Manali (Himachal Pradesh), Feb 1 (IANS) For years a thick blanket of snow in Himachal Pradesh’s popular Solang slopes in Kullu district in north India has been attracting skiers from across the globe. But this year, this seems to be a thing of the past.Members of the tourism industry say erratic snow and rising temperature have taken a toll on ski tourism.
“This year the snowfall in Solang slopes is too scanty and erratic. You see, most of the slopes are devoid of good ice cover during this period,” Manali’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports Deputy Director Mahavir Thakur told IANS. The institute is conducting skiing courses on Solang slopes.
“It (rising temperature) is slowly taking its toll on skiing. Now the snow falls but melts quickly (as the average temperature has gone up considerably). The ski slopes, which normally used to have four to five feet of snow during these days, are totally bare.”
