A dense fog blankets the snow-covered plateaus of Gulmarg, a winter sports destination on the Indian side of Kashmir. Hundreds of visitors, many of them athletes, navigate their way through the gloom towards the gondola station, home to the second-longest and second-highest cable car in the world.
Staff help visitors board the aerial lift and within minutes, passengers arrive at the slopes where India recently hosted part of the fifth Khelo India Winter Games.
The national event, launched to promote grass-roots sports, has become an important platform for young athletes. Competitors from across the country participate, striving to win medals for their respective states in sports including ski-mountaineering, Alpine skiing, snowboarding and Nordic skiing. This year, the winter games were held in early March.
Praveen Sood, a ski-mountaineering coach and international medallist from Sikkim, north-east India, believes Gulmarg has the potential to become a top winter sports destination in South Asia.
“The area has natural advantages like high-altitude terrain, heavy snowfall and long skiing slopes, making it an ideal place for winter sports,” Sood says. “Events like Khelo India attract athletes from around the country and showcase Gulmarg’s potential to an international audience.”
He says Gulmarg’s terrain is often compared to European ski resorts, attracting winter sports enthusiasts from countries such as England, the US and Australia.
“I believe Gulmarg is an ideal destination for winter sports. However, it lacks the infrastructure to host international events like those held in Japan’s Hokkaido [Niseko, Furano] and Nagano [Hakuba, Shiga Kogen],” Sood says. “The Indian government, and the Jammu and Kashmir government, should prioritise setting up high-speed chairlifts and additional cable cars to transport large numbers of skiers quickly,” he adds, before noting that Niseko alone has at least 40 lifts across its connected resorts.
Umer Al Mohammad, a former winter sports athlete and the competition manager at this year's Khelo India, agrees that large-scale infrastructure is needed in Gulmarg. He suggests improving facilities such as ski lifts, accommodation and snow machines would help make Gulmarg a more competitive destination on the global winter sports map.
“We have seen some improvements, but more needs to be done to attract local, national and international athletes,” Al Mohammad says. “Besides fast cable-car lifts, there is an urgent need for automated lift ticket systems, well-organised ski-patrol teams, avalanche control measures and emergency medical facilities.”
Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council secretary Nuzhat Gull tells The National that organising national-level winter games is a crucial step in developing Indian athletes, helping them learn and refine their skills in the sport they love. In her opinion, Kashmir hosting international winter games is not far off.
“When the government decides to host an international event, all necessary measures will be taken to make it successful,” Gull says. “The government plans to expand winter sports beyond Gulmarg to locations like Sonmarg, Doodhpathri, Shopian and Kishtwar, and it will help us upgrade our sports infrastructure.”
Urmila Das, a snowboarder from Maharashtra, South India, suggests the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council and the tourism department, should visit popular winter sports destinations around the world to grasp an understanding of the necessary infrastructure they have in place.
“The time for makeshift arrangements is over. People now want permanent infrastructure where they can spend quality time in comfort. There is a need for a dispensary, resting lodges and enough washrooms,” Das tells The National. “Switzerland, Austria, Canada and Japan are far ahead of us. India has the potential to match their infrastructure, but as a country, we need to visit these places, sign agreements and build facilities that meet international standards.”
Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, emphasised the need to upgrade Gulmarg’s sports facilities, saying its infrastructure “dates back to the British era”. He adds: “What we have today is still not enough to meet the growing demands of winter sports and tourism.”
