Skis 4 Kashmir

Hello all!!   Well we are done with our seccond session for this blog.  I will give you an idea of what a day looks like for us. On Thursday we started the day at 9 o’clock with breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs and instant coffee. This has been the standard fare since we arrived with little variety. We met the children at 10 to begin our day, but some eager young skiers begin there days early to hike for a few extra turns. Yesterday we moved away from the beginner slopes to the intermediate slope to work on stem Christies and hockey stops. We ski from 10 til about 1 when we all hike over to the hut for lunch.  Kashmiris eat a lot, especially when they are skiing.  I’m constantly amazed at how much food these little mouths are able to consume. 

My morning was cut short today by a visit to the Gulmarg heath center. One of our students dislocated his shoulder in a collision and we were not sure of the extent of his injury so I felt it best to seek out an expert opinion. The doctor in Gulmarg couldn’t do anything because of his limited resources and sent us to Tangmarg for an x-ray. It’s a bumpy 20 minute drive down the hill to the hospital in Tangmarg. It was an interesting place, there are only two doctors on duty, and the building didn’t have much to work with. I saw one stretcher at the far end of the hospital from the entrance, with only 3 wheels that touched the ground. The first room on the right when you enter the building was labeled “casualties”, it was a good reminder of where we are and the dangers of an injury. The visit was a success we got the x-ray results which thankfully showed no broken bones. To my surprise the visit, the medication, and the x-ray only cost 60 Rupies. The ordeal took most of the day but we made it back to Gulmarg just as the ski day was winding down. 

Following lunch, the other students skied from 2 til 430 when the lift closed.  After skiing we all hiked back to the hut to watch some Nat Geos and Ski movies.  This hike is no small feat because the hut is located on the complete opposite side of the valley from the gondola.  It provides easy access to the beginner slope but that is about it. Water is melted snow and heat comes from wood that the children are made to carry up the hill in order to keep this 120 year old house warm through the cold kashmiri nights.  

On Friday morning we woke to 5 inches of fresh snow, it’s difficult to put on our powder skis and turn away from the peak  towards the poma lift but once we are there with the kids we forget all about the powder. Many of our students had broken their sunglasses earlier in the week and without them it was very hard for them to see through the heavy snow skiing down the slope. The students decided to take the afternoon off and dedicate the time to prayer. I have been continually impressed with their dedication to their faith. On Friday night we invited the students to a going away diner at our hotel. The dinner was a great opportunity to hangout with the kids and end the program on a high note. We showed them a slide show with pictures of them from our week of skiing, ate a good meal and danced the night away. They all made a lot of progress and they were all very excited to see the photos of there rapidly improving skills. It was amazing to see the smiles on the children’s faces and the impact we had made on all of them was very evident. The group left on Saturday morning back to Sopor but before they did I had one last chance to see the kids and bid my farewell. I went over to their hut at 8:30 on Saturday to check in there gear and see them off. This was the most rewarding part for me. As we finished up the check in and we brought the bags of gear to the car, I was met with a swarm of kids asking me for my business cards and trying desperately to get one last hand shake, hug, or friendly goodbye. Although we have a lot of work to do and much to learn from our first year with the program, we are confident that the program has been a success.

Now we have a few days here to enjoy the powder we’ve neglected.  There is a good group of westerners here and it should be epic once it goes blue.  Talk to you soon

Steve Mace