The lure of a forbidding mountain, with its sheets of deceptively beautiful snow, is a powerful draw for adventurers. Over the ages, countless explorers have heeded that primal call, scaling the treacherous ranges of the Himalayas. Still, there a few virgin peaks in the mountains – though no one knows how many. Japanese and British climbers were the first to organise expeditions to challenging peaks of the hill state, but in the absence of official records of explorers’ and mountaineers’ routes, the words “first ascent” and “unclimbed peak” become controversial. Easy approach to base camp and the relatively hassle-free procedure of obtaining permit make climbing expeditions in Himachal cheap and highly popular. A few peaks are more difficult to conquer than Mt Everest, a few have been scaled repeatedly and a few remain unexplored. While many peaks have good success rates, scaling attempts have remained unsuccessful for the most part on a few. Senior climber Rajeev Sharma, retired deputy director from Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS), says there are many virgin peaks in the Mulkila and Dhauladhar ranges of Himachal. “The Akela-kela near Rohtang is a virgin peak. Many have been attempted and a few are still to be explored. Some are more challenging than the Everest. A large number of peaks in Himachal were explored by the British in the 1930s and 40s. These include White Sail, Ladakhi, Hanuman Tibba and Deo Tibba. Over 100 peaks are still virgin and unnamed,” he said. Rajeev, who has scaled the Everest twice, now organises climbing expeditions. His Japanese expedition teams have scaled seven virgin peaks in Karcha Nullah and Parang-La over the past decade. The Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) coordinator for Himachal says, “The IMF is creating a database of all the peaks with details of first ascents.” As it is, there is no dearth of explorers who want to go down in history as the first
The lure of a forbidding mountain, with its sheets of deceptively beautiful snow, is a powerful draw for adventurers. Over the ages, countless explorers have heeded that primal call, scaling the treacherous ranges of the Himalayas. Still, there a few virgin peaks in the mountains – though no one knows how many. Japanese and British climbers
दिल में कुछ कर गुजरने की तमन्ना हो तो कोई भी बाधा मंजिल के आड़े नहीं आ सकती। इस बात को सार्थक कर दिखाया है अंतरराष्ट्रीय स्कीयर बन चुकी मनाली के एक छोटे से गांव बुरूआ की आंचल ने। नन्हीं आंचल जब नंगे पांव बर्फ पर बेखौफ भाग जाया करती थी और मां के बार-बार टोकने पर भी माईनस तापमान में अठखेलियां करने से बाज नहीं आती थी। भूख-प्यास सब कुछ भूल जाती थी। आंचल दूसरे बच्चों की तरह लकड़ी के तीन फट्टे जोड़कर आईस बन चुकी बर्फ पर फिसलने के बचपन के आनंद को कभी नहीं भुला सकती। गांव के स्कूल सरस्वती विद्या मंदिर में प्रारम्भिक शिक्षा प्राप्त करने के दौरान वह कई बार स्कूल से छुट्टी के बाद सीधे घर नहीं आती थी, बल्कि बस्ते और किताबों की परवाह किए बगैर बर्फ की ढलानों की ओर चली जाती और देर सांय ही घर वापिस लौटती। कई बार आंचल के पिता को उसे घर वापिस लाने के लिए स्वयं जाना पड़ता था। हालांकि, आंचल के पिता भी साहसिक खेल स्कीइंग के काफी शौकीन रहे हैं जिसके चलते वह अपनी बेटी की जिद्द पर कदापि उसे फटकार नहीं लगाते थे। आंचल अब आठवीं कक्षा में हो चुकी थी और बिना बताए चुपके से एक दिन वह अपने पिता का स्कीइंग सैट लेकर बर्फ की ढलानों पर चली गई। चूंकि वह अभी स्कीइंग सैट को संभालने के काबिल नहीं थी जिसके कारण उसके पैरों और टांगों में अनेक जगहों पर चोटें आई। उसे अच्छे से स्कीइंग सैट को लगाना भी नहीं आ रहा था। पिता को यह सब देखकर एक बार बुरा अवश्य लगा, लेकिन वह आंचल के जुनून से बेखबर भी नहीं थे। वह समझ चुके थे कि आंचल अब रूकने वाली नहीं है और डांट-फटकार तो फिजूल है। आंचल के पिता रोशन लाल ने उस दिन के बाद स्वयं
दिल में कुछ कर गुजरने की तमन्ना हो तो कोई भी बाधा मंजिल के आड़े नहीं आ सकती। इस बात को सार्थक कर दिखाया है अंतरराष्ट्रीय स्कीयर बन चुकी मनाली के एक छोटे से गांव बुरूआ की आंचल ने। नन्हीं आंचल जब नंगे पांव बर्फ पर बेखौफ भाग जाया करती थी और मां के बार-बार
Kullu administration on Tuesday imposed complete ban on water sports including river rafting and paragliding with immediate effect. The decision was taken given the monsoon rains and swelling water level of all rivers and their tributaries in the district. Tourism and civil aviation deputy director Bhag Chand Negi said water level is very high in Beas and other streams following the rain. “Taking precautionary measure to avoid any accident, river rafting in Beas and paragliding at all sites in Kullu have been stopped till September 15. Strict compliance of the order would be ensured,” he said. Both water and aero sports become very risky during this time. Administration bans rafting every year in monsoon season under River Rafting Act 2005 and bans paragliding under section Himachal Pradesh Aero Sports Rules, 2004. The ban is generally lifted on September 15. The administration has also requested people to stay away from rivers and nullahs during rain as sudden rise in water level can result in flood like situation. The hydel projects here also release surplus water from reservoir which causes sudden rise in water level in rivers.
