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Gulmarg TR
#909985 - 07/03/10 04:27 am
Gulmarg TR
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action goat
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Just returned from Gulmarg after spending 17 days there. To sum up, it was probably the wildest, most frustrating, most liberating skiing I’ve ever had. Timed the snow perfectly – I often heard that the first week we were there was the best of the season so far. After a very poor start to the season, 3 metres fell in the week before arrival; the result was an avalanche that thundered down one of the bowls, killing 17 soldiers stationed nearby. The gondola, of course, was closed throughout the storm, but jeep-assisted runs to the nearby villages of Baba Reshi and Drung, as well as skinning up Monkey Hill, offered plenty of good turns until the gondola opened. When it did, the pow stayed good for more than a week before crapping out.
But while the snow was great and first tracks easy to score, Gulmarg definitely was at times exasperating. The lift ticket system was utterly ridiculous and time-consuming, the ATM rarely worked (and when it did it ate my card), and the upper gondola was frequently closed (meanwhile the lower gondola offered no reasonable skiing). Worst of all, the terrain was not particularly steep (something especially apparent now I’m back and have checked out a few piccies of recently posted Euro TRs). Here’s the thing though: most of these annoyances were kind of like gatekeepers; a slew of frustrations to keep uncommitted skiers away from the pow that awaited. Doubtless there’ll be plenty of skiers coming away from Gulmarg this season saying the place is crap—these frustrations become pretty hard to deal with if there hasn’t been any fresh snow for more than a week—but for those willing to roll with it, the place offers an experience like no other. And the Kashmiris are incredibly friendly, except perhaps when they’re throwing rocks at cops in Srinagar – the city got shut down several times while we were there (Gulmarg though felt utterly safe and removed from any disturbances).
Anyway, for those who are interested in pics, go to www.actiongoat.com, go to the client login, and enter gulmarg as the username and skiforum as the password (sorry, but I haven’t decided where I’ll use the images yet and I can't put them out open slather on the net.)
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#909988 - 07/03/10 06:38 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: action goat]
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choc
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Nice pics mate!
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#909989 - 07/03/10 06:56 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: choc]
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VSG
Little crayon, big impact! ... and I own the
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I think you have taken the odd pic before, AGoat.
Nice. Extremely nice. Nice glass, nice exposures, nice creative skill.
Nice use of the human elements off mountain to supplement the snow action across your portfolio.
And the snow looks OK too.
Thank you.
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#910002 - 07/03/10 07:35 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: VSG]
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The Wang
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Thanks for sharing 
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#910007 - 07/03/10 07:58 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: The Wang]
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nisstrust
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awesome photos! what where you shooting with for the trip.. ?
Looks like you had a great time in all.
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#910009 - 07/03/10 07:58 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: The Wang]
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currawong
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fantastic shots, and fantastic experience
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#910012 - 07/03/10 08:12 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: currawong]
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sperks
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great report and fantastic photos
thanks for sharing
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#910017 - 07/03/10 08:33 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: nisstrust]
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Alex.C
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awesome photos! what where you shooting with for the trip.. ?
Looks like you had a great time in all.
A 5D Mk II apparently.
Great photos but I can't say I'm a fan of flash based galleries though.
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#910044 - 07/03/10 09:35 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: sperks]
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pigface
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great photos!
_________________________
Having fun is half the fun
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#910058 - 07/03/10 10:14 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: pigface]
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McNads
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Absolutely freakin' brilliant, thanks for the spiel and especially the pics.
The place is on my "I'd love to do but there's definitely some negatives to take into consideration" list i.e. as you have alluded to.
Edited by McNads (07/03/10 10:15 am)
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#910101 - 07/03/10 11:21 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: McNads]
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action goat
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Alex C, you're right - a 5D mkII. As for the flash, one of the advantages for me is that you can't simply right-click to copy an image. And it lets me use slideshow pro to display the images.
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#910122 - 07/03/10 11:56 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: action goat]
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cin
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beautiful photos, the peacefullness of the skiing, the beauty of the natural environment intermingled with the shots of the soldiers and their guns really makes a striking contrast of the slideshow, and gives you a real feeling of what the place is like. The quality of the photos and the presentation is fantastic. Well done a.g., thanks for sharing.
_________________________
ootsie dootsie!
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#910143 - 07/03/10 12:36 pm
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: cin]
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Dr. Wood Duck
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wot cin said.
Very nice capture of a ski frontier and the mind expansion of travel.
_________________________
paddling on the pond of a life with eels
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#910152 - 07/03/10 12:47 pm
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: action goat]
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Dibble
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Worst of all, the terrain was not particularly steep (something especially apparent now I’m back and have checked out a few piccies of recently posted Euro TRs).
Great work AG. I'm sure there's a few lines left on the Main Range to scare the sh$t out of you this year. Awesome pics.
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#910244 - 07/03/10 04:40 pm
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: Dibble]
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Snow Blowey
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Bloody tops.
_________________________
Visit - http://www.ozbc.net - For Information on Australian Backcountry Skiing
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#910247 - 07/03/10 04:41 pm
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: Dibble]
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Karen97
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Awesome shots!
_________________________
It's all fun and games till someone gets deported.
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#910479 - 07/03/10 11:39 pm
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: Alex.C]
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fast_limey
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Some call it Flashturbation, fine presentation to me.
A simple javascript will fix right click.
James, thanks for the TR, and the Mens Health spread.
More inspiration.
Cheers
Edited by fast_limey (07/03/10 11:49 pm)
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#910581 - 08/03/10 09:02 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: Zeroz]
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VSG
Little crayon, big impact! ... and I own the
Pool Room
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You are kidding, right?
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#910655 - 08/03/10 11:17 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: VSG]
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koopsmith
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#910658 - 08/03/10 11:23 am
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: koopsmith]
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Taxman
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AG, so another trip report for Men's Health? From the sounds of things, nothing much has changed since Heinz, Shark & I were there 2 years ago.
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#910979 - 08/03/10 05:59 pm
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: Scooter]
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action goat
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Taxman, one thing has changed from two years ago apparently: crowds. i kept hearing the lines were longer this season than ever before. that said, that only seemed to be true in Feb. From the beginning of March, the place just died. everyone cleared out. Lines on the gondola became virtually non-existant. As for a home for these piccies, I've got to get to work and find one. I doubt it will be MH though.
Scooter, I'm actually a Pic 1 man myself, although as you guessed, I'm behind the lens. life sucks for me eh!
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#912033 - 09/03/10 09:47 pm
Re: Gulmarg TR
[Re: action goat]
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Heinz
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You've summed up many of the contrasts good and bad that are Gulmarg. As Taxman has said doesn't sound like much as changed and in that part of the world progress is likely to remain slow.
I guess having an ATM at all is perhaps progress or maybe not given your experience. Anything relying on reliable ground based communications is likely to be dodgy.
2007/8 was already quite a bit busier than the previous years. Wonder how long that progression will continue. February will most likely remain the most popular. Early March I guess will be good but it does start to warm up pretty quickly through March. I've noticed the difference in Delhi just a couple of weeks between the start and end of a trip.
Agree with what you say regarding the Kashmiris.
Oh, and great pics.
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