Gulmarg

April 22

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

I woke up this morning in serious pain. Went for a day trip on Sunday up to Gulmarg, the local ski resort and forgot my sunblock. Got the worst sunburn I have had for years all across my forehead, nose and cheeks. Even the place where my hair parts on my scalp hurts. The cool mountain air was very deceptive, should have brought my umbrella.

We had another misty day to be going up to another hight in the hills above Kashmir. However it was clear enough as we wound our way higher and higher up the mountain's base slopes to see that the ridges surrounding the valley on three sides are the smaller petals of the rose. Beyond them great snowcapped peaks rear impossibly high into the blue distances, with just a tantalizing glimpse through blue haze every now and then of a splash of sunlight reflecting off a distant slope.

The entire mountainside is forest preserve, with many soldier guarded check stops. You can see as you drive up that the tall straight pines and spruces have been very carefully logged, between the trees are the stumps of other trees individually harvested one by one. All the slopes we saw were fully covered with healthy looking trees, no clearcut slopes anywhere. The under story is very clean and grassy. We saw groups of women carrying out bundles of branches and the odd dead fall log segment balanced on their heads, a few cows balancing on steeply angled pasturage and a large flock pf sheep with many young lambs grazing under the forest canopy. There is almost no dead fall at all on the whole mountainside the road switchbacks up. It was almost uncanny, a whole mountainside groomed like a zen garden.

The resort is built on a high saddle about 6000 meters above the floor of the vale of Kashmir directly below a snow covered mountain ridge. It's off season now, the snow is gone except for a few patches underneath the trees. But there were hoards of Indian youngsters gleefully rolling about in them. We got there early in the morning which was a good idea, because by noon the parking lots were filling up with tour buses and private cars and taxis. Hundreds of Indian families were taking advantage of that intoxicating combination of warm sunshine and cool mountain air to have pick nicks on the new grass of the run out areas of the bunny and beginner slopes and going off for trail rides on the hundreds of Kashmir mountain ponies gathered for that employment.

There is a chairlift that continues up past the brushed out ski run all the way up to the snow covered top of the ridge. We didn't want to go up because it was rather expensive, about $20 to get all the way to the top, but I would sure like to get up there some day when visibility is a little better and take some photos. It's still spring here and melting snow on the upper slopes means there is almost always a blue mist in the air. Maybe before I leave we will get some clearer days.

The ponies were the best part of the experience for me. Hardy little beasts, they are left out to forage for themselves in winter. Some looked like they could have used a little better feeding during the winter. They were thin and boney and still shaggy. They hadn't been able to shed their winter coat due to poor condition. Many however were in top shape, muscular and glossy with good health. This local breed is a beautiful dainty animal with fine boned legs and hooves, lovely shapely heads and a very spirited disposition. They are quiet and obedient enough when being led along with large heavily garbed tourists aboard, but I saw a lot of curveting and horseplay with their handlers as they cantered back to the starting place.