Ghulam Mohammad Wani

Gullu — Ghulam Mohammad Wani — grew up on the front range of Gulmarg’s peaks, the kind of childhood where snow days were simply days. Skiing was not a holiday sport. It was how winter moved. What started as passion became a lifelong career when he registered as an official ski guide with Jammu & Kashmir Tourism in 2009. Himalayan Ibex grows from that registration and from the years of guests who still ask for him by nickname.

He is a former ski racer with a riding style that still pushes the edge of the piste. He holds basic and advanced mountaineering certifications from JIM&WS, Pahalgam. The summit list is not decoration: Kohli Peak (17,770 ft), Stok Kangri (20,182 ft), Nun Peak (7,135 m), Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar. He has stood on National Sports Climbing stages and joined the 2016 Matho Kangri expedition in Ladakh.

As founder and lead guide he still spends the working day on snow or trail — private ski days, backcountry, and the summer treks that share the same ranges. When he is not guiding, he is still on the mountain, because that is home. Guests meet a local professional, not a seasonal contractor flown in for the powder months.

If you want the person who has watched Gulmarg’s weather for a lifetime, start with Gullu. The rest of the Ibex team — co-founders, IISM trainers, ski guides — works in the same grain: Kashmir first, then the craft.