Where Did All the Snow Go?: Why One of the Highest Ski Resorts in the World Looks Like This

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Every year, Indian winter sports enthusiasts in particular flock to the Gulmarg ski area in the Himalayas. There is usually a lot of snow on the slopes. But right now, things look bad. Mud nightmare instead of winter dream. There is simply no snow. And all this in one of the highest ski areas in the world.

The weather is to blame. It’s just too dry this time. No clouds full of snow to be seen. A problem for the local economy. For example, for ski instructor Asif Ahmad Bhat (23). He is currently unemployed. Otherwise he has a lot to do.

“We don’t want them to be disappointed.”

But the big snow didn’t come, and with it the orders. He discouraged many customers from coming. “We don’t want them to be disappointed,” he told CNN. In the meantime it was getting warmer and warmer. Most of the snow that has fallen so far has melted.

Bhat still doesn’t give up hope that something will happen in the sky. “We will see in the second half of January whether there is still snow. Then we go to our customers.”

In summer the place is popular with hikers

Snowboard instructor Sahil Ahmed Lone (25) also had many cancellations. And he had to take customers who had already traveled to Gulmarg to the ski resort ten to twelve kilometers away. At least there was some snow there. “But they weren’t happy about it because there wasn’t much snow and there were rocks,” Lone told CNN.

Gulmarg is popular not only in winters but also in summers. Then hikers and adventurers come to the region. The tourism sector is booming. Last year more than 1.5 million tourists came. The fact that the winter season is off to such a bad start puts a damper on expectations for 2024. Tourism director Raja Yaqoob is still confident that the snow will still come. “We expect a lot of snow in the coming day, so that the past few weeks can be compensated.” (ymh)

Source: Blick