Skiing is an attractive sport. Sliding down alpine slopes in brightly coloured attire sure is a picture postcard sight. The sport though is still to catch the Indian imagination. Luger Shiva Keshavan, India’s sole representative at the winter Olympics, is beginning to have some impact. However small, it is a beginning. The irony of the whole thing is that we have some of the world’s best mountains.
The opportunity to try my hand at skiing presented itself some 3 years back. Like most sports, it doesn’t look too difficult from a distance. Given that I could barely stand up on roller skates as a youngster, my expectations were modest. Even so I hadn’t a clue of what I was in for. I’d not crashed landed on terra firma on as many occasions in my entire life, as I must’ve in those couple of hours. I’d barely stand, and whooooop. Needless to say my first attempt at skiing was a non starter. Sliding down the ever so gentle slopes marked out for beginners at Solang seemed a distant dream. But for those fleeting moments that one did manage, it felt like an outer body experience. Bruised elbows and hips notwithstanding! Hence, I approached my second attempt at skiing with an equal measure of thrill and trepidation.
The idea of going for a skiing holiday was met with unanimous approval. Four adults and three kids set out for Solang near Manali from Delhi. Driving through the day after a night halt at Chandigarh, we reached Manali well past sun down. “Look out of your room window tomorrow morning.” For a first timer from the hot Indian plains, visiting Manali and arriving after sunset can set one up for a very pleasant surprise. Next morning the snow covered alpine slopes had everyone in a thrall.
Solang this time (Jan 09) hasn’t had the expected level of snow (global warming staring at our face!!!). But we found a good place to test our skills. Second time around, I was marginally better off. I came close to falling on a couple of occasions but miraculously held on. The challenge however was to stop or turn direction when another fledgling skier crossed my path. I rammed into a few.
But this experience has raised realistic hopes that I might, after all, manage skiing in the near future. Auli and Gulmarg are next on the radar.
