WINTER SPORTS
    
     " ALPINE PREMIER LEAGUE" 
         at Solang Nala (Near Manali), H.P

“What a nice ski slope,” remarked Canadian skier John Lee. Lee and his friends are skiing on the Solang slopes near this picturesque tourist resort and are among the 336 participants gathered here for a four-day Alpine Premier League that began on Monday.
“It's really not so crowded (like the slopes in Europe), we are here for the first time,” remarked Aiden, another skier. According to event organisers, the participants included 12 foreigners from Canada, Switzerland, Finland, Norway and France.
The competitions to be held are slalom, giant slalom, snow-board giant slalom, snow-board cross-country 5-km race for men and women and giant slalom both for junior boys and girls, and men's veteran (40 years and above). The championship is organised by a private firm, Ski Himalayas Ropeway Pvt Ltd, in association with the local ski clubs and the state Tourism Department.

The state-run Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports is providing technical assistance to the event. The Solang slopes had more than three-and-a-half feet of snow, Randhir Singh Salhuria, director of mountaineering institute, said.
“In the past two days, the slopes piled up around 2-feet snow. This time the snow is plentiful. It will stay here till the end of the next month,” he added.
Amitabh Sharma, the skiing event organiser, said teams from the Indian Army’s High Altitude Warfare School in Gulmarg, the Indian Air force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and various clubs from Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and the host state would participate in the championship.
After a gap of seven years, the Winter Games Federation of India allowed the Himachal Pradesh Winter Games Association in 2010 to hold the National Senior Alpine Skiing Championship at Solang. Besides the event, the mountaineering institute is conducting skiing courses both for professionals and amateurs in Solang. The courses began last month and will continue till the slopes have snow.
The Solang slopes offer a challenging run to both beginners and advanced skiers and are of international standards, said Salhuria. For newcomers, the institute is conducting basic, intermediate and advanced ski courses at Narkanda, 65 km from Shimla.


info courtesy — IANS (INDO ASIAN NEWS SERVICE)
presented by- Pratik Awasthi

RAID-DE-HIMALAYA
 World's highest motorsport rally


Raid-de-Himalaya is World's toughest, highest and most demanding motorsport rally covering some of the highest areas in HIMACHAL PRADESH and J&K. It is open to both car and bike enthusiasts and for professional as well as amateur motorsport lovers.

It is flagged off from Shimla (HP). The participants drive through some of the world's highest motor-able roads and passes in the Himalayas like Jalori Pass (Kullu distt., 3223m), Rohtang Pass (kullu-lahual border, 4110m), Kunzum La (lahul distt., 4551m), Baralacha La (H.P – J&K border, 4890m) in Himachal Pradesh , Tanglang La (5359m) & Khardung La (5602m) in J&K, through the inhospitable terrains in the Lahual and Spiti valleys in H.P and the Ladakh region.

Most of the drive is through boulders, snow-capped peaks, gushing streams and at times, temperature below -25 degree Celsius. On an average, a participant covers a distance of 300 kms every day in this approximately 1800 km and week-long motoring event.

Every year, more and more people participate in the Raid-de-Himalaya, many of them from abroad. In past few years as many as 175+ teams participated in car and bike categories. Raid-de-Himalaya is the only Indian motorsport event listed on the off-road rallies calendar of FIM (Federation Internationale Motorcyclisme), Geneva, Switzerland. Only 12 international motoring events world-wide are listed in this calendar.

Raid-de-Himalaya is held around October, just before the onset of winters in the Himalayan region.

The event runs in three separate versions:

1. Xtreme: This is the toughest of the lot and is open only to those 4 wheeler drivers who have prior rallying experience and have competed in one of the earlier editions of the Raid-de-Himalaya

2. Adventure Trial: This version is open to those motor-sports enthusiasts who would like to take on the Himalayas but without the tough competition, difficulty and stress involved in the Xtreme. This section is open only to stock cars and only certain safety related modifications would be allowed in the competing cars. This is where first timers would fit in.
Car Category 
SUV Category
The "Adventure Trial" was born in 2003.

3. Bikes Xtreme: This section is open to bikes of all types and makes but there are certain regulations that they have to adhere to. The bikers are probably the bravest of the Raiders, as they have to face the hostile weather, terrain without the comforts of a cabin surrounding them.

--- compiled and presented by PRATIK AWASTHI

THE SHIMLA - KALKA- RAILWAY 

Credits (BBC-UK)
Series producer:  Gerry Troyna
Director: Nick Mattingly                                                                                    
                                                                                                   
-pratik awasthi

 ..\\Rock music\culture//.. and Himachal…

 Rock culture, which is an alien culture to most of the Indian sub-continent, is mostly popular in the urban middle-class youth.

Shilong, termed as the rock capital of India, and Bangalore, some claim it to be more deserving of the title, are the two regions which are greatly influenced by this genre (sub-genre) of music.

Now, focusing on my home state….Himachal is experiencing a rise in influence of this genre of music/ culture among the youth especially in cities like Shimla and in educational hubs all over the state.

