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It’s one of the world’s highest ski resorts. So where’s all the snow?
At this time of year, the slopes of Gulmarg are normally packed with snowboarders and skiers, all taking advantage of the fresh January powder that annually blankets the Himalayas.
But as with many popular winter ski destinations right now, this resort town in Indian-administered Kashmir is facing a snow shortage due to unseasonably dry weather, disappointing both travelers and tourism operators.
The Gulmarg Ski Resort – one of the highest in the world – sits in the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas just over 50 kilometers from the city of Srinagar and about 20 kilometers from the Line of Control” (LoC), the de facto border that divides this disputed region between India and Pakistan.
The resort offers over 1,330 vertical meters (4,363 feet) of skiable terrain and is most famous for the Gulmarg Gondola, which ascends to an elevation of 3,980 meters (13,057 feet).
Despite the lack of snow, a staff member of the Gulmarg Ski Resort reached by phone who did not wish to be named told CNN Travel their hotels have been experiencing very high occupancy rates in recent days.
While acknowledging the dry spell, she said there are still things for tourists to do in Gulmarg, including ride the gondola, which offers great views of snowy peaks.
But with dry slopes, those who make a living catering to the annual influx of ski and snowboard enthusiasts, like 23-year-old Asif Ahmad Bhat, are out of work.
The Gulmarg local, who teaches snowboarding to kids and adults, says the area typically welcomes two types of people.
“The first kind are the ones who are here only for tourism purposes with family and friends,” he says.
“Then there is a second kind who come here for the sport adventure activities like skiing and snowboarding. The latter are our clients and we have told them not to come to Gulmarg.”
‘We are really disappointed’
Bhat says he had to cancel four bookings in December and another 23 bookings over the period leading up to January 21.
“We do not want them to come and be disappointed,” he says, adding that temperatures have risen so much that most of the existing snow has also melted away.
“Let’s see if there is snow towards the second half of January. We will reach out to our clients then.”
Gulmarg local Sahil Ahmed Lone, 25, has been a snowboarding instructor for five years. He says there was a lot of optimism that January would bring heavy snowfall.
“We are really disappointed,” he tells CNN Travel. “We did many bookings from our clients, but we are saying no to them. This is definitely affecting the tourism sector.”
Lone says he’s already canceled five bookings and has five to seven more lined up that may need to be axed as well.
The instructor adds that he had to take one client who had already traveled to Gulmarg to snowboard 10-12 kilometers away, near the border, where there is snow.
“But they were not happy with it as there was not much snow and there were rocks,” Lone says, noting that they’ve been advising clients not to come at all.
“What would they do here without the snow?”
‘The demand is still there’
In the summer months, Gulmarg – whose name means “Meadow of Flowers” – draws trekkers and nature lovers.
The town welcomed a record-high 1.65 million tourists in 2023, according to various media reports citing government officials. This has led to optimism that 2024 will be an even stronger year.
Raja Yaqoob, tourism director of Indian-administered Kashmir, feels the ski season is still salvageable. Though it’s been delayed by 10-15 days due to the dry spell, he says they “are expecting a good bump of snow in the coming days. So the loss of snow (will also be) compensated.”
Yaqoob notes that the snowfall season in Gulmarg is traditionally from November to February-March.
“This time there was snowfall one/two times in December, but the snowfall expected in January has not happened yet,” he says, adding that El Nino is behind the delay.
“This is not unique to Kashmir but is also happening in Leh, Ladakh, Uttarakhand and other places in the Himalayas. With regard to occupancy in hotels, there continues to be 95-100% occupancy everywhere so the demand is still there and tourists are not backing out yet. With the snow coming in soon the situation will improve.”
注释：
de facto: adj
表示"事实上的；实际的"，means "in reality or fact"，如：He continued to rule the country de facto. 实际上，他继续统治着这个国家。
influx: n
表示"涌入, 流入"，means "the process of flowing in"，如：The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees. 这个国家实在没有能力接纳这么多涌入的难民。
trek：v; n
表示" 长途跋涉; "，means "travel difficultly,especially on foot"，如：It took us a week to trek to the foot of the mountain. 我们花了一星期才跋涉到山脚。We set off on another four-hour trek through the swamps. 我们开始了穿过沼泽地的又一个四小时的长途跋涉。
中文简要说明：
众所周知，喜玛拉雅山是世界海拔最高的山脉，当地的古尔马尔格滑雪场(Gulmarg)，也就是世界上海拔最高的滑雪场之一，每年这个时候，应该挤满了世界各地的滑雪爱好者，享受喜马拉雅山一月的新鲜粉雪。然而由于全球暖化使得积雪融光，反常的干燥天气也降不起新雪，这使得滑雪场上竟是一片黄土，让游客和旅游业者都感到失望。
CNN报导，古尔马尔格滑雪场上下落差极大，缆车最高处位在3,980 公尺，上下高度1,330 公尺，自然成为滑雪爱好者的圣地。 然而，去年入冬以后，当地的降水量极少，12月的降量较往年下降了79%，这使得偌大的滑雪场，只有稀少的残冰，放眼望去尽是一片黄土。
虽然一位不愿透露姓名的工作人员表示，他们饭店最近几天的入住率一直很高。尽管今年遇到干旱，但是游客还是可以乘坐缆车，欣赏山区的美景。 但是，这掩盖不了滑雪场没雪的窘境，当地人表示，许多滑雪教练今年就真的无事可做，为了避免游客败兴而归，他们主动致电滑雪观光客，今年不要来古尔马尔格。 这名服务员表示，他们不得不取消游客的预订，「我们不希望他们来了之后感到失望。」他补充说，气温已经上升得太快，大部分现有的积雪，很快也融化了。 「让我们期等看看一月下旬是否会下雪。如果有，再联系我们的客户。」
多家媒体引述政府官员的报道，该镇在2023年，也就是疫情解封的第一年，迎来了创纪录的 165 万人次游客，这使得人们乐观地认为， 2024年的游客数也会表现的更强劲，却没想到今年根本无雪可滑。
印控克什米尔旅游主管雅昆布(Raja Yaqoob)认为，未来几天还是有机会的，他希望雪只是迟到，而不是不到。雅昆布说，古尔马尔格的降雪季节，传统上是从11月开始，延续到2月，甚至到 3月。然而今年只有12月降了一两次的雪， 1月预计的降雪却没有发生。我想，这是圣婴现象造成的。」
印度气象部门（IMD）官员表示，今年在查谟(Jammu)和克什米尔(Kashmir)、喜马偕尔邦(Himachal Pradesh)、北阿坎德邦(Uttarakhand)和拉达克地区(Ladakh)，冬季降雪量都严重不足，而且看不出有什么活跃的气流前来，因此干旱的情况，在印度共和国日(1月26日)之前，恐怕都不太可能出现改变。
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