We came to know about Gulmarg mostly from foreign ski magazines and ‘word of mouth’

Baba Umar/ Wasim Khalid
Gulmarg March 02: Donning a light green ski gear, atop one of the steepest white slopes of Gulmarg, 25-year-old Anthony Bonello, a skier from Australia, fixes his ski goggles, checks if there is enough water in the bottle, rest assures if his skis are okay and switches on a small video camera glued to his helmet.

Over the velvet cushioned snow slopes, Bonello is going to imitate a downhill run, similar to what he first saw in a movie, ‘The Tangerine Dream’—a  700-hour long compilation on skiing and snowboarding, shot at the white rugs of Kashmir, Turkey, Alaska, Switzerland and France. The film released in 2005 was the only information available to the backpacker who after four years finally decided to visit Gulmarg.
“This corner of Kashmir is exactly what I saw in the movie,” Bonello says as he stares a crumple of slope, imagining if he could jump-off.
Few weeks ago, when Bonello was in Australia, he tried his best to find out if there was any update over the ski resort Gulmarg and Kashmir, but there was almost insufficient information he could get on.
“Whatever I have been reading about Gulmarg was only from websites like sbcskier.com, powdermag.com, and backcountrymag.com. And a word of mouth regularly,” Bonello says, while his friends from Canada also chip in.
“The information on such a beautiful place is insufficient. Almost all skiers check with the people who have traveled to Kashmir for skiing. It is only ‘word of mouth’ we rely on,” says Simon Thomson, a Canadian backpacker who has been instrumental in convincing Steve Brawn of Whistler Blackcomb, another Canadian and Bonello to visit Kashmir for winter sports adventure.
“You must know that there is no promotion going on for this place and it is really hard to get hold of information about Kashmir from the tourism authorities here,” Brawn says as the three some are finally granted access to the upper gondola in Gulmarg, some 14000 ft above sea level, for a bluebird day and copious soft powder.
The ten-minute ride from Kongdoori (10,000 ft) peak takes them to famous slopes of Apharwat (14,000 ft), from where, they come down negotiating slopes, ‘ploughing’ white blanket and recording the descend.
“Gulmarg has revealed itself to me far beyond my expectations. I will be posting this video on my blog…And it will serve as a promotional advertisement for Gulmarg and Kashmir,” Bonello says.
From the top of Gulmarg gondola the trio had also spotted a bright snow peak on what they believe is Sunset Peak. They have also decided to make a trip of it and venture out there to exploit the last two days for the forecast high pressure.
The steep chutes in Gulmarg are ‘Line of No Control’ for these back packers as they have come defying travel advisories from their respective countries against traveling to Kashmir.
“Canadian travel guidance says that Kashmir is dangerous to travel but I think everyone here is safe,” Brawn says insisting the Canadian foreign ministry should scrap the advisory forever.
And talking of Lonely Planet-a travel guide, foreigners mostly rely on, Thomson says “the book misguides.”
“All tourists read the book and end up enjoying at only one place — South Africa,” he laughs.
Alexander Yurtsev, an adventurer from Moscow, Russia believes that Gulmarg and other areas in Kashmir are unique and peaceful.
“I feel foreign ministries of countries should investigate why travel advisories are still intact when Kashmir is calm,” Yurtsev a regular visitor to Kashmir says.
And this year he has succeeded in getting 50 of his Russian friends to Gulmarg for winter adventure sports.
“When I told them to visit Kashmir, nobody refused,” Yurtsev says.
And as the grand fall the sun makes, shedding some of the most incredible light over the white mountains as it sets; Bonello and his friends decide to call it a day.
“Standing on the top is something that perhaps makes us the happiest,” Bonello says as the group descends further down from Kongdoori to their hotel.
“Watch out for the blog posts. And boglines.com too,” Bonello waves at us as the group disappear humbly into the alpines deep down towards the bowl-shaped Gulmarg meadows.