After five Ski batches of boys and girls completed their Introductory Ski Course being Sponsored by the Tourism Department, the 6th and the final batch of boys was flagged from TRC, Srinagar towards Gulmarg on Saturday.Deputy Director (Recreation), Ideel Saleem, Deputy Director (Registration), Ahsan-ul-haq Chishti and Tourist Officer, Mudasir Mushtaq interacted with the partcipants before flagging them off to Gulmarg.The group of participants drawn from various districts of J&K will undergo the 7- Day Introductory Ski Course at Gulmarg during which the group will be introduced to the basics of Skiing. All the lodging & boarding and the Ski equipment is being provided free of cost by the Tourism Department. A four member Ski Instructors team is imparting Skiing training to these beginners.The Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir had drawn a weekly calender for imparting skiing training to as many as 6 groups this season. Among these 6 groups, two were exclusively meant for girls.
The first five batches with twenty participants in each group completed their Introductory Ski Course on 31 Dec, 2020, 13 Jan, 20 Jan, 27 Jan and 6 Feb, 2021. This winter season, boys and girls from other States /UTs including Kerala, West Bengal, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, New Delhi and Ladakh also participated as part of the Adventure Tourism promotional initiatives by the J&K Tourism Department and to give opportunities to the youth in the snow sports arena. The boys and girl participants expressed immense joy and thanked the Tourism Department for the unique learning and thrilling opportunity provided to them this winter season.During the course of the Introductory Ski training, three of the best among the trainees in each of the six groups will be selected and sponsored by the Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir for Intermediate & Advance level courses.Apart from the Tourism Department, hundreds of boys and girls are being imparted basic Ski training this season by the Youth Services & Sports Department. The Indian Institute of Skiing & Mountaineering has also been conducting various Ski training courses at Gulmarg.