Skift Take
Gulmarg, as the story points out is definitely not your average ski resort. A visit sounds like an adventure of a lifetime.
There are very few ski resorts in the world where you see a soldier in uniform waiting for the gondola with a snowboard in one hand and an AK-47 in the other.
Welcome to Gulmarg, nestled in the Himalayan mountains in Indian-held Kashmir, one of the most militarized places on earth.
India and Pakistan have fought two major wars over Kashmir, which is divided between the two countries and claimed in its entirety by both. Tension flared earlier this year when the worst violence along the disputed border in a decade left half a dozen troops dead — one of them an Indian soldier who was reportedly beheaded.
The clashes hurt business in Gulmarg, according to local tour operators, but a few hundred skiers and snowboarders were on the mountain during my visit at the end of February — almost all of them foreign.
It's good to know there is a hearty breed of outdoor enthusiasts willing to brave conflict between nuclear-armed archenemies to hit the slopes — admittedly ones that rival any major ski resort in the world, are much less crowded and cost a little over $100 for a whole week.
Imagine sharing Jackson Hole resort in Wyoming with just 200 fellow skiers and snowboarders. That's what Gulmarg has to offer, complete with knee-deep powder and a wealth of off-piste terrain easily accessible from one of the highest gondolas in the world.
Did I say easily accessible? That doesn't include the experience of getting on and off the small, four-person gondola.
Many of the cars lack a place to store skis or snowboards while you ride. That leads to what feels like a Three Stooges routine every time you and your companions try to pack into the gondola carrying skis and poles and wearing bulky backpacks. It
