SNOW-CAPPED

We head up to the mountains of Uttarakhand in a diesel MG Hector, to see if we can learn to ski

- Aaradhya Singh 

I am certainly no skiing expert, and I can confidently say that my colleagues on this particular drive were not, either. The excitement of heading to a ski resort in Auli was quickly tempered by the realisation that gliding down the slopes was not going to be child’s play. Forget that — the starting point was to be reached via ski lifts, and there is definitely some embarrassing footage of me panicking and covering my eyes, in order to not look down from that height. Those heading back from a round of skiing did poke some fun at me, but it was all in good spirits.

Nevertheless, with all of us being novices, we had to be given quite a detailed session on the dos and don’ts of skiing. Then came the big moment; putting on the skis and ski boots. The instructor told us to put pressure on our knees, which is a rather difficult trick to master, honestly. I ended up in a crouching position, losing my balance and falling over. The climb back to the rendezvous point was quite a legful, and served as a cruel reminder to work on my fitness. Round two went similarly, with the added fact that the slope suddenly became too fast for my liking. Once again, I ended up crouching, and went sideways before ultimately losing my balance. My palms — having been rubbed through the snow for the entire crash – were craving for a bonfire. By now, I was huffing and puffing, so I decided to spend the rest of my time sitting by a fire at a nearby shop, watching the others try to learn — and then fall. Still, at least I can tick another thing off my bucket list.