The storm has ended and we ended up with 120cm of fresh snow at the hotel in less than 24hrs.

The skiing has been epic on Monkey Hill and the trees below the plateau.  The upper mountain has the best looking cover for a few years, and once the patrol has finished avalanche control we will be up there.

All areas (even the lowest elevation trees) have now got a bomber base that has set us up for the rest of the season. 

Happy days.

Cheers Bill.

64cm since we got home from skiing today so it looks like we are in  for another epic powder day tomorrow.  This is on top of the measley 8cm we had last night that gave us deep and dry faceshots while doing laps of the chairlift today.

Before breakfast Monkey Hill laps are going to be awesome, and once the road is clear, the steep trees to Babareeshi will be insane.

Happy days in Gulmarg.

See the photos on our Facebook page.

Cheers

Bill

Greetings from another powder day in Gulmarg.

For the second year in a row, early January has delivered the goods.  A couple of average days after I arrived on the 6th and since then we have had quality fresh tracks.  A couple of 20 cm top ups during the week have given all 30 or so people here an awesome week of powder in the alpine and the trees.  There is enough base for all areas to be skiable and it looks like a monster storm coming through later in the week to consolidate what has been an great start to the season.

The plan is for an update at least once a week on the blog, and we hope to post photos on our Facebok page daily. Sometimes powder skiing, apres drinks, power outages and other excuses may delay them, but we are endevouring to be a bit more on top of it than previous years.

Stay tuned.

Cheers

Bill

Now the Aussie season has finished and the first snow has fallen in Gulmarg I thought it was time for a blog.  Sorry, too busy skiing, patrolling, and socializing to keep up with social media during the winter.  An après beer after an epic powder day or go home to tap away on the computer? 

Of the 25 seasons I have done at Mt Hotham, this past season was close to the best all round.  We have had winters with more powder days and a bigger base but they were usually late starters or had wet soggy springs.  This year we had a good cover right from the start, consistent storms, good weather between the storms and good cover at the end.  Lots of great days, a handful of epic ones, and very few totally crap ones.  The powder pigs and the fair weather skiers were all happy.  As were the bean counters in the resorts, with visitor numbers breaking records.  A much needed boost to the industry considering the doom and gloom forecasts for the future of the Aussie winters. Make the most of it while we have it.  There will be skiing well into November on the main range if you’re keen for a hike.

The first snow for the season has fallen in Gulmarg.  Not a huge dump but the upper mountain is looking white.  I will keep track of the storms over the next 3 months and update the Blog whenever we get something significant.

The Feb 3 departure is fully booked but there are still places available on the other peak season trips. (Jan 20 & Feb 17). We have just had a couple of late cancellations so there are a few spots up for grabs. Book as a group of four for a super deal. 

Only ten weeks until the official start of the Gulmarg winter.  Enjoy whichever season is coming your way.

Cheers

Bill.  

The Snow Travel Expo is on this Sunday (27th of May) in Sydney.  Come on  down to the Bills Trips stand to have all of your Gulmarg questions answered.  I will also be givimg a slide presentation on the main stage big screen at some point throughout the day.  Hope to see you there.

Cheers Bill

G'day

I have just returned from another great winter in Gulmarg.  I cannot count the number of powder days we had.  Regular storms kept rolling through from earl Jan until mid March.  Happy days.  Join the mailing list to receive the March newsletter which contains a semi wrap up of the season just gone.  2013 dates and prices will be released in the next two weeks.  Book early to secure your preffered dates as interest is very high.

Big cheers

Bill

Mid Season Update

Sorry, been too busy for weekly updates as planned.  Powder turns and Apres beers were higher priority than afternoon computing.  

The winter so far.  

Great 5 weeks since I arrived.  Powder on offer nearly every day……… mixed in with a few avalanche, lift operations and explosives supply issues.  The upper gondola was closed for a few extra days than normal but this in no way stopped us from scoring epic turns most days. Safe, low angle or treed terrain and the inbounds zone was the go for the first few weeks and now the snowpack has settled the steeper alpine terrain has come into play. 

The new chairlift has proved its worth by allowing us onto the upper mountain on days of snowfall and high winds which would have previously had us skiing the lower elevation trees. Consistent, however not huge storms, have been freshening up the mountain every week or so giving us a blank canvas not long after all the near gondola terrain was tracked.  The heli operation has also been a winner with many clients having an epic time on the Max Vert Day and calling our “one drop, heli lift touring day” their best ever. One of the beauty’s of Gulmarg is the options on offer.  

As I write this we are being hit by another storm.  Better go and have an apres beer and work out where we are going to score the goods tomorrow.  

Cheers.

Bill 

ps. If you do "facebook", check out the "Bills Trips" page for photos. 

Week 1 Wrap Up.

G’day all. 

Here is the first of the planned weekly updates so you can keep in touch with how the season is panning out here in Kashmir .

A classic Gulmarg week and the best start to winter for a few years.

New lift’s opening, high avalanche danger, new lift’s breaking down, no change at the ticket counter, but…..the skiing was epic!  For the few of us out there, plenty of safe options with dry powder were on offer.  All you needed was the right gear and be willing to put in a little effort (once the lift broke) to be hugely rewarded. Every run was fresh freeze dried powder and we rode different areas each day.

Patrol Director and all round Mt Hotham legend, Larry Doyle, has been here for the week and is calling his best skiing since somewhere in the States back in the 80’s.   Admittedly he doesn’t get out much, but still, 6 days of sunny skies and untracked lines is great by anyone’s standard.

The base was great (but not perfect) in the alpine area, but until today, most of the lower elevation tree skiing was best avoided. 

As I write this, it is snowing reasonable hard, adding to the 40cm we have had here in the village since midnight.  Once the storm clears, all areas should be in pretty good to great shape, and the extra load of the new snow may have caused some natural slides in the alpine area which will help to reduce the avalanche danger.

Check the photos on my Facebook pages!

Stay tuned for regular updates on my Blog and Facebook page.

Just back in from our third day on the hill. An awesome way to start the season with knee deep, super dry powder, a new chairlift and only about 30 people to share it with.  Although the base needs more before it is perfect, there are plenty of fresh lines to go around. Early season bliss for those who are here. 

First Blog of the Winter.

I arrived yesterday and about 30cm had fallen the previous day in the village.  We had about another 10 today down here, there is about a meter at the mid station and it is still snowing lightly.

There was not much on the ground before this storm but there will be enough up high to give us some great turns on phase two once the patrol have finished avi control which is scheduled for Sunday.

No one around at the moment so plenty of fresh lines to be had for those who have arrived early.  If the predicted back up storm next week delivers, the base will be decent and we will be in a much better position than this time last year. 

I will try to keep the blog updated so you can keep track of how the season is panning out. 

Stay tuned.

Cheers

Bill