Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and artificial ice allow more flexibility. Playing areas and fields consist of either snow or ice.
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Sarajevo '84, were a winter multi-sport event held between 8 and 19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. It was the first Winter Olympic Games held in a Slavic language-speaking country, as well as the only Winter Olympics held in a communist country before the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. It was the second consecutive Olympic Games held in a communist country, after the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was already an Olympic candidate, unsuccessfully bidding to host the 1960 Games. Innsbruck won the 1964 Games bid, defeating the cities of Calgary in Canada and Lahti in Finland. The sports venues, many of which were built for the Games, were located within a radius of 20 km (12 mi) around Innsbruck. The Games included 1,091 athletes from 36 nations, which was a record for the Winter Games at the time. Athletes participated in six sports and ten disciplines which bring together a total of thirty-four official events, seven more than the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. The luge made its debut on the Olympic program. Three Asian nations made their Winter Games debut: North Korea, India and Mongolia.
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the XI Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Sapporo 1972, were a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe and North America.
A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
Gulmarg, known as Gulmarag in Kashmiri, is a town, hill station, tourist destination, skiing destination, and a notified area committee in the Baramulla district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of 31 km (19 mi) from Baramulla and 49 km (30 mi) from Srinagar. The town is situated in the Pir Panjal Range in the Western Himalayas and lies within the boundaries of Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary.
Spiti is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tibet and India. Spiti incorporates mainly the valley of the Spiti River, and the valleys of several rivers that feed into the Spiti River. Some of the prominent side-valleys in Spiti are the Pin valley and the Lingti valley. Spiti is bordered on the east by Tibet, on the north by Ladakh, on the west and southwest by Lahaul, on the south by Kullu, and on the southeast by Kinnaur. Spiti has a cold desert environment. The valley and its surrounding regions are among the least populated regions of India. The Bhoti-speaking local population follows Tibetan Buddhism.
Ajeet Bajaj is the first Indian to ski to the North Pole and complete the polar trilogy which entails skiing to the North Pole, South Pole and across the Greenland icecap. Bajaj and his daughter Deeya Bajaj were the first Indian father daughter team to climb Mt. Everest. He completed the Explorer's Grand Slam on 05 June 2022 while completing the Seven Summits with his daughter Deeya.
Shiva Keshavan, is a six-time Olympian and the first Indian representative to compete in luge at the Winter Olympic Games. He set a new Asian speed record at 134.3 km/h (83.5 mph) after beating the previous record of 131.9 km/h (82.0 mph) and won a gold medal in the 2011 Asian Luge Cup at Nagano in Japan.
The 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games, officially known as the III Winter Youth Olympic Games and commonly known as Lausanne 2020, were the third edition of the Winter Youth Olympics; a major international multi-sport event and cultural festival for teenagers that was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, the home of the International Olympic Committee, between 9 and 22 January 2020.
Ice skating is popular in North India in places like Ladakh, Kashmir and Shimla where cold weather occurs and it is possible to skate outdoors. Much of India has a tropical climate, hence in the rest of the country, ice skating is limited to the few artificial rinks available. An ice skating festival is organised in Shimla every year.
Skiing in India is an activity that mostly takes place in the northern states of India, where the Himalayas are situated. Skiing is administered by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation in India. The Himalayas provide an excellent skiing experience owing to their great height which makes for long descents. Heliskiing is also gaining popularity in places like Manali and Gulmarg. However skiing in India suffers from lack of infrastructure. There are also security concerns in Gulmarg which is 20 km (12 mi) from the Line of Control, however since 2002, it has been peaceful, which has led to an increase in skiing activity in the region. Some of the most popular skiing locations in India are Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir, Solang in Himachal Pradesh and Auli in Uttarakhand. The skiing season in India is from January to March.
The Western Himalayas are the western half of the Himalayas, in northwestern India and northern Pakistan. Four of the five tributaries of the Indus River in Punjab rise in the Western Himalayas; while the fifth, the Sutlej cuts through the range after rising in Tibet.
Tourism in Himachal Pradesh relates to tourism in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. This is popularly renowned for its Himalayan landscapes and popular hill-stations. Many outdoor activities such as rock climbing, mountain biking, paragliding, ice-skating, trekking, rafting, and heli-skiing are popular tourist attractions in Himachal Pradesh.
The Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports was established in 1983 in Aru, Pahalgam, when chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir suggested its creation to Prime Smt Indira Gandhi. The institute was formed on the lines of other national mountaineering institutes in the country. Aru was chosen as a natural location for the institute with its rolling hills and easy access to mountain passes. The institute currently offers training in Mountaineering courses, Skiing courses and Adventure Courses.
Arvind Raturi is the mountaineer from Uttarakhand to scale Mount Everest at the age of 20. As a member of the NCC Mt Everest Expedition 2013, Arvind summited the world’s highest peak on 19 May 2013 at 0730 hours (IST).And become the youngest Mount Everest summiter form uttarakhand.
Popular sports in Jammu and Kashmir include cricket, football and winter sports along with sports like golf, water sports, Ice stock sport and adventure sports. The National Winter Games have been held in Gulmarg in 1996, 2004 and 2009. The first Khelo India Winter Games were held in February and March 2020 in Leh and Gulmarg. Jammu and Kashmir won the most gold medals while the Indian Army team came second with 8 gold medals. The second edition of the winter games were also held successfully in Gulmarg in 2020 with Jammu and Kashmir coming first and Karnataka second.
Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) are the national level multidisciplinary grassroot winter games of India. Events include skiing, alpine skiing, nordic skiing, snow rugby, Ice stock sport, snow baseball, mountaineering, snowshoe running, ice hockey, figure skating and speed skating. It was decided to hold the first Khelo India Winter Games in 2020 after the success of multiple editions of the Khelo India Youth Games.
Snow baseball is a winter sport based on baseball that is played on snow. Snow baseball can be played on snow or frost, with players typically wearing snowshoes or skis.
Sledding, encompassing sports such as luge, skeleton, and bobsledding, is popular as a recreational activity in India, but with little participation as a serious sport. However, India has produced a handful of sledding athletes who have been successful at the top level, the most prominent being medal-winning luger Shiva Keshavan. Despite the country's predominantly tropical climate, these winter sports have gained some prominence in recent years due to Indian athletes competing internationally and the growth of winter tourism in the Himalayan regions which have suitable winter conditions. India is considered to have a huge untapped potential for winter sports, including sledding.
