KASHMIR
RECOMMENDED BY Chris Patterson
As principal director/cinematographer at Warren Miller films for two decades, Chris Patterson has scouted out some of the world’s most out-of-the-way skiing venues. “Once I earned my wings at Warren Miller and had filmed at many of the more conventional mountains, I began pursuing places that captivated me,” Chris explained. “I keep a folder of exotic places—Ecuador, Morocco, India. Adventure is part of my DNA; I’m the kind of person who, when I see an article in National Geographic about Mongolia that’s talking about the nomadic life of herders, my eyes are drawn to the mountain that’s way in the background of the accompanying photograph. I’m wondering, Can we film there?
“One of the out-of-the-ordinary trips that sticks out for me is Kashmir, in northern India. I’ve actually filmed there twice. Both the skiing and the overall experience are phenomenal. You have the allure of the big, big mountains—we were often skiing at elevations between twelve thousand and fifteen thousand feet, with mountains like Nanga Parbat exceeding twenty-five thousand feet in the distance. Our helicopter pilot was on oxygen! The quality of the snow is amazing, and there are massive quantities of it. Plus, there’s the edginess of being in a conflict zone, as Gulmarg, where we were based, is right near the border with Pakistan; it’s just twenty-five miles away from the place where Osama bin Laden was found and killed. We didn’t see any conflict, just lots of soldiers milling around, though apparently there is the odd stray rocket that gets lobbed over the mountains from time to time. As I was up in the helicopter a fair amount of time, I couldn’t help but hope that there wasn’t a soldier at a rocket station nearby who dozed off, woke up suddenly to the sound of a helicopter, and instinctively pressed the fire button. Gulmarg has a scattering of hotels. Some are labeled five-star, though the five-star hotel I stayed at didn’t have heat or hot water.”
For some, Kashmir may more frequently reside in the file folder of dangerous conflict zones rather than a dream ski destination. Situated in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent—between India, Pakistan, and China—Kashmir has been contested by all three countries for generations, though particularly between India and Pakistan. It’s no wonder the region has been an object of desire; thanks to its incredible natural beauty, the area—particularly the Kashmir Valley—has been called a paradise on earth. Gulmarg, the valley’s main resort area, sits in the Pir Panjals, one of the six ranges that comprise the Himalayas. It’s been called “the heartland of Indian winter sports”; though one must admit that India is not generally recognized for its abundance of winter sports.
While heli-skiers will find themselves quite alone on the mountains around Gulmarg, those visiting the resort in town will encounter nothing like solitude. “There’s a beginner slope with a rope tow,” Chris continued, “and there, many people are visiting from India’s southern cities, wearing their normal day-to-day attire. I’d say that it’s the same atmosphere that you see on Indian roads, except the people are on skis. If someone like me were to drive in India, I’d have an accident within ten seconds, but somehow the local people make it flow. People are going the wrong way on the hill, young people are pushing their mom or uncle up the slope on skis. Men who have built wooden sleds will offer to tow you up the hill for a few coins. There’s no order at the lift line. People cut in front of each other randomly. At the larger ski area, there are two gondolas, one that takes you to midstation, another that takes you to the top. At the time, instead of paying a daily lift ticket, you paid for each stage of the ride, four or five dollars. Very few people ski the top half of the mountain, which is well above the tree line. It’s big-mountain powder skiing; there are some signs and boundaries, but you can pretty much go wherever you want. [The top lift drops you off at nearly thirteen thousand feet.]
“On my last trip, we had some weather and couldn’t go up in the helicopters, so we tried to take the tram up. When we got to the gondola, there was a sign:
UPPER GONDOLA CLOSED, NO MORE BOMBS.
It turns out that the resort gets its explosives for avalanche control from the military. That day, the army had said that they couldn’t spare any munitions for skiing.”
Gulmarg’s wide-open terrain (and attitude) allows for some interesting touring potential. “You could start skiing down from the top of the gondola, and then skin over to a spot where you could ski down into a different valley,” Chris said, “where there were no skiers at all. We skied all the way down to a town called Tangmarg. The town is on the bus line that heads over the mountain pass into Pakistan. It’s a crossroads of sorts, and there’s a hubbub of activity. People negotiating fees, travelers with chickens, all their belongings wrapped up in rugs. We had two female skiers with us, with blond hair and Day-Glo clothing. We stuck out like Martians. The bus was very full inside, and we opted to sit on the roof. It was snowing hard, and the bus had bald tires and had overall seen much better days. We figured we’d have a better chance of survival from the top of the bus; if it started to go off the road, we could jump off. Though Kashmir is a conflict zone and the culture is very unfamiliar, it never felt like a truly dangerous place. I think you could find more trouble driving through certain parts of Los Angeles.”
