Tons of curry powder in Kashmir - It's cold, we're feeling the jet lag and the car has no heating. We drive from the airport in Srinargar to Gulmarg in the sleet and pass through the fifth military roadblock. Even after the civil war, traffic in Kashmir is controlled by heavily armed Indian soldiers at all strategically important points...
"Ah! Ski Gulmarg, very nice. Have fun"
Many army posts line the roadside, but the grim looks of the soldiers give way to smiles as soon as they spot our boards on the roof of the car. The old cord holds the boards on the wobbly roof rack. We change vehicles at the foot of the pass road to Gulmarg. From here we get into a jeep with snow chains through snow-covered forests and the pass is getting closer. It is cold, freezing cold and it continues to snow. This car also lacks heating and even proper ventilation: we continue to freeze with the windows open. Instead, the perfectly functioning radio blasts us with loud Indian music. The driver, who is apparently not cold at all, is wearing sneakers, thin cloth trousers and a pheran (a typical Indian cloak worn by all male Kashmiris). He takes a cigarette out of the packet, slips it under his coat and lights it up before taking it out again. How can he light his cigarette under his pheran with one hand while driving? We are surprised to see that he is wearing a kangri (pottery stove filled with glowing coals) under his cloak. Now it is also clear why the car smells of fire and coal. Along the way, there are men dressed in pheran with their hands under their cloaks, all carrying their mobile heaters, the kangri. Without a down jacket and functional clothing, this is the best way to avoid freezing in the cold and snow.
There is enough snow now, even more than enough: A week before, we wanted to cancel our trip here because there was no white splendor. Fortunately, all the weather reports for the region suddenly announced: "Heavy Snow"! The term "heavy snow" in Gulmarg means a meter-thick blanket of snow covering the landscape. In fact, three meters of snow fell in a week?
Curry powder without end...
In Gulmarg, which lies at 2600 m on a high plateau in a snow-covered spruce forest, we put up in a guesthouse. Our actually cozy room is cold, there is no window insulation and the heating is currently adjusting to the outside temperature. But at least there is hot water in the cold bathroom. The water flowing out of the tap is almost boiling. Now take a quick shower to get warm! But I stand there freezing for a long time, trying to get a pleasantly warm jet of water from the excessively hot water. When I've just soaped up, the water is suddenly completely gone and I rub the foam off again with the not quite fresh towel and quickly slip into my thick down jacket, as I don't have a kangri. Tired, cold and hungry, we go into the dining room. It's not heated here either, as no one has lit the stove. First we are served a Kashmiri Kawa tea (cardamom, cinnamon, saffron, almonds, ginger) and it warms us up from the inside. The delicious Indian meal that follows and the view out of the window of the fresh masses of snow and the clear starry sky lifts our spirits and our joy for the next day to unimaginable heights.
In the middle of the night, the heating suddenly comes on and it quickly becomes tropically hot. The heating cannot be regulated or switched off.
The sun is shining again
Half past eight, the sun is shining through the snow-covered forest, through our window and gives us a highly motivated start to the day. Today is the first beautiful day after a week of snowfall and the gondola up to Mt. Aphawart has been closed the whole time.Gulmarg was a popular vacation destination for Indians before the civil war in Kashmir. They were attracted by the pleasant mountain climate and the landscape in summer. There were also ski lifts here in winter, but more for beginners. At the beginning of the 1990s, the construction of a new gondola was started with French help. However, the project was halted due to the unrest and was only completed in 2004. The Gulmarg ski area is certainly one of the most adventurous areas in the world. The new gondola leads up to the 3950 m high mountain ridge of Mt. Aphawart (summit: 4200 m) and has fascinated the international freeride scene ever since.
