Skiing at Shahdag, Azerbaijan

My wife and I tried skiing at Shahdag range of mountains at Azerbaijan.

We stayed at Hotel Zirve where there is a ski school with instructors.

A few details about skiing:

It is not as easy as it looks. It involves getting the physics right. Just like other things (trekking, scuba diving, helmet diving, archery, golf, shooting) 

There are a few things we learnt about the details and process of skiing doing it here for the first time overall.

The process involves a few steps:

1. Register your time slot for individual instructions. (Here they allow maximum 3 people per instructor)

2. You need to hire the following: Ski shoes, Skis, Ski sticks, Helmet, Goggles (optional), Jacket (optional if you already have one), Gloves (optional)

3. You need to pay the following: Equipment renting, Ski instructor fees and the Ski pass - for using the ski slopes (Like a green fee on golf courses)

Please be ready to spend at least 1-1.5 hr before the instruction time to get these 3 things done.

Post this, the live instructions of how to connect / Disconnect the skis with the ski-shoes on ice can start.

The instructor we were assigned was good in English and patient and helped us correct with the mistakes we made and took us (my wife and I) step by step.

At the end of the 2 hrs session, we asked him to video record our skiing and he did a marvellous job of it too.

Few new things to know for a first timer: The ski shoes are very different from all other shoes and are very heavy (maybe 3 kgs each leg). The ski shoe is meant to not break or let the leg slip out even when you put the maximum weight on the front and try to fall front (the ideal body position) when skiing.

Please do expect a few falls with the entire attire while trying to negotiate a curve or trying to stop, but be free to fall and prevent any injuries. I saw at least 2 other people fall in the 2 hrs apart from we falling off.

Skiing has significant costs:

Renting of 2 pairs of Skis, Ski sticks, Shoes, Helmet, Goggles and a locker for our shoes costed us about 132 Mannat or USD 78.

Ski instructor fees was 185 mannat or about USD 109

Ski pass for 2 was 66 Mannat or about USD 39

Tip to instructor of 15 Mannat or about USD 9

Total Skiing = 398 Mannat or about INR 19900

Happy Skiing!

2023 Experiences

I am a firm believer of having new, interesting experiences almost constantly throughout life.

If not experiences, what else are we living for in this life?

With a firm mindset and curiosity of new things, I have been able to identify new things to do and new experiences to have almost every other week. It is a craving, it is an addiction and get to learn more about the world around me. The thrill of discovering new things, experiencing new things and then sharing these new things to others is something I find joy in.

I hope the list below inspires people to value experiences and look forward to create & share experiences for others to enjoy.

So, let me share with you the new experiences in 2023. Most are bucketlist worthy and some not, but just an interesting experience.

1. Completing the Hyderabad half marathon - 4th time. This was the hardest ever for me as I did it after a 8 year hiatus. With poor training, I somehow managed to complete it much better than expected with going to office half day after the marathon and not taking any leave the next day also. Helped in bringing a lot of self confidence in doing hard tough things. Some of the reasons I run the half marathons: to know my stamina, to develop will power to overcome barriers.
2. Indoor sky diving. Gravity Zip at Hyderabad. The starting of an experience for sky diving in the future.
3. Riding a bike as fast as possible - 122 km/hr. Breaking the previous record of 114 km/hr after a big break of over 7 years in the same bike as before.
4. A bike tour with a gang. An interesting new experience and learnt about the various roles in a bike gang.
5. Watch Maverick - one of the best movies in theater for free. An infinite returns on this one experience.
6. Indoor Rock climbing - Crag studio. Never knew rock climbing is this hard.
7. Axe-throwing: In Madhapur, https://axethrowingindia.com An interesting game and definitely not as easy as one thinks it to be.
8. Foosball, 10 pins. Fun to play with family / friends
9. Visiting a huge mythogical musuem/ theme park - Surendrapuri
10. Experiencing a TEDx event. Definitely some of the best music, live shows and fantastic standard setting level of organising an event like this.
11. Having a flaming drink. Nothing more fun than to drink a flaming Sambuka.
12. Attend a live concert
13. Attend a live stand up comedy show - There are open mics daily in the city. One of the few people to know this and attend this and encourage the upcoming talent.
14. Perform a live stand up comedy show. Last but not the least, the best secret experience of the year. Performed as a rakshabandhan gift to my sister and my wife with others.

A few missed experiences:
Attending a world cup cricket match in a stadium

The cancelled F4 car race in the city

The e-prix car race.

What's up 2024? :)