Chris’s defining Kashmiri moment came during a day of filming. “We didn’t have the greatest weather forecast that day,” he recalled, “but the skies that morning were clear, and we had a short window to shoot. When you’re on a film assignment, you have a hit list of the kind of footage you need to get. In this case, I wanted to get some shots of a skier with the big mountains in the distance while the weather was clear, some close-ups, which we could get even if the weather went south, and some shots that captured the grandeur of the mountains. Our helicopter pilot was a New Zealander—very talented, but also a bit on the reckless side. (Most of the Kiwi pilots are cowboys.) Generally, when I’m shooting from a helicopter, I strap myself in the doorway. I thought it would be interesting to try to get the shots from the basket instead of from the doorway, and I asked the pilot if he’d be willing to try that. He was. I asked if it was safe, and he replied, ‘Nothing is safe, we’re at fifteen thousand feet in the mountains.’ I did it anyway.
“We sped out through these gnarly mountains, racing toward the leading edge of the Karakorum Range, and I’m sitting out in the basket. There was no better view of these mountains on the planet, nothing could compete. I kept asking myself, Is this really happening? I got my scenics, and then we returned to our skiers, who were positioned at the line of control. The backs of their skis were in Pakistan, the tips in India.
“I’ve filmed many great vistas over the years. But seeing them waiting there for our signal, at this altitude, was a view and an experience that trumped them all.”
CHRIS PATTERSON has spent the last nineteen years as the principal director/cinematographer of the annual Warren Miller Films and spends five months each year shooting their latest action sports feature film. He recently worked as director of photography of an action unit on Christopher Nolan’s feature film Inception, and has also worked as cinematographer on films and TV spots for directors Klaus Obermeyer (Visa, Lipitor, Navy), Jake Scott (HP), Tony Scott (Army), Baker Smith (Air Force), Rob Cohen (Dunkin’ Donuts), Leslie Libman (Extreme Team), and Zalman King (Wind on Water). He is the cofounder and cinematographer for Confluence Films, which creates fly-fishing movies that bring his action filming aesthetic to the world’s best fly-fishing waters. Chris has shot hundreds of projects for international resorts, manufacturers, branded entertainment, television programs, and documentary films in forty-plus countries and on some of the highest mountains around the world. In the last ten years, he has helped create many automobile advertisements, working with Ford, Nissan, Buick, Toyota, Hyundai, Jeep, and Lincoln. Chris also finds time to have fun; he’s an expert skier, snowboarder, climber, and kayaker, and loves mountain biking, hockey, and fly-fishing. When he’s not on assignment, Chris is at home with his family in Montana.
If You Go
Getting There: Gulmarg is a two-hour drive from Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir. Srinagar is served by several airlines (via Delhi and Mumbai), including Air India (800-223-7776; www.airindia.com).
Season: Mid-December through mid-April; the heli-ski season is a bit shorter.
Lift Tickets: The ride to mid-mountain is 150 rupees; to the second stage, 250 rupees. An unlimited gondola day pass costs 1,250 rupees (about $24). Kashmir Heliski (www.kashmirheliski.in) offers daily and weeklong heli-skiing adventures out of Gulmarg; a six-day all-inclusive skiing package is listed at 450,00 rupees. Maqsood Madarie (www.newjacqulinehouseboats.com) can help you coordinate the logistics of your trip.
Level of Difficulty: There are no trail maps or trail ratings for Gulmarg. The heights alone—often above twelve thousand feet—would suggest that only very fit individuals travel to Gulmarg to ski.
Accommodations: As Chris described, the hotels in Gulmarg will not likely exceed your expectations. A few that have received more positive reviews include The Vintage (www.thevintage.in/gulmarg.htm), Khyber Resorts (www.khyberhotels.com), and the Heritage Hotel Highlands Park (www.hotelhighlandspark.com).