Building in Kashmir

I step off the over-crowded bus into yet another frenzied Indian city. City workers, beggars, stray dogs and sacred cows fight for space on the busy streets. It’s only six am but its already hot. As quick as I can I find my seat in a shared sumo taxi to begin the final part of my journey to Kashmir.

  The Commencal Supreme was an unusual sight in this small resort in Kashmir. Burka-clad women would knock at my door to take a peak at the ‘mountain cycle’ they had heard so much about.

Having spent the last five years snowboarding Gulmarg in the winter, my desire to ride its roots and rocks in summer became a reality. In 2010 I set up Gravity Assault Tours LTD, a mountain bike tour company taking clients to ride downhill and freeride in the North Indian Himalaya. I travelled to Kashmir and found myself riding where no bike had ever been taken before: Mt Apharwat, 10km from the Line Of Control (LOC) on the India-Pakistan border.

  After a long process of obtaining the relevant permission, it was time for me to hit Mt. Apharwat’s peak. I was about to ride where no-one had before, 10km from the Line Of Control, India to one side of me and Pakistan to the other.

 

I had planned a few weeks of trail research but ended up staying 3 months. Within 3 days of arriving I was working alongside Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) to begin design and construction of a new MTB resort.

  The Kongdoor Gondola reaches an altitude of 4000m, close to the peak of Mt. Apharwat. Completed for skiers in 2005, it will be open to mountain bikers beginning summer 2012.

MTB has taken off in a big way with the local kids in Gulmarg. The 20 Trek bikes that the GDA had invested in were trashed within a month. Mainly hired to the local pony wallah kids. They had MTB skills bred into them from years of horse riding but no knowledge of maintenance, and the terrain was hard. The authorities are now part sponsoring these families to help them be part of the new adventure tourism business that is currently booming in Gulmarg.

  The local riders have little knowledge of mountain biking, as it is a brand new sport to the country. Riding, trail building and bike maintenance skills were passed on, so the Kashmiri bikers could make it work on their own. We wanted to encourage our local friends to see MTB as a sport, a job creator and a possibility of a brighter future.

Gulmarg meadow is a quiet, open space with flowers blooming everywhere you ride. The amount of rideable terrain is mind blowing, numerous trails that have never seen rubber descend from the small ski resort into traditional Kashmiri villages below. Steep lines and roots send you flying down the raw tracks, just got to watch out for those pesky snow leopards.

  There are numerous trails descending from Gulmarg Resort to the traditional Kashmiri villages below. Steep lines and roots send you racing down the raw tracks. You just have to watch out for the infamous snow leopards.

My first run was with a group of local guys I’ve known for years. Dropping down from the main meadow to Baba Reshi Shrine, one of the steeper lines on the lower terrain. This being their first freeride experience I encouraged them to be cautious. I couldn’t hold them back, they took to the bikes like ducks to water, and were instantly hooked. 

  The natural melt water rock garden provides some interesting features of the trail.

Flying down the raw trail went one Welshman and four Kashmiris. We reached the Baba Reshi Shrine where I believed the trail finished, only to be told we could carry on to the next village seven km down. The trail mellowed out but was still a good downhill track that led us through ancient forests and fruit orchards. We gorged ourselves on cherries, later I was reminded that bears love cherries too.

  Riding down the Khilanmarg Meadow, the forest beckons you into its dappled light where the nomadic shepherds and their families cheer you on and sometimes the offer of something to eat is extended, if you can stop mid run! Shouting ‘Asalaam Alaikum’ always gets a good reaction.

 

 

With their help I managed to get funds put in place to begin building Gulmarg’s first dedicated MTB trail. I worked purely as a volunteer trying to encourage our friends to see the potential and show them what needs to be done to entice bikers here in the summer as well as the thousands of skiers in winter.

  Riding in the Indian Himalayas whether in the State of Jammu & Kashmir or Himachal Pradesh the whole experience is fresh and new, the people, the culture and the massive mountains!

Weeks of trail research had to be carried out, along with obtaining the necessary permission. Firstly we needed backup from the authorities to ride the terrain, secondly we needed the Gondola management to allow bike use and thirdly we needed permission from the military to drop off the top of the mountain. In winter the skiers can almost go where they like as long as they drop in back towards India and not Pakistan. We needed to get similar attitudes towards summer riders.