Taking a walk through the Mall Road in Shimla one can see youngsters dressed like rockstars, wearing T-shirts of rock bands like Children of Bodom, SOD, Iron maiden etc.

This genre is not only successful in gathering a large audience in the state but has led to rise in the number of rock bands also.

Rock Bands in Himachal…

The educational institutes like medical and engineering colleges give an easy platform for the formation of such bands due to the various cultural festivals held in such universities.

But even some organisations like the USM - Unified Shimla Musicians are helping youth in band publicity and even providing them platform to showcase their talent by organising rock events.

Some Rock events are channelizing their influence by promoting anti-drugs campaigns and green themes.

Some of the major bands in the state :

•  Moksh ..  (FB link : \MOkSh tHE bAnd/) 
•  Earsplit ..
•   Deathknell... (FB link : Ear split , DEATHKNELL 
•    Elvish Mirage (FB link :Elvish Mirage)
•    Hollow souls (FB link: Hollow souls).
•  Weird Anxiety  (FB link: WEIRD ANXIETY)

                 Weird Anxiety (From my alma-mater…NIT Hamirpur)   a progressive death metal band totally did justice to the genre through their original compositions.

                  Ear split earned name by winning a large no. of Rock events and through there original composition comprising of surprisingly fast drum beats and guitars leads. 

DISCLAIMER:

*You can read more about the bands from their Facebook pages.

* I have not covered all the bands of the state in the article.

* By the term “rock” I am covering all the sub genres, Metal, Heavy-metal,Death-metal etc.
*Based on personal opinions.


" this post will be updated in few days so stay tuned !!! "
------- author....PRATIK AWASTHI 

The Dhauladhar range...."harsher alps" of india

SINCE I WAS A CHILD I ALWAYS WANTED TO EXPLORE MORE AND MORE ABOUT THIS RANGE WHICH WAS QUITE VISIBLE FROM MY HOME TOWN OF DHARAMSHALA ....IT ALWAYS MADE ME TO ADMIRE IT SO HERE'S A LITTLE SNEAK PEEK ON IT'S SPECS... 

The Dhauladhar range (lit. The White Range) is a southern branch of the main Outer Himalyan chain of mountains. It rises spectacularly from the Indian plains to the north of Kangra and Mandi, Dharamshal the headquarters of kangara distt., lies on its southern spur in above the Kangra valley, which divides it from Chamba.

The highest peak in the range is the Hanuman ji Ka Tiba, or 'White Mountain', about 5,639 m or 18,500 ft high. There are several peaks which are close to 5,180 m (17,000 ft).

The Dhauladhar range, also known as the Outer Himalayas or Lesser Himalayas. They begin from near Dalhousie at the northwest end of Himachal Pradesh and pass through the state to the vicinity of the bank of the Beas river in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. While they end near Badrinath in Garhwal, they lie almost entirely in Himachal Pradesh. They are distinctive in their typical dark granite rocky formations with a remarkably steep rise culminating in sharp streaks of snow and ice at the top of their crested peaks. This distinctive profile is best seen from the Kangra valley from where they seem to shoot up almost vertically.

Himachal Pradesh has the great fortune of having all the major Himalayan ranges represented in it. The Greater Himalayas that begin from near LADAKH and run all the way to Mt Everest pass through Himachal Pradesh.

The elevation of the Dhauladhars ranges widely from 3,500 m to nearly 6,000 m. From the banks of the Beas river in Kulu, the range curves towards the town of Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, India. Then, running north, it passes through Barabhangal, joins the Pir Panjal range and then moves into Chamba, Himachal Pradesh.

The Dhauladhars have a peculiar topography. Extremely rocky with a lot of granite, the flanks of the range contain a lot of slate stones (often used for the roofs of houses in the region), limestones and sandstones. Ascending from any side is a tough business, given the near vertical incline. This calls for really tough trekking and mountaineering. There is very little habitation on the range given the harsh conditions. But meadows abound near the crest providing rich pastures for grazing where large numbers of Gaddi shepherds take their flocks. The top of the crest is buried under vast expanses of thick snow. 

Several peaks both virgin and scaled have drawn mountaineers from all over the world. Some of the well known ones are Mun (4610 m) near Dharamshala, Gaurjunda (4946 m), near the Talang pass, which is also commonly referred to as the 'Dhauladhar Matterhorn', Christmas (4581 m), Toral (4686 m), Dromedary (4553 m), Riflehorn (4400 m), Lantern (5100 m), Arthur's Seat (4525 m), Camel (4520 m), Slab (4570 m) and several other named and unnamed peaks.

* Matterhorn is a famous peak in the Swiss Alps which is visible from the city of Luzern.....it has a very distinguishing pointed tip. I Have myself visited the city of luzern but unfortunately because of bad weather i was unable to see it... so quite a waste of a visit there .


but... even if u don't get a chance to go to switzerland ..atleast visit HIMACHAL PRADESH As it is home to the indian "Matterhorn-- gaurjunda peak'...it can be easily spotted from kufri if you turn your head towards the dhauladhar range.....

                                                           ---------------COMPILED BY PRATIK AWASTHI