagine to it, and the best part of all, it was all paid for at the Indian price point.

Read and see more of Sam’s work at www.famousinternetskiers.com

Want to leave a comment?

Create an Account Or sign in to your account

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

To comment, please verify your email address

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com