  Rocky terrain and Himalayan views come into my sight as I make my way from the Gondolas top-station to the mid-station base.

Eventually, permission in place, it was time to hit the peak. For the first few km I traced the ridge of Apharwat, feeling the raw buzz from riding virgin terrain, only to be stopped once more by Indian military requesting an ever longer list of letters to assure them I wasn’t a militant. Being unable to continue where I wanted, I drop in where I am. 

  Weeks of trail research had to be completed, along with obtaining permission to ride the area from the Indian Military.

The first section definitely needed the safe travel backcountry attitude that is essential if you want to ride another day, it was not ideal but some times you’ve got to assess the risk and grow a pair.  I could see the trail cutting back across the face and decided to go for it. The Commencal Supreme sucked it up and 250m vertical later I hit the trail, rocks, dirt and panoramic himalayan views came into sight. Another 1200m vertical brought me to the mountain base.

  Khilmish trail starts at 3,050m, near mid-stations base. It flows through 2.7km of jungle terrain.

The GDA had asked me to log all trails in the area, an almost impossible task for one person, as well as starting trail construction. It took weeks to organize but I woke one day to find 20 flipflop wearing Burmese refugees waiting outside my door, ready to begin work.

  I woke one day to find 20 Burmese refugees waiting outside my door, flip flops on feet, primitive tools in hand, ready to begin work on Kashmir’s first dedicated DH MTB trail.

With next to no tools, very limited time to complete the job and a huge language barrier the task ahead seemed immense. We broke ground that day, progress was slow considering the number of workers but they had no idea of what we were making.

  The first day’s digging was slow, due to the language barrier and the fact that the workers had never seen a mountain bike before. Trail knowledge was zero, and everything had to be shown using hand signals alone.

“What is berm?”

The only way was to show them, into the deep red soft dirt went our hands and tools. It was a good day.

  Local nomadic shepherds and their flocks were one of the many distractions while building the trail. Good relations with each and every mountain user had to be kept to ensure longevity, as well as environmental and cultural awareness.

 

The trail – named ‘Khilmish’ after a berry shrub that lines a lot of the track – starts at the mid station, 3050m. The line had to fit into the current chaotic trail system used by the pony wallahs. Having naturally developed over time the trails are in no way organized. I needed to show the locals that dedicated MTB trails with no risk of rearing hoofs was essential.

  Taking a break during a monsoon storm on ‘Khilmish Trail’. Named after a berry shrub that lines much of the track. The trail passes through wild jungle and rock gardens with nomadic tribal huts in the distance.

Every day for eighteen days we grafted, working our way down. We always knew that we couldn’t create a whole resort for these guys and we needed to show the GDA that the local boys had the skills to do this on their own as well as creating jobs.  We were working with the most dedicated local rider Sajeed Dar (Tiger to his friends), the plan was to hand the trail work over to him and he would manage the workers. He finished the last 500m on his own and came up with some creative lines. Tiger has been continuing the surveying work and the GDA have promised their commitment to establishing more trails next year.

  Sajeed Dar (Tiger to his friends) learns the skills needed to enable him to carry on the trail building and maintenance work on his own. The makeshift workshop was set up in the kitchen of a disused hotel.

  We were super careful to be a sensitive to the environment by allowing the line to flow around and being flexible, the ancient forest is there for all the future users.

It was a promising summer; I never expected for the local authorities to pick up on it so quickly. I only ever intended to see what was possible and to encourage our local friends to think about mountain biking as a sport, a job creator and a future for the younger generation. A future without conflict. This was just the beginning, a taster of what could be done.  

  Gulmarg meadow has some beautiful, easy trails, providing a great area for domestic tourists to learn to ride.

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Kashmir has had a history of problems, beginning with partition of India and Pakistan in 1948. It has remained disputed territory and has since seen sporadic conflict between the Indian military and militants and separatists. The last twenty years has seen a resurgence in protest movements, with the majority of Kashmiri’s wanting independence. Generations of young men have become involved and lost their lives due to the conflict. However in recent years Kashmir has seen a growth in tourists numbers, with foreigners once again visiting the state. Last year Germany’s official advice was that Kashmir was a safe place to travel. 

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The scope of this story is absolutely amazing. Spearheading the Kashmir area’s first mountain bike trails, James and Sarah Frampton have undeniably left their mark. Feeling inspired?