Kullu administration on Tuesday imposed complete ban on water sports including river rafting and paragliding with immediate effect. The decision was taken given the monsoon rains and swelling water level of all rivers and their tributaries in the district. Tourism and civil aviation deputy director Bhag Chand Negi said water level is very high in
A five-member rafting team from India is participating in Senior World Rafting Championships at Tunceli city of Turkey. This is the first time that the Indian team is participating in the world rafting championship. Four athletes and a coach-cum-reserve player from Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS), Manali, are representing the country in the championships being organized by World Rafting Federation (WRF) and Turkish Rafting Federation (TRF). The event is being organized in the Munzur river from June 8 to 13. The Indian team reached Tunceli on Sunday morning and did some practice runs to warm up. The opening ceremony was held on Sunday evening and competition will start from Monday. Gimnar Singh, Naveen Kumar, Akshat Kumar and Panne Lal are the athletes while ABVIMAS director Colonel Neeraj Rana is the coach and reserve athlete. The competitions will consist of downriver, 600m sprint, 1.2km slalom and cross country. Over 20 countries are participating in the championships. Col Neeraj Rana said they got an invitation from Turkish Rafting Federation based on their performances in national games. “ABVIMAS team had won first prize in national rafting championship in Satluj river last year. This is the first time that our country is taking part in the world rafting championship. After some warm-up runs, we are sure about good performance,” he said. Tunceli is the home to 36-km-long Munzur river. The city which had hosted Turkey Rafting Championship in May last year is hosting world championship for the first time. TRF has spent a huge amount on the improvement of the infrastructure in the city and has developed two courses – one for training and warm up and other for main races.
A five-member rafting team from India is participating in Senior World Rafting Championships at Tunceli city of Turkey. This is the first time that the Indian team is participating in the world rafting championship. Four athletes and a coach-cum-reserve player from Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS), Manali, are representing the
Mountaineering activities including climbing expeditions and trekking in Himachal would be possible for a limited time period as a thick blanket of snow on the peaks which is taking too much time to melt has shrunk the season. The winter season this year experienced several spells of heavy snowfall. Fresh snowfall is still continuing on high hills of Himachal. Not just tourists would be able to visit Rohtang pass in May end or early June, the trekking and climbing expeditions would start only after June. The Pir Panjal, Dhauladhar and other major mountain ranges above 10,000ft are still covered with a thick blanket of snow. All the major trekking routes in the state pass through Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Kangra or Kinnaur. The multiple days trekking generally involves traversing the high mountain passes which are expected to be open for trekkers by mid-June. Usually, trekking starts from May. Kaushal Bhardwaj, a mountaineering guide, said Hamta Pass, Pin Parvati pass, Kullu-Bada Bhangal, Lahaul-Zanskar, Spiti-Tso Moriri, McLeodganj-Chamba and Bhawa pass are the most sought trekking tours which are expected to open by mid or end of June. “The passes and the routes are deep under snow. Organizing trekking tours on high altitude is very risky. Even professional mountaineers avoid going such trekking these days as it would be very difficult for rescue teams to reach them in case of emergency,” he said. Sachin Sharma, a mountain expedition organizer, said, some people go for climbing in low altitude peaks but all prominent peaks in Himachal have altitude more than 18,000ft and expedition in this season can prove fatal. “The main danger is avalanches and covered crevasses. The heavy snowfall had led to the early closure of the season last year and it will now delay the opening of season as well. We advise our
Mountaineering activities including climbing expeditions and trekking in Himachal would be possible for a limited time period as a thick blanket of snow on the peaks which is taking too much time to melt has shrunk the season. The winter season this year experienced several spells of heavy snowfall. Fresh snowfall is still continuing on
