With lot of snowfall during the past few days, the tourism and various other organisations have launched ski courses at Gulmarg for the youth of Jammu and Kashmir and also of elsewhere in the country.
A large number of ski lovers from various parts of the country were also camping at Gulmarg.
Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha on Saturday flagged off a batch of girls contingent for a 15 day Ski course and training to be conducted at Gulmarg.
A group of 20 boys drawn from various districts of J&K will undergo a 7-Day introductory Ski course at Gulmarg, during which the group will be introduced to the basics of skiing.
Lodging, boarding and ski equipment is being provided free of cost by the tourism department.
A four member ski instructors team is imparting skiing training to beginners.
The tourism department has drawn a weekly calender for imparting skiing training to as many as 6 groups this season. Among these 6 groups, two are exclusively meant for outside J&K youth including one girls group. Another exclusive girls group will be from the UT.
The first batch of twenty boys completed their introductory ski course on 31 December.
During the course of the introductory ski training, three of the best among the trainees in each of the six groups will be selected and sponsored by the directorate of tourism, Kashmir, for intermediate and advance level courses.
Apart from the tourism department, hundreds of boys and girls are being imparted basic ski training this season by the Youth Services & Sports Department. The Indian Institute of Skiing & Mountaineering has also started various Ski training courses at Gulmarg.