Skiing in Gulmarg: 8 ways of falling

In the earlier post, I wrote about Gulmarg and its beauty. We had actually gone to Gulmarg to leanr skiing. We were a motley group – ranging literally from ages 5-55. We didn’t get to ski on all 8 days of the course, because of the heavy snowfall. Still, we managed decently well according to our instructors (shout out to Ayaz sir, Shabbir sir and Ishfaq sir!).

We got a hang of some basic skills like snow-plow turns, basic swings and uphill swings. On the last day, we had a test where we had to demonstrate what we’d learned. It ended with a slalom race – weaving as fast as possible through poles stuck in the snow.


Regardless of what grades we got, the one thing everyone was expert in by the end of the course was – falling. Especially me. I got all kinds covered.

Here’s a list (because everyone loves lists, okay?) from most painful to least painful:

 1.     Very painful  - Fall while carrying equipment

Skis are made of metal and wood, usually. So it’s not pleasant to have them fall on you, as I found out the hard way.
How to avoid: Figure out how to hold the skis. They can be interlocked and hoisted on your shoulder. 

2.    Painful: Crash into someone while skiing and fall
See the two guys at the back?
This is usually more painful for the person you crashed into. And it is painful for your because you feel guilty and stupid for not stopping in time. Sorry, Puro uncle!

3.     A little painful: Fall and get dragged by the ski-lift

This one doesn’t happen to everyone, but me being me, I managed to do this as well.

The ski-lift at Gulmarg was a wire that keeps going up and then down with many T-bars attached to it.  There’s a ski lift on every slope so that you don’t carry your skis after every time that you ski down.

Now the trick is to quickly catch hold of the T-bar with a free hand and then put it between your legs so that you are pulled up with your skis on. The free hand part didn’t register much with me, so I grabbed it when my ski poles straps were wound around my wrist. The result being that everything got entangled, and I was dragged up for a while. It sounds scary, but the slope wasn’t that steep and there was soft powder underneath. The operators realized what was happening and stopped the ski lift midway and came to, er, rescue me. I got away with a scratched wrists and a bruised ego. 

4.     Not very painful - Falling while on the ski-lift

This happens a lot with those unfamiliar with the ski-lift. I fell twice after actually reaching the top because I got off before the slope had leveled off. Then I got the hang of it and then it was fun. Sometimes falling from the ski-lift does put the fear of ski-lifts in people, but it’s worth falling a few times and getting the hang of it than having to carry your skis up every time.

5.     More annoying and less painful: Fall while walking on ice


Ice is slippery and it’s also hard. Fall on ice and you won’t get broken limbs, but you will have sore bums. Your friends may also take advantage of your state to throw snowballs at you. So get back up on your feet quickly!

6.     Quite funny and not painful at all: Fall simply while standing up

This happens to beginners, and it’s a lot of fun when you’re not the one falling. Especially when kids standing in a line fall like dominos one after the other!

7.     Fall deliberately

I had to do this once or twice when I realized I got into a position where I was going down backwards and didn’t know how to stop. So I just fell to the side to stop myself. I fall on my own terms!

And of course there’s the eighth way to fall

8.    Falling while skiing.

This can be entirely painless or extremely painful. Skiing is an adventure sport after all, so there is going to be a small element of danger. And this danger is what can also become thrill when done right. Even the best of skiers sometimes fall and get injured.


 One of the days at the hotel, I had watched the film adaptation of my favorite author Roald Dahl’s Big Friendly Giant with two kids for company. This quote by the BFG really stuck in my mind, and it would be good to keep in mind, both in skiing and life itself -

"I can't be right all the time. Quite often I is left instead of right."

The best thing to do is follow instructions as much as possible and not worry too much!


Do check out Gulmarg Snow School in case you’re interested in skiing. They have a good instructor-student ratio and you get a certificate as well.

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