It all started way back in 1957 when I was a school going teenager and my older sister and I went to Shimla to stay with the Superintendent of Police Mr. Jejee from Patiala, a colleague of my father. That year snow in Kufri, on the out skirts of Shimla, was heaviest one and all the main slopes were covered with 4-6 feet of snow. I was on the slope from morning till night using wooden skies and bamboo poles, by evening I could come down with many falls, great achievements, back again next day with better performance, that was beginning of my passion for snow skiing. Forgot all about skiing in NDA/IMA till a winter warfare course was allotted to my unit 3rd Madras in 1963, which was at that time deployed on UP-Tibet border. I was detailed for the course and arrived at Gulmarg (Kashmir), which looked heavenly and something that I had never seen, most of the huts just roof was visible and pine trees were laden till some of lower branches touching the snow on ground. At High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS), with slightly better skies and poles though same wooden ones and I did well on the course and was selected for winter warfare advance course, next year back to HAWS, with grading  of ski instructor.   Took part in Indo-Pak war in 65 with my unit 3 Madras (part of 69 Mountain Brigade) and opened Sialkot Sector leading the battalion attack on Maharajke village deep inside Pakistan, did not pick up any award as such, though cited, but I knew what I did for my unit and the Army and I am very proud of myself. Posted back to HAWS after operation and joined 1966 as ski instructor, while as a ski instructor did mountain warfare course during summers and passion for skiing kept growing and skiing was taken up even more seriously. A female friend was kind to bring a pair of Down Hill skies from USA and all the other gear for me. In 1967 took part in All India Skiing competition at Khilanmarg- Gulmarg organized by Government of India and won Slalom Race, pitched against 25 odd skiers most foreigners though took part in Joint Slalom and Down Hill races and was declared Best Indian Skier of the year, posters were made by Department of Tourism and Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), which appeared at most IMF functions and at railways stations for many years to come to promote winter sports / tourism in India. Passion continued with skiing till 1970 and kept going to Gulmarg and skiing there during each winter. In 1970 was picked up for First Indo-Bhutan Mountaineering cum Skiing expedition to Chomolhari 23,997 ft, (Google reports its height at 24040 ft) most scared mountain in Bhutan  on eastern tip of Bhutan, with Sikkim in  India and in north with Tibet. Its peak is covered with heavy snow mass and there are no rocky out crops for a quite a distance from mountain top towards south east. We were to ski down from the top of the mountain but had to call it off due to an accident by the second summit party wherein we lost two young Indian Army officers posted at IMTRAT Capt Avtar and Capt Sharma and a Sherpa from Nepal, till today their bodies have not been recovered. Ground and aerial searches lasting over a week were futile. It was decided to call off the skiing from mountain top and ski down from Camp -1 where I was camping at an altitude of 21,000 ft. After winding up the camp Maj Prem Chand and self skied down from this camp to 17,000 ft where the snow line finished. Some experience of skiing at this height and had to negotiate many crevasses and rocky out crops. It took us 4 hours to complete this down hill trek and that was the end of high altitude skiing for me. We could not publicize the great news de tragedy on the same mountain, no one had ever skied from even 21,000 ft due tragedy on the same mountain. I am told Government of Bhutan has not allowed any expedition on Chomolhari since then.

While on an Army course in Czechoslovakia for 5 months in 1970, (I got the news while at Chomolhari that I had to proceed to Czechoslovakia to train on Topas APC). I skied almost every weekend in Alps in Austria and Italy, did some skiing on glaciers in certain areas of Alps on Italian side too and as well did some skiing on local slopes in Austria.

 There was no skiing between 70 to 90 as I thought let me work on profession in uniform too, I did most of courses/commands/staff / teaching assignments and so on, rest is history. I went back to Switzerland for month long vacation cum skiing in 1990, before hanging up the uniform in 1991.                                          

From 1991 till date have many times to US and have skied in Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe and Copper Mountain. Copper Mountain in Denver was in 2005, have not been after that to USA, will ski again when I go this year.