Go, get cold feet

For someone whose athletic experience is limited to a walk around the neighbourhood and whose only sighting of snow has been in the freezer of an ancient childhood refrigerator snowboarding in Kashmir sounds overwhelmingly daunting But 25 yearold Mohsin Memon organiser of Snow Stoked mdash a snowboarding trip to Gulmarg mdash guarantees that the most athleticallychallenged person can learn to handle the board in a week ldquoYou donrsquot require any kind of prior training or experience to snowboardrdquo he reassures me ldquoThe most important thing you need is the will to learn and tryrdquo January to March is the best time to go snowboarding in Gulmargafp photo Mumbaibased Memon grew up in the US which is where his enthusiasm for snowboarding first took off Memomrsquos first time on the board was in New Jersey when he along with his brother randomly decided to go snowboarding and convinced their parents to take them to Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania Not knowing how to snowboard or even what to wear the two siblings looked up some videos on YouTube donned a pair of jeans mdash incidentally the worst type of clothing for snowboarding rented a snowboard and hoped for the best ldquoWe got onto a ski lift with everyone elserdquo remembers Memon ldquoIt kept taking us higher and higher and we ended up at the highest point We werenrsquot afraid because we thought it was completely normalrdquo The two ended up on a black diamond rated slope a notoriously difficult level Mohsin Memomu00a0cofounder of Snow Stoked Deciding to ask people in the vicinity for help wasnrsquot exactly useful ldquoWe went up to a guy and asked him how to stop a snowboardrdquo laughs Memon ldquoHe looked at us said lsquoYoursquore kidding rightrsquo and just walked off We thought he was incredibly ruderdquo After getting a few pointers from more benevolent strangers the two snowboarded down the nearly 85degree slope full of steep turns and curves and fell the whole way down ldquoThe next day we were in great painrdquo laughs Memon ldquoEvery muscle of our body hurtrdquo The less than perfect start didnrsquot deter Memon Practice he now believes is key u00a0ldquoI love the incredible rush it gives merdquo says Memon Shifting base to India didnrsquot quell the spirits of this adventure junkie He managed to sneak in snowboarding trips to Gulmarg and surfing trips to Manipal in the midst of founding Memcorp Learning amp Performance Solutions a corporate training company Snow Stoked is the result of a combined effort of Memonrsquos organisation and White Collar Hippie an offbeat travel company Snowed under Snow Stokedrsquos previous avtar in early 2012 only had people from Indiarsquos corporate world learning to ride the board on the powdery slopes ldquoThe experience was absolutely magnificentrdquo says Memon passionately ldquoSo many of our family and friends wanted to come along that this year we decided to keep it open for everyonerdquo Registrations are open for weeklong trips that begin on February 2 and go on through March Theyrsquoll be happy to extend your visit to two or even three weeks if you canrsquot bear saying goodbye to all that snowu00a0During the week professional trainers will teach you how to snowboard like a pro At the end of the trip yoursquoll even get professional certification promises Memon Donrsquot let the thought of flying down a slope on a piece of wood make you queasy ldquoLast year there were people who were so scared of falling down and even of getting on a board let alone riding it downrdquo recalls Memon ldquoAnd by the end of the week they were going down the slopes flawlesslyrdquo Four of the 12 groupmembers from last year even ended up becoming so good that Memon and the trainers took them higher up into the mountains to snowboard The rush he assures me was indescribable Cold comfort The biggest issue a novice snowboarder has to deal with is demotivation ldquoThe sport beats you up at firstrdquo warns Memon ldquoYoursquoll fall down a lot You might not be able to do it instantly You might even feel like giving uprdquo But just when you reach that breaking point is the time for a resounding motivational speech and the need to push a little harder ldquoBecause when yoursquore finally able to do it the sense of accomplishment you feel is tremendousrdquo What was a hill station popular among 19th century British colonialists that wanted to escape the Indian summer Gulmarg now attracts winter sports junkies from around the world It has also become increasingly popular among young Indians ldquoI think snowboarding is becoming more popular in India because of the rising popularity of board sports in generalrdquo says Memon ldquoMany people especially the younger crowd are really into snowboarding skating surfing Itrsquos the in thing right nowrdquo The relative lack of crowds as compared to popular Alpine skiing destinations isnrsquot the only thing that attracts foreign visitors ldquoLast year I was talking to a guy who had come all the way from Ohiordquo says Memon ldquoWersquove been on some of the best snow slopes across the world but we both come to Gulmarg because itrsquos the u00a0most beautifulrdquo Break the ice The best time to enjoy winter sports is between January and March For a visit to Gulmarg all you need to be armed with is your basic winter attire mdash woolens gloves and boots mdash everything else is available on location If you need a break from all the vigorous exercise snowboarding is sure to subject you to therersquos the Gulmarg Gondola one of the highest ski lifts in the world The gorgeous locale offers opportunities for sightseeing and picturesque moments galore but what people most enjoy is just being in the snow making snowmen and having snow fights Before packing your bags for Kashmir however Memon has some words of advice ldquoGo with a credible source someone who has been there beforerdquo he cautions ldquoA trip to Gulmarg is not like going to Matheran If you end up in a hotel that has no hot water it could spell trouble Someone whorsquos been there before will know what to look out for Also bringing your friends along canrsquot hurtrdquo u00a0If no friends want to head off to climes colder than Mumbai however Snow Stoked seems like a great way for solo travellers to make some friends on the slopesu00a0 For more details contact 91 9930260748 Location Gulmarg is 52 km away from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir Days needed 7 Best time to travel For winter sports January to Marchu00a0 Reaching there Srinagar is the closest airport with direct flights from Mumbai Gulmarg is roughly an hourandahalf drive away If yoursquore opting for Snow Stoked theyrsquoll take care of transportation to and fromu00a0the airportu00a0