Skiing in Jammu and Kashmir is a thrilling and exciting experience for any adventure enthusiast. The Ski Club of India was established in Gulmarg in 1927, which is now considered as the ski paradise of India. Just 50 km from Srinagar, situated at an altitude of 2,730 m, Gulmarg changes its scenery from a flowery meadow to that of a small ski resort in winters. Ski-lovers from all over the country flock to the place because it is the only ski-resort in the mighty Himalayas where you can ski with a magnificent view of the Karakorams.

Around the middle of December, before the Christmas, the skiing season in Gulmarg usually commences, which continues till the middle of April. In January-February, 1998 the first National Winter Games of India were held at Gulmarg, for which the facilities of the skiing resorts were highly improved and upgraded. The resort had two Kasse Bohrer snow beating machines used for preparing skiing slopes, and five snowmobiles, which are used for going up the mountain. Good quality equipment, including skis, boots, sticks, gloves and goggles can be hire on the spot from the Government-run ski shop. There are also experienced instructors available for supervising the visitors. Gulmarg is ideally acceptable for learning skiing, as it is probably the cheapest ski resort in the world.

Gulmarg also offers heliskiing for winter sports lovers. It is Asia's only heliskiing resort and in fact after Canada, Kashmir is the best option for those inclined towards heliskiing. Heliskiing comprises of being dropped by a helicopter on the summit of a high, snow-covered peak and then skiing down the slopes. Heliskiing in Kashmir can be a breathtaking experience. Heliskiing is the ultimate winter sports thrill for the adventure sports lover. This extreme winter sport has some element of risk but the thrill experienced while indulging in heliskiing is said to be unequalled by any other winter sport.

Skiing can also be enjoyed at Patnitop, 112 kms from Jammu, Patnitop, famous hill resort, perched at an altitude of 2024 metres is a world best destination for ski lovers. Skiing courses are conducted at Patnitop in the months of January and February. During winter months there are introductory courses for tourists/beginners at gentle gradient slopes of Patnitop.

Skiing is an exciting pastime that will give you an excuse to travel and meet friends as well as help you keep your body in tip top shape. If you’re considering taking up skiing as your newest hobby, here are a few tips to help you get started.

The Proper Positioning for Skiing

Positioning is extremely important when skiing. If you start out with a bad position, you’ll most likely end up with an equally bad fall. The best pose to have before skiing is to keep your feet slightly apart, with the distance between your feet equaling the width of your shoulders. Your skis, on the other hand, must form a V-shape.

As you move, you’ll have to slightly bend your lower body, starting from the waist, then your knees going down to your ankles. Make sure that your arms remain slightly outstretched and steady on your skis. It’s very important that pressure is evenly distributed to both of your feet.

Making a Turn

It will seem extremely difficult and scary to make a turn on your first attempt at skiing, but rest assured that this is a doable objective. The first thing you have to do is place your body in the basic position once more - feet slightly apart, your lower body bent slightly, and your arms spread widely – then slowly but firmly turning your feet to the direction you wish to take. Make sure that you still keep your eyes straight ahead and not down on your feet while make the turn. Once you’ve turned your feet successfully to the right direction, you’ll realize that your body has automatically done the same!

While it’s easy to make turns on slow and gentle slopes, it naturally becomes harder on steeper courses because of the amount of effort you need to exert to keep control of your body and your skis. Practice however will soon make you a pro at turning left and right.

Walking and Gliding

If there’s a short distance between you and your intended destination and you’d wish to cover it by walking rather than skiing, take your skis off and put your ski boots to work. It’s easier and safer that way.

To glide in your skis, on the other hand, all you have to do is assume the basic positioning once more. Relax your grip then let yourself go. Again, keep your eyes straight ahead and not at the snow beneath you!

How to Schuss

Schussing is a German term that’s now used to describe skiing downhill. It’s impossible that you won’t find a need to schuss if you’re determined to have skiing as your hobby. Thus, it’s better to start practicing now than having to learn it in an instant.

The first thing you should do is find an appropriate slope where you can practice schussing. If you’re at a skiing resort, any member of the staff or crew will surely point you out to appropriate practice areas for schussing. If you’re alone, however, just make sure that the slope you’ll be practicing on is relatively low, with gentle curves, and without any physical obstacles in your course.

Assume the basic position for skiing, with your skis pointed downwards. Make sure that you’re relaxed and confident before doing this. Don’t attempt to do this alone as much as possible during your first few tries. If you’re ready, let yourself go. Always keep your eyes straight ahead of you. Make sure that your skis and feet are moving in harmony as you go downhill.

Remember to keep the same amount of pressure for both feet or you’ll easily lose your balance. If there are small impediments in the course, use your hips, knees, and ankles to avoid or go around them. While schussing, try to find a position that’s most comfortable for you. The important thing is to stay relaxed!

Keeping Control of Your Speed

Just like when you learn driving or horseback riding, you’ll also have to know how to effectively step on the brakes and make a clean stop. To do so, you’ll have to assume the snow plough position once more. This will allow you to control your speed. If you wish to make a full stop, just turn your feet inwards while forming an inverted V.

