Gulmarg festival to showcase snow-cycling

Srinagar, Jan 29: Snow-cycling which has been a part of the Gulmarg Snow Festival for the past two years, is expected to draw huge attention from the foreign and local tourists this year. The JK Tourism department has included snow cycling in its annual snow festival scheduled to be held at the world famous ski resort Gulmarg, Kashmir. The department on Tuesday is learnt to have handed over an invitation letter to the J&K Cycling Association to organize snow cycling event on the first day of the 2-day festival. The department would take a team comprising 15 members including a coach and manager to Gulmarg from Srinagar on February 2.

The event is expected to be a grand success. “It would be full of adventure and fun,” joint secretary of the Association, Riyaz Ahmad Wani, said. “Thirteen cyclists will ride imported cycles with gears attached to them. It is not easy to ride cycles on the soft and slippery slopes, therefore, the cyclists will be using extraordinary machines.” A cyclist himself, Riyaz said there was a high degree of risk involved in this adventure sport and the participants could get badly injured if the cyclists lacked proper training. “Our cyclists would be equipped with safety systems like special helmets made of carbon-fibre and would be wearing full cycling uniform, he said. “Apart from the safety gears, they will rely on their training which they have been undergoing for the past one month.” He said he urged the Tourism department to include snow-cycling event in the festival in 2006. “The department warmly responded to the offer and since then snow-cycling is one of the important events in the festival,” he said. “Within a short time, we received numerous queries from around the world.” He said the Association, owing to the overwhelming response, organised many downhill races from Gulmarg to Tangmarg during the last three years. The Tourism department will organise various winter sports and cultural programmes in its festival including ski race, cycling race, skido race and sledging. Apart from local participants foreign tourists will participate in various races. The festival is expected to draw huge crowds of foreign and domestic tourists.