Following increasing cases of accidents in adventure tourism activities in Kullu, the district administration has ordered to seal the unauthorized paragliding sites and take strict action on illegal river rafting in Beas. Kullu deputy commissioner Yunus ordered SDMs and district tourism and development officer to destroy the paragliding infrastructure at Dobhi, Talogi, and Bijli Mahadev. He said these are the hotspots for unauthorized paragliding. Three persons, including a tourist from Kerala, have died in paragliding mishaps at Dobhi recently. Every year many tourists die while experiencing adventure activities like paragliding, river rafting, and hiking. After administration received many complaints of river rafting at unauthorized stretches of Beas, it has tightened the screw on the operators and said nobody has the right to play with the lives of innocent people. He ordered operators to ensure use of safety equipment and operate only on government authorized area. The administration has also imposed ba an on display of river rafting hording and the opening of booking counters along the national highway in Kullu-Manali. Rafting operators have been asked to make their rules in favour of better tourism and safety of tourists and deposit it with Dthe C office within 10 days. DC said associations would be responsible for the safety of the tourists. He asked paragliding and rafting operators to fix the charges for the services and display rates at appropriate places. He also ordered the tourism department to print pamphlets with rates of the activities and distribute among tourists. “We shall apply no tolerance policy on adventure sports. We are not against the activities and the operators who are earning their livelihood but we are against unauthorized activities. We receive many complaints regarding lack of safety from tourists and local residents,” Yunus said. He added that new regulations are being prepared for
Following increasing cases of accidents in adventure tourism activities in Kullu, the district administration has ordered to seal the unauthorized paragliding sites and take strict action on illegal river rafting in Beas. Kullu deputy commissioner Yunus ordered SDMs and district tourism and development officer to destroy the paragliding infrastructure at Dobhi, Talogi, and Bijli Mahadev.
Unacquainted with conventional games in their childhood and devoting the time in romancing with snow, many generations of countryside villages of Manali have left no stone unturned to turn their land into mini Europe where people worship skiing as their deities. The villages have now become the wellspring of professional skiers for India, with over 70 children and youth having participated in international skiing events only in last few years! The journey from homemade wooden skis to the Winter Olympics has been remarkable. Neglected by government but supported by natural skiing slopes, children, who never played hide and seek, gilli danda or cricket, spend a large amount of their capital in buying expensive skis and obtaining technical training. Children who cannot afford expensive pair of skis have enough knowledge that how to make temporary ski with help of timber fitted with pieces of steel blade on its base to reduce friction. Blades are generally stolen from saw mill. Burua, Shanag, Palchan, Solang, Ruar, Kulang, Goshal and Kothi villages in upper Manali have long list of success stories in winter games which has not only brought laurels to the country but is also a mean of healthy bread to hundreds of families. Lack of money forced youths to make wooden-skis at home in early days and now these youths are representing Indian team in all international events, including Winter Olympics. Though the Indian national ski team which is new to the professional winter sports and which mostly has skiers from Manali villages could not perform extraordinary in international events so far but the lone luger of the country Shiva Keshavan who hails from Vashisht, a small village near Manali, has set an Asian speed record and has grabbed three gold in Asian Luge Championships in Japan. His latest gold came in December 2016. As India does not has any luge track, he had
Unacquainted with conventional games in their childhood and devoting the time in romancing with snow, many generations of countryside villages of Manali have left no stone unturned to turn their land into mini Europe where people worship skiing as their deities. The villages have now become the wellspring of professional skiers for India, with over 70 children and youth
Skiers and snowboarders from Army Sports Control Board (ASCB) have beaten other athletes in national alpine skiing and snowboarding championships commenced at Solang slopes of Manali. The races in five categories ended on Tuesday evening while prize distribution ceremony will be held on Wednesday. Team Army remained overall winner of the tournament. Asif Aziz from Army bagged first prize in giant slalom. Devender Gurung from Army and Atul Bhatt from Uttarakhand finished at second and third places. In women category, Sandhya from team Himachal finished at first place while Aanchal Thakur and Varsha from Himachal finished at second and third places respectively. Men’s snowboarding too was captured by Indian Army. Vivek Rana, Rigzin Norboo and Thakur B Ale, all from Army, finished at first, second and third position respectively. Clocking lowest time, Avatar Singh from Army was announced the winner of snowboard cross category. Rinku from Himachal and Tim Bahadur Chhetri from Army finished at second and third positions respectively. In slalom category, skier from Army, Devender Gurung, won the race after defeating top 20 skiers who had qualified for the final race. Sunil Kumar from Army finished at second place. Santosh Kumar from team Himachal had to satisfy with third position. In women slalom, Sandhya Thakur from team Himachal won the first prize. Aanchal Thakur and Varsha Devi from Himachal finished at second and third position respectively. In ski free style too Army team stumped all the athletes. Army’s Sunny Kumar bagged the first prize. Bilal Ahmed from team J&K finished the race at second position and Jai Singh from team Uttarakhand finished at third place. In women free style ski, Varsha Devi and Sandhya, both from Himachal finished at first and second place respectively, while Ankita from team Delhi finished the race at third position. Nearly 100 athletes,