Although there are certainly many benefits to enjoy when going skiing, keep in time that this is still a moderately dangerous hobby to pursue for any individual. If you have any past or present medical condition, be sure to inform your physician first about your intentions before trying out any slopes. Have fun skiing!

The new sport of sand skiing is just beginning to take off. For many of us, the experience of skiing in shorts and short sleeve shirts will be a new adventure - one that lets us enjoy skiing and stay in shape all the seasons of the year.

What is sand skiing? It is simply the brand new extreme sport. From Palm Springs, California to Dubai, from Abu Dhab to Idaho, it's the latest extreme craze.

There are two types of sand skiing. Downhill and cross-country both of which more or less mirror their snow ski counterparts.

Downhill sand skiing involves finding a dune, hill, or mountain, climbing to the top of it and skiing down it. Is it fun? Lots - except for the part where you have to climb up the hill. You'll find no ski lifts, no trams, not even a rope tow. If you want to get up the hill, you have to climb it on your own. Nevertheless, the lack of these niceties doesn't seem to have prevented newcomers from being drawn to the sport.

Cross country sand skiing involves skiing finding a nice long scenic stretch of sand covered land, strapping on the ski boots and skis and having at it. Nothing strengthens the muscles and increases stamina like cross country sand skiing.

Whether you do downhill or cross country sand skiing, this is fantastic exercise. If you're not in shape, this sport will definitely get you in shape. If you're already in shape, sand skiing will keep you fit.

The Essentials of Sand Skiing

So what equipment does a sand skier need? Pretty much the same as a snow skier. You'll of course need skis, preferable older ones as sand, even fine sand, is an abrasive and over time can remove material from the ski's running surface.

Sand blindness, like snow blindness, can cause a temporary vision loss. To prevent it, you'll need a good pair of UV resistant sunglasses or goggles. You'll also need ski poles to push past some of the denser spots of sand.

Sand skiing is usually done in warmer environments - so dress accordingly. Wear light clothing and if the sun is intense, wear a hat to protect your head.

Finding the Perfect Sand

Snow skiers are very familiar with the different types of snow, for example skiing on powder is a much different experience than skiing on packed snow. It may surprise you that sand skiers have similar experiences. Coarse sand gives a much different experience than fine sand. Wet sand is much harder to traverse than dry sand.

As you get more into the culture of sand skiing, you're hear the terms "fast sand" and "slow sand". Fast sand is great, you'll feel as though you're gliding on glass. It's almost effortless. Slow sand can be a grind, like slogging through quicksand. And there are all sorts of gradients in between. Skiers looking for perfect sand is much like the prototypical surfer looking for the "perfect wave".

So skiers rejoice. No longer are you confined to the winter season. With sand skiing, you can not only enjoy your sport year round, you can enjoy it in almost any place in the world.

Skiing holidays to France are very popular especially to resorts in the French Alps with popular places like Courchevel and Meribel, but France has absolutely hundreds of kilometres of ski slopes, which are situated in some of the most spectacular mountainous regions in the world.

So when you go on your family skiing holidays or snowboarding, you need to find the right place with the right ski slopes or the nursery slopes for the beginners, so you can be sure of getting the ideal holiday, and whether this is through a travel agency for a luxury package ski holiday, or you are organising everything yourself by choosing your own chalet or staying in a hotel and being pampered whilst off the ski slopes, the choice is endless but you will not be disappointed.

Also, France has some of the biggest ski resorts such as Les Trois Vallees, which is made up of three valleys and includes resorts like Courchevel and Meribel, with this area having around 600km of pistes for skiers of all abilities and experience so there is enough choice for everyone.

Meribel can offer skiing to people with all abilities, as there are some fantastic beginners slopes but The Three Valleys area offers a good challenge for more experienced skiers, and has an incredible choice of ski schools, which cater from groups to individual tuition.

And although it is generally a purpose built resort, you will find it like a fairytale atmosphere with the ski chalets that blend into the scenery, however, it does have quite a lively nightlife and can get very busy in the peak season as it is such a popular destination.

Courchevel is an outstanding place to ski or snowboard, but can be a little on the expensive side, although the extensive slopes of the resort will offer extensive and varied skiing. It is made up of four villages known by their altitudes and they vary immensely from their access through to facilities, but some places you can get to ski right out of the door of the hotel!

Font Romeu is one of the oldest ski resorts in Europe and also has the biggest snow making operation in the Pyrenees and with well over 2500 hours of sunshine each year, this makes it another very popular resort for weekend breaks and longer holidays alike.

Chamonix is a town in a valley and there are five very good resorts, but these are not near to the slopes and you would need transport to get to them, but this place has everything from great shops to a wonderful atmosphere, yet because of how well known it is, the whole area can seen very crowded compared to some other skiing towns, especially around the ski lifts.

