The early snowfall in various districts of Himachal Pradesh has just extended the time period for winter sport lovers.

The most popular winter sports events listed for this year includes ice skating and skiing. Already the National Ice Skating Championship is going on at the Shimla Ice Skating Club which is Asia’s oldest natural ice skating rink that was started in 1920. This year 12 teams from across the country which include participants from Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Maharashtra, Indian Army, ITBP and Shimla Ice Skating Club, among others have participated in this championship. A total of 100 participants showcased their ice skating talents at the championship which is to end on 12th January 2011.

Due to the comparative warmer winters since the past two years of 2009 and 2010, the ice skating championship is being held after a period two years. As a result there were fewer ice skating sessions in 2009 and 2010. But this year in spite of heavy snowfall and its resultant harsh winter, a large number of spectators gather at the championship events of the skating club held during early morning hours and after sunset. This also helps to keep the local interest in ice skating alive in spite of the drawbacks faced for the past two years. The National Ice Skating Championship has been conducted at the Shimla Ice Skating Club since 2000 by the Indian Olympic Association.

Apart from ice skating even ice skiing has benefitted from an early winter. “Narkanda, which has seen comparatively regular but short skiing camps in the past, would have a longer session this year due to early snowfall. It would continue up till March,” said Deputy Director Skiing of the Mountaineering Institute, Mahavir Singh. The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Mountaineering Institute in Manali will start ice skiing training camps at Narkanda from 11th January 2011.

Along with promoting ice skiing, the Himachal Pradesh state government is also trying to rejuvenate the enthusiasm to explore forgotten potential skiing spots such as Kufri near Shimla. Kufri based leading hotelier, philanthropist and Chairman of PHD Chamber of Commerce, Himachal Chapter, Dhian Chand says, “A local body of stakeholders of the tourism industry in Kufri had submitted a proposal to the state government for re-exploring the professional skiing potential at the existing slopes over the potato fields of Central Potato Research Institute. Two new ideal spots had also been suggested that have the potential of holding snow for a longer time. We are still awaiting a response”.

Kufri located about 13 kms from Shimla is the highest point in its region and was a skiing hot spot in the 1980’s. During winter meandering paths through the potato plantations of Kufri turn into a popular ski track.

One of the most popular tourist attraction In Kufri apart from ice skiing is the Himalayan Wild Life Zoo which hosts rare antelopes, felines and birds including Himalayan Monal, the state bird of Himachal Pradesh.

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