{"id":19322,"date":"2019-03-20T09:03:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T09:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2019\/03\/20\/surrounded-by-military-barracks-skiers-shred-the-himalayan-slopes-of-indian-kashmir\/"},"modified":"2019-03-20T09:03:00","modified_gmt":"2019-03-20T09:03:00","slug":"surrounded-by-military-barracks-skiers-shred-the-himalayan-slopes-of-indian-kashmir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/surrounded-by-military-barracks-skiers-shred-the-himalayan-slopes-of-indian-kashmir\/","title":{"rendered":"Surrounded By Military Barracks, Skiers Shred The Himalayan Slopes Of Indian Kashmir"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lauren Frayer<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n A helicopter brings skiers and snowboarders into the mountains around Gulmarg, in Indian-administered Kashmir<\/p>\n

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Lauren Frayer\/NPR<\/p>\n

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Lauren Frayer\/NPR<\/p>\n

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In a Himalayan valley surrounded by military barracks, blasts of artillery fire often reverberate across the icy mountain peaks. This is one of the world’s longest-running conflict zones. It’s near where India and Pakistan recently traded airstrikes<\/a>. So it’s not unusual to see helicopters buzzing overhead.<\/p>\n

But on a morning in early February, one particular chopper<\/a> was not part of the conflict.<\/p>\n

“I run Kashmir Heliski<\/a>. We have clients from different parts of the world. We take people to 4,500 meters. They enjoy it!” says Billa Majeed Bakshi, a local skier turned businessman.<\/p>\n

Since 2011, Bakshi has ferried more than 1,000 skiers and snowboarders nearly 15,000 feet up into the Himalayas, via helicopter, in Indian-administered Kashmir.<\/p>\n

Kashmir is split between Indian and Pakistani control<\/a>. The mountain valley is the site of a decades-long insurgency, as separatists on the Indian side fight for independence. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are stationed on either side of the Line of Control, Kashmir’s de facto border. India blames Pakistani-based militant groups for attacks on Indian security forces, including a Feb. 14 suicide car bombing<\/a> on the valley’s main highway.<\/p>\n

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\n Billa Majeed Bakshi, the founder of Kashmir Heliski, has ferried skiers and snowboarders nearly 15,000 feet up into the Himalayas via helicopter in Indian-administered Kashmir since 2011.<\/p>\n

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Furkan Latif Khan\/NPR<\/p>\n

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Furkan Latif Khan\/NPR<\/p>\n

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But in the cold months, when the valley fills with snow, it also becomes a winter sports haven for a small but devoted gang of extreme sports enthusiasts. They often ski \u2014 “shred lines,” as boarders and ski bums put it \u2014 just a few hundred yards from the Line of Control, within view of Pakistani troops on the other side.<\/p>\n