Skiing At Auli:
In March 2003, I led an enthusiastic team of twenty from Adventure Sports Club of IIT Kanpur to Skiing expedition at Auli organized by Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam.
During the month of March, the Auli slopes are usually covered with a thick carpet of snow, about 3ft deep. The stretch of 3-kms with a drop in elevation of 1000m (descending from 3049 meters to 2915 meters) are flanked by stately conifers and oaks which cut wind velocity to minimum and make it an ideal place for skiing activities. All the equipment - skis, ski-shoes and ski sticks as well as boarding, lodging and chair lift facilities are provided by the school. Instructors are available round the clock for guidanceThe skiing classes are held in the morning sessions from 9.00 am to 1.30 pm. An 800m long chair lift connects the lower slopes with upper slopes in Auli, making it easy for skiers to zip up in moments. The course is structured and starts off with mild exercises on the flatter planes of snow to help the beginners get accustomed to the equipment, learn how to move and brake. Then comes the side stepping, herringbone walk to progress against the slope, the correct body position to increase maneuverability and snow ploughing to reduce speed and brake on an incline. When one has mastered these basics he/she progresses to the steeper slopes and further classes comprise the shifting of weight and adjustment of body position to make turns with ease and ski in a zig-zag fashion as well skiing with the skis in the parallel position to increase speed.
The 500 mt long ski-lift facilitates the quick return of the skiiers from the lower slopes back to the starting point on the upper slopes. As the course progresses the skiiers shift their starting point further to still steeper slopes. By the seventh day the skiiers are capable of skiing at rapid speeds and also make jumps.
Click here for the Skiing Album |
Click here for Skiing Article
Team Members Were:
| Abhimanyu Sagar |
| Abhinav Manchanda |
| Abhinav Sharma |
| Aditi Raval |
| Ajay Kumar Shukla |
| Ankur Garg |
| Archisman Ghosh |
| Avinash Rawat |
| Dharmendra Kumar |
| Gaurav Pathak |
| Gaurav Sharma |
| Prasoon Diwakar |
| Rahul Agarwal |
| Rohan Moitra |
| Susan Marcus |
| Sushobhan Awasthi |
| Umang Nagpal |
| Vinay Khaitan |
| Vishwesha |
| Ziaul Hasan |
| Nikhil Aggarwal |
We also had a Guest Member-Aditya Jindal, cousin of Abhimanyu Saagar, a doctor from Chandigarh.