Ski India

India is home to nearly a dozen ski areas, most of them fairly primitive facilities in the foothills of the Himilayas.

By far the best known internationally is Gulmarg which is generally regarded as the highest ‘proper’ ski area in the world with lifts peaking at nearly 4,000m (there are highest ski slopes in China but they have just one run and short drag lift).

Gulmarg began life as a hill station in British Colonial times and in the past few decades has faced the challenges of its proximity to Pakistan and the terrorist activities of Kashmiri separatists which have resulted in occasional kidnaps, cross border shelling and most visible day to day, a heavy Indian army presence.

The centre added a second chairlift for the 11–12 season and has up to 70km of runs and over 1000m of lift served vertical. Other major resorts include Auli with a 4km long gondola that was at one time Asia’s longest and Narkanda.

There have been several plans to build ‘international standard destination resorts’ in India over the past 10 years too. One high profile project by the grandson of Ford Motor Cars founder Alfred Ford was bogged down in controversy and litigation for many years.

India is also known for its affordable and exciting heliskiing and if you’re down in the hotter parts of the country you can find a couple of indoor snow centres to escape the heat too.