Skiing in Kufri: An icing on the cake for tourists

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 19

Tourists visiting Kufri are in for a pleasant surprise not only due to fresh snowfall, but also because some private entrepreneurs, who have forayed into adventure sports, have revived skiing after nearly three decades.

Skiing, a famous winter sport, at famous Kufri ski slopes in the outskirts of Shimla had become a thing of the past due to scanty snowfall during the past few years. But early snow this year has revived skiing here again.

Monika (38) from Delhi, a mother of two kids, seemed overexcited and fell short of words to describe her feelings. “It was a thrilling experience of sliding down the snow on skies. Initially we were a bit apprehensive whether we should visit Kufri or not as our kids are small, but we took the risk and it paid off,” she said.

“We had no clue that skiing has been revived in Kufri. My excited husband and kids are dancing on snow in excitement and have already tried zip lining, bungee jumping and valley crossing besides skiing,” she said.

Amandeep, another tourist from Ludhiana, said: “I tried skiing for the first time and it was a fantastic experience. The government should be pro-active in clearing roads so that tourists can reach the hill resorts of Fagu and Kufri.”

A local entrepreneur has revived skiing for which Kufri was once famous. He started skiing and snow surfing on 100 m slope at his private property.

“I really wanted to revive skiing at Kufri. We offer skiing and snow surfing. The session for ice skating also started last month. Safety is our prime concern as adventure activities cannot be conducted without proper safety measures and under the guidance of experts.”

Sohan Lal Thakur, president, Kufri Ghoda Association, said: “Though curtains on skiing came as a blessing in disguise for local entrepreneurs, as all-season amusement parks came into existence. Three major centres — Hip Hip Hurry, Fun World and Fun Campus — have come up at Kufri in the past one decade, but still winter sports, especially skiing, is the first choice of tourists.”