Sunshine, Basecamp and Sunshine Peak
Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 5:31AM 
High pressure is a wonderful thing in Gulmarg. The mountains really turn on their charm. The last week has been blue everyday and we made the most of it by venturing away from the resort and into the high country where the crowds are thinner than the air.
Our plan was to hike our backsides with tents, stoves, food and enough camera gear to cover the Oscars red carpet up to 4000m and make a base camp in the palm of an imposing cirque behind Sunshine Peak. We recruited Sven—the quiet, Swiss snowboarder who never seems to mind waiting for our production to get moving—at breakfast and once I recharged the battery that had drained overnight because my camera had been left on, we made our way toward the gondola. With all the requisite self authorization printed neatly on a paper in my pocket, we negotiated the ski patrol and lift operators who make doubly sure to absolve themselves of all responsibility once we leave the ski area.
Finally free to get ourselves into any kind of trouble that we liked, we pushed off to the south and down into the drainage above Drang, before beginning the long slog back up to the elevation of the gondola across the valley below Sunshine Peak. It was a long, hot day with huge packs and it took its toll on everyone. We finally creaked into camp around 6pm and with not much light left we dug in, pitched tents, erected the cook tent, melted water and broke out some cheese and speck given to us by a friend from Austria. We were there, but the energy for capitalizing on our position was certainly debatable.
Everyone had a good sleep thanks to acclimatizing on the Sharks Fin and when we looked out the tent door at 5.30am the next morning, the glistening bowl of steep chutes surrounding us had everyone out of bed and on their way. Colin, Forrest and Pete each picked a chute and set about boot packing them in awesome solo efforts. They stood on top by 8am and once they had caught their breath and taken in the views, they each dropped them top to bottom in near perfect conditions. Three tracks by 9am.
Photo- C Puskas
The boys took a break to drink some water and refuel, while watching where the light was headed before shouldering packs again and heading up to hit three more chutes each on the western side of the cirque. Sven joined them and half a dozen, long, GS turns later and there were seven lines of absolute control left in the snow for all to see.
Over the radio they said they were going back up for one more and Forrest led out breaking trail to add another four sets of tracks to what was quickly becoming a skied out zone. Given how arduous the approach was, Pete, Colin and Forrest put on a spectacular display of commitment, stamina and skiing finesse. It was a day that pushed all of them individually and left them broken and feeble in the cook tent that night.
The next morning dawned grey and milky with snow flurries blowing in and out. It meant everyone slept til 9am before adjusting the plan to try and ski one more line each before breaking camp and leaving a day early. The waiting game paid off and the clouds parted, literally, long enough for Pete and Colin to ski their lines with some semblance of definition before the light went flat again.
And that was that. We hauled still heavy packs out of there and a few hours later found ourselves poling through the quaint village of Drang to finally meet our jeep for the most spicy part of our trip—the drive back up to Gulmarg.
With a stack of good footage in the bag, another storm rolling in and a week until the troops depart Kashmir, leaving Will and I to our own documentary devices, we are contemplating some time off on a houseboat in Srinagar before trying to fill the gap between surfy, tree skiing and steep, exposed alpine terrain.
Inshallah.
Reader Comments (1)
wicked! of course the alpine cracks for weeks once I leave! but that's how the cookie crumbles. and alas, the Olympic hockey fever has been pretty insane. If you ask me. enjoy