Skiers and snowboarders from Army Sports Control Board (ASCB) have beaten other athletes in national alpine skiing and snowboarding championships commenced at Solang slopes of Manali. The races in five categories ended on Tuesday evening while prize distribution ceremony will be held on Wednesday. Team Army remained overall winner of the tournament. Asif Aziz from
Himachal Pradesh may get a chance to host the South Asian Winter Games at its Solang slopes in Manali if state government shows its interest, an official from Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said. First South Asian Winter Games were organized at Auli and Dehradun in January 2011. A total of seven countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Bangladesh had participated in the event organized by IOA and Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI). IOA now plans to give chance to Himachal and Kashmir to conduct the games. “We are in favour of giving chance to Solang and Gulmarg. I personally favour Himachal as the athletes here have talent but slopes are neglected,” IOA convenor Rakesh Sharma said. He added that Gulmarg is still in the race. “South Asian Winter Games at Solang slopes are possible only if Himachal government shows interest in it. Solang is beautiful. Unlike most of the slopes of the world where skiing is mostly dependent on snow-making machines, Solang gets good natural snow. The only setback is weak infrastructure here which is needed to be improved by government. If money is the problem, I assure government of possible help from IOA,” he said. Proper grooming of the slopes, installation of chairlifts, deployment of snow making machines as a back-up and requirement of snow beating machines is mandatory for organizing big winter sports events. Unfortunately, none of these are available at Solang. Skiers are using the natural slopes after natural snowfall. These days Solang’s rough slopes of with bumpy surface are hosting national level alpine skiing and snowboarding races. Besides skiing and snowboarding, ice skating and ice hockey are parts of the SAF Games. Manali has no ice skating rink for both the events. Sharma suggested state government through local MLA and bureaucrats
Himachal Pradesh may get a chance to host the South Asian Winter Games at its Solang slopes in Manali if state government shows its interest, an official from Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said. First South Asian Winter Games were organized at Auli and Dehradun in January 2011. A total of seven countries including India, Pakistan,
With participation of nearly 100 skiers from Himachal, Uttarakhand, J&K, Delhi and Indian Army, the National Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding Championships kick started on Solang slopes of Manali amid heavy snowfall on Friday. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has granted permission for the championships in Manali after many years. The slopes here are covered with over 100cm of snow while more snow is falling. The competitions started after march past. A huge crowd thronged Solang to witness the competitions. Competitive races will start from February 2. The top performing athletes would be chosen for international tournaments. “We are happy that we got chance to host the event,” Himachal Pradesh Winter Games Association (HPWGA) president Roop Chand Negi said. He said the championships are being organized by HPWGA, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS) and Winter Carnival Committee under the aegis of IOA. “The competitions will commence five categories -- slalom, joint slalom, ski cross, snowboarding slalom and snowboard cross. Both men and women athletes are participating,” he said. ABVIMAS joint director Ashwani Kumar said a large number of staff and volunteers are taking care of the event to make it successful. “National Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding Championships are being organized at par with international standards. Minimum age of the participants was fixed at 16. IOA convener Rakesh Sharma is present at Solang to observe every activity,” he added. Besides individual entries, teams of HPWGA, J&K, Uttarakhand, Army Sports Control Board and Delhi Ski Association are taking part in the championships. The athletes were full of enthusiasm and happy with quality of the snow. However, they were disappointed with weak infrastructure at the slope, including unavailability of snow beating machine. Arif Khan, a senior athlete from team J&K who has competed in many international events, said his
With participation of nearly 100 skiers from Himachal, Uttarakhand, J&K, Delhi and Indian Army, the National Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding Championships kick started on Solang slopes of Manali amid heavy snowfall on Friday. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has granted permission for the championships in Manali after many years. The slopes here are covered with