Alpe d'Huez is one of Europe's largest and highest ski resorts and is currently one of only around twenty in the world that offers a lift-served vertical of over 2000 metres, plus it has the largest slope in the world where you can ski for well over an hour without taking any ski lift, although these are definitely not for the beginner or intermediate skier.

Yet even though many think of skiing as a winter sport, there are a few places in France where you can still get to ski on the glaciers in the summer months, such as Tignes or Val d'Isere. And there are very few great skiing areas in the world that can excite the imagination more than the Val d'Isère and L'Espace Killy is considered to be one of the best ski areas in the world, plus an amazing variety of different skiing can be achieved through ski lifts and ski buses that link the area of Val d'Isère to the neighbouring Tignes,

But if you have never been skiing then it is advisable to book you holiday through a tour operator, as they will know exactly what resorts are going to be suitable, and it is also an idea to have some lessons on dry slopes prior to going, so that you can make the best of your holiday, rather that spending the first few days just learning to stop falling over on the snow!

Of course, booking your skiing holiday independently can save you quite a lot of money, but there can be downsides as well, especially if you have never been to the resort before, for instance, you may not realise how far it is to get from your accommodation to the slopes, or even how far it would be to get to the ski hire places.

And lets face it, you do not want to be spending a whole day just getting set up rather than on the slopes doing what you went there to do, please do bear in mind that even if you do not have your own skis or skiing boots, you will still need to purchase other items of equipment before you go such as proper skiing gloves and sallopettes to keep you warm and the snow out.

There is a wide range of ski accommodation in France and you can choose from purpose built private ski chalets, chalet apartments or hotels. French skiing accommodation meets the needs of all skiers, with self-catering cabins to fully serviced luxury apartments and hotels, ideal for the skier on every budget.

But the choice of accommodation can be quite mind-boggling and you have to consider all the people in your party, especially if you have young children where childcare facilities or entertainment may be an important issue, or if you are a more experienced skier, you may wish to look at chalets nearer to the more difficult runs rather than the nursery slopes or perhaps opt for a little more luxury in a hotel with gourmet meals by evening in peace and tranquillity.

Speaking to people that have already been to a resort, or even going on to forums can help a great deal, especially if you wish to know what places are the best for good value restaurants when you are on a self-catering holiday, or maybe even avoiding a resort with a lively night life if you have little ones that need their sleep!

Of course, you will also need to look into what other activities that are available in your chosen resort, as there are always things for all of the family to enjoy, such as shows, archery, concerts, squash, tennis, ice skating, golf, swimming, dancing, saunas and spas, plus much, much more.

Skiing is an activity or sport which involves the use of skis. Skis are attached to the skier's boots with the help of a ski boot or a ski binding. Skis glide and slide on snow with the skier balancing himself skilfully.

Skiing is a technique that you have to learn under a good skiing instructor. If you master the techniques perfectly with a little patience and effort there is no end to your excitement and enjoyment in various ski resorts.

Usually ski training involves skiing slowly and stopping at a short distance. You have to keep doing this till you are able to balance perfectly on your skis before attempting long distance.

One more thing is you should always practice on flat surfaces before attempting anything on a slope.

Once you are comfortable with the various moves, then you can start practicing on bunny hills. Even then it is better to be always in proximity to people to ensure there is somebody around to help you in case of a fall or an accident.

Vermont is one of the most ancient and original state for skiing and riding. Vermont skiing in fact is an excellent option for both beginners and advanced skiers. The Nordic and alpine resorts of Vermont have something exciting and exhilarating to offer every skier who visits the place.

The vertical in Vermont is nearly 2000 feet which is more than many other places. Vermont skiing is therefore big time skiing with fantastic snow, enchanting resorts and a terrain that is unmatched.

The most important thing in Vermont is that the ski areas here are environmental friendly and consciously make an effort to preserve and protect the environment. This includes enhancing the habitats of wild life, conserving energy, recycling, etc. Vermont is an epitome of natural landscapes and a beautiful setting.

This is actually one of the reasons why Vermont skiing is popular with a lot of people. People from all over the world who are passionate about skiing come here to enjoy the astounding natural resources and beauty.

Vermont thus provides recreation and is a leader in conscious environmental conservation.

Vermont's enhancement of the habitats of wildlife includes establishing corridors for bears with provision for wetlands close to mountains where they can feed themselves.

Vermont youth conservation corps have taken the initiative to plant trees on the Jay Branch Brook. This makes sure the fishes have quite a bit of shade.

Vermont skiing is thus much more than just skiing on the awe inspiring mountain slopes. The resorts here offer world class comforts and facilities for the skiers and visitors to enjoy their ski vacation. Transportation facilities are very convenient enabling skiers to park their cars comfortably.

Resorts in Vermont offer a variety of attractive packages for tourists wanting to visit this place on a ski vacation. Resorts even organize a "learn to ski" package if you are a beginner and want to learn skiing.

There are village shuttle services which services the resorts effectively. You will never want for anything in Vermont. Vermont skiing is an experience every skier must go through at least once in his lifetime.