Group picture. The smile on our faces says it all! When we left Mumbai our group consisted of five, by the time we reached Auli it increased to 22. Surprisingly except two all of us were from Mumbai or Amdavad. Some of my best friends of today were made during the trip. The youngest member was a five-year-old child and the eldest a gutsy 62-year-old man. Best time to go January & February.
To reach Auli you need to drive down from Rishikesh & get off at Joshimath enroute to Badrinath. (app 8-hour bus drive, much shorter by car). From Joshimath there is a ropeway that takes you to Auli. Here you see three members of the group outside the ropeway building.
Clicked from inside the cable car, the building you see below is from where the ropeway took off
This is the Cable Car, here you see us getting into it on our way out
The cable car takes you to a high point from where you take get onto a four-seater open-air ropeway to reach the tourist resort where we stayed.
On the way down to the resort, friend Trusha and me got stuck because there was no power. We spent nearly one hour hanging mid air. We were too scared to look down because a valley lay below so we decided to look up & smile. Believe had a great time hanging mid-air, got a chance to enjoy mother nature.
We came down to the Tourist Resort. It has dormitories & cottages with separate arrangements for ladies. An overview of Auli cottages taken from the cable car. Note on your extreme right is the point where we alight from the smaller ropeway.
Getting ready to learn skiing. They provide you with special shoes, skiing equipment and a trainer. If you do not wear sunglasses you are asking for trouble.
Some take their lessons seriously while others relax, enjoy nature
Two-member practice skiing on what looks like a tabletop ice surface.
This machine was used to remove excess ice or level the ground for skiing
That s me in skiing gear. I was the first person to reach the skiing point and the last to leave. After two days realized that I wanted to play with the snow, trek in snow clad hills rather than go skiing.
Having tea at 7.00 am, freezing cold. You see cottages in the background. Just big enough for a couple, very cozy & romantic inside.
With a friend from Calcutta, note snow clad mountains
On a bright sunny morning
That s me with my sleeping bag & haversack. Ready to leave. People had come with suitcases full of clothes as if they were going for a party, a change everyday.
This picture symbolizes the fun that we had, never a dull moment
Friends went skiing from the top of the hill on your right and raced down the hill on your left. Perhaps the seven most enjoyable days of my life. We went in February 1995 and the Mumbai Group continues to be in touch, meet as if we went skiing only yesterday
A view of Dronagiri 7066 mtrs taken from Auli
A view of Nandadevi 7817 mtrs taken from Auli