Snowboarding attracts Kashmir youth

The high mountains of Kashmir covered with snow presents a spectacular view. Only a snowboarder knows the feeling of flying at high speed through the air and gliding on the powdery snow on these mountains. The stories of bragging about the highest jump and the fastest glide have started as the snowboarders are back in action on the slopes.
For Firdous Ahmad Chaila, it all started with skiing. A snowboarder and skier, he has worked with different institutions and international clients as an instructor.
He introduced snowboarding in the early 90s in Kashmir during the time when it was not even popular in European countries.
In the early 90’s, Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering started their activities again in Kashmir and invited him to work as a skiing instructor with them and an institute with like-minded people was started, he says while sharing his experiences of yesteryears.
During his time in Gulmarg, he met a guy from New Zealand, Tim May and his family. Tim was a snowboarder and every time Firdous was fascinated to see him on snowboard.
Firdous recalled, “I approached him and said that I want to learn the sport. He offered me a snowboard and shoes. In the excitement I forgot to ask him how to do it. My first day was very rough. Next day, on his recommendations, I chose a flat slope and tried to go slowly on my heels. This is how I learnt it and then it was fun.”
Soon many locals of Gulmarg, Tangmarg got interested in the sport and a group of snowboarders and skiers with the name Snow Leopards was found. Today the group has professional snowboarders than skiers.
Snowboarding is usually done on Mount Apharwat, a summit in Jammu and Kashmir. The peak is situated at a height of 4,390 metres above the sea level in Gulmarg. The mountain is dangerous yet beautiful.
“There is a lot of scope for winter sports. If it can be further uplifted, we can have the best business for winter sports,” he said.
After all these years, he still goes for snowboarding with the same zeal and enthusiasm. He said, “Every year, I close my season and start thinking about next season. I along with my group, Snow Leopards go and explore places. I believe snowboarding will be with me till the end of my life,” he said.
Firdous has snowboarded in France, Greece and other European countries and feels the infrastructure there is much developed with good connectivity.
He said that he got many chances to work in foreign countries but he never wanted to leave Gulmarg and always tried to boost Gulmarg with winter sports.
“Many adventure photographers and filmmakers approached me for filming in Gulmarg. I, along with some big film making companies, gave a boost to Gulmarg as far as winter sports is concerned,” he said.
He has now started his own company X-Adventure Travels Kashmir for trekking and skiing by providing various learning programs in Gulmarg.
“For these winters, we will start our own snowboarding courses and teach it to young people. There is no snow till now otherwise we would have started. It’s dangerous to go with the stones,” he added.
Rizza Alee is an athlete and a filmmaker with a passion for mountain biking, climbing, and snowboarding. He was part of the tragic 2019 expedition to Mount Everest and his photo from the expedition went viral gaining worldwide attention to the crisis of over trafficking on the mountain. He also shot a short documentary film called ‘Everest, The Mountain That Changed My Life’ and co-directed a documentary called ‘Kashmir: Skiing in a Conflict Zone’.
He was recently assigned as an athlete ambassador by GoPro, one of the world’s leading action camera brands. He believes that as an athlete, this has been the most exciting partnership that will give visibility to Kashmiri snowboarders and other local athletes. I also represent SunGod, Garmin, and Scott Sports as their global Athletic Ambassador, he said.
He has been snowboarding for the past five years. Being attracted to nature and the mountains as a kid, he couldn’t wait for the winter season to begin so that he could go out and play in the snow.
“My attraction to the sport of snowboarding began at the age of 16 when I saw some of my friends snowboarding and skiing in Gulmarg. I wanted to fully immerse myself in the sport as I was obsessed with the art of balancing. Balance is such a simple, yet profound concept as I believe snowboarding is a great metaphor and exercise for finding balance in life,” he said.
He said that being on the board is one of the best feelings of euphoria that cannot be properly justified in words.
What excites him is that more and more young people in Kashmir are getting into snowboarding. He said that on a recent trip to Gulmarg, he noticed that there has been a considerable increase in the number of young snowboarders on the slopes.
“It’s rapidly becoming a trend and I hope it continues to grow more and more each year,” he added.
Numra, a snowboarder, has been into the sport for a year. She started with skiing when she was in her fifth standard and later on took up the sport for the thrill and adventure it provided to her.
“I saw no other female in Kashmir snowboarding. I thought it’s an opportunity to go for it. The reason is that the sport is still new among the females and people think the sport has few opportunities to provide which is not the case,” she said.
She further said that snowboarding provides a good number of opportunities.
“Its fun being on the snowboard. My instructor taught the know-how of the sport to me in a day and next day I went on my own. Anyone can do it. There is no difficulty one can get while gliding if they are doing it the proper way,” she added.
She said that she along with her friends are all set to hit the slopes on board in the next month. “We have a lot of expectations. The sport sees no age or gender so it’s for everyone,” she added.