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

 The Aussie ski season has come and gone without too much to get excited about.  More like a prolonged spring than a real winter. There was plenty of good weather and lots of fun turns to be had but after the great start we were expecting a bit more from it.  If you are keen, there is still plenty of snow on the main range but for me it's time to squeeze in as much climbing and surfing as possible before heading over to Gulmarg to get my fix of face shots.

There are still a few spots available on the early and late season  trips. My personal favourite times to be in Gulmarg. Although crowds are rarely a problem, outside of peak season, the visitor numbers are reduced dramatically so you get many more laps staright off the gondola before having to search a little for fresh lines. 

Also, the new chairlift is ready to spin as soon as we have snow on  the ground.  This will open up some great options on days where the upper gondola is closed due to high wind, poor visability or heavy snowfall.  Excitng times ahead.

Have a fun summer or winter, whichever is coming your way.

Cheers

Bill

I am stoked to able to announce Peter Nicholas from Sydney as the winner of a pair of 2011 K2 skis.  Peter entered the competition at the Bills Trips stand at the Sydney Snow Travel Expo back in May and is now the proud owner of a pair of K2 Aftershocks. (The best one ski quiver for Australia)  Biggest thanks to K2 Australia for donating the skis and to everyone who entered the competition. 

Cheers Bill

Looks like the first really good storm of the winter has just started here at Hotham.  The guru's are calling for somewhere between 50 and 100cm's in the next few days.  We will see what happens but right now it is blowing and snowing very hard.  I will be surprised if we dont get enough to get Heavenly Valley spinning in the next few days.  So far conditions have been ok for June however we are ready for the real deal and to start getting some fair dinkum powder turns.

On Gulmarg. Trips are filling fast with only a few spots available during the peak season of late Jan until Mid Feb.  All is very quiet on the political unrest situation and all I have seen in the media is positive news.  Great for the locals who had such a hard time last summer with constant strikes and protests. Get in quick for your preffered dates.

Gotta go and wax up the "Darksides".  I love it when I get to pull my Gulmarg skis out here at Hotham.

Cheers

Bill 

G'day all

Had my first turns of the Aussie winter yesterday.  Not a bad day to start the season.  Blue sky, dry snow, not much wind and enough cover to open a few lifts and get some turns in.  Who knows what the season will bring, however, like most Aussie winters you can probably expect a few epic storms that are worth dropping everything and heading for the hills.

To stay in touch with what's happenning at Hotham, check out my daily reports on www.mountainwatch.com.  No resort marketing department fluffing, just the real conditions, as they are, on every day of the season.

Have a great southern hemisphere winter.

Cheers

Bill

The Melbourne Snow Travel Expo is on this Sunday from 10 am  until 4 pm at the Exhibition Centre.

Come to the Bill's Trips stand, fire away with any Gulmarg questions and check out my slide and movie presentation on the big screen.

Go in the draw to win a pair of 2011 K2 skis care of Bill's Trips and K2 Australia.

By the way, some mates had their first turns for the winter a couple of days ago and sounded pretty good.  Not bad for May!

Cheers

Bill

The "Snow Travel Expo" is on again in Melbourne on May 15^th and Sydney on May 22nd.  Times and locations on www.snowtravelexpo.com.au  

Bills Trips will have a stand where you can come along and ask Bill any questions you may have regarding Gulmarg.  I will also be giving a slide show and presenting “Azadi” on the big screen at each venue.  

“Azadi” – “Freedom” is an amazing ski film made in Gulmarg last year by a friend of mine which gives an awesome insight into the whole Kashmir experience.  It is currently on the Banff Film Festival world tour which is now screening in Australia . Get down to one of the showings if you can as all the films shown are mind blowing.

See you at the Snow Travel Expo.  

Cheers. 

Bill

R.I.P. Kip Garre and Alison Kreutzen.

Very sad news just reached me.

Kip and his girlfriend Alison have died in an avalanche while ski mountaineering at home in the Sierras. Anyone who had the pleasure of being guided by Kip in Kashmir, Alaska or elsewhere will know how sorely he will be missed among family, friends and clients. It has been an honour to work, ski and laugh with you buddy, a huge hole has been left by your passing.  Alison was also one of the worlds very special people.

Biggest cheers for all the good times.

Bill.

(Kip helped establish and train the Ski Patrol in Gulmarg in 2005-6 and was a senior guide with Bill's Trips and Points North in Alaska.)   For more information on the events leading up to their deaths go to  www.powdermag.com 

G'day all.

I am showing "Azadi" tonight, Friday the 29th April at Geelong Snow Sports.  "Azadi" is an award winning ski film made in Gulmarg last season by a friend of mine.  I will also show some slides and answer any questions. Starts at 6pm.  See you there.

Hope all you Victorian surfers made the most of the classic waves over the Easter break.  I was stoked to hit the coast and score an epic run of waves.  Hope to squeeze in a few more before the Aussie winter kicks in.

Cheers

Bill 

Back home after scoring some great late season powder in BC.  I Went to Canada under the guise of marketing, networking and training but once all those boxes were ticked the focus quickly turned to be more about skiing powder, catching up with old friends and skiing more powder.   Red Mountain , Big Red Cats, Snow Water Heli Ski and Revelstoke all turned on with end of season snowfalls. Yee haa.

Dates for next season’s Gulmarg trips should be up in the next few days. Confirmed bookings and a lot of serious interest coming in already so get in early to guarantee your preferred dates.  Bookings paid before end of May will receive a 5% discount.

Cheers

Bill