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Kel Valley, Azad Kashmir

-10C doesn't cut it? Average high temp in Gilgit in January is 9C and low is -2.7C. You've probably never experienced -10C. All I'm saying is many of the northeners should dress properly, I don't get how long they have been living there. Look at people in Canada, Scandinavia, Iceland they are also use to extreme cold but they still dress in proper winter cloths Pathan or Kashmiri or not.




I have two Chitrali topis what's your point? They are made of sheep wool yes they are very warm but they don't protect your ears from the cold which can be the first to go in subfreezing temperatures.




Point is if many of them owned proper winter clothing they could have better kept warm outside there were many young children sitting out for days with no gloves and their fingers got gangrene in days. As for me I would start a fire with my flint, and my clothes would prevent me getting in that bad shape; that's the point.

Dude, you just had to poke me, didn't you.....very well,

I kinda have a house up an old "hill" on the outskirts of the Skardu valley near the bridge connecting the Ghanche and Skardu valleys. I was first taken there when I was 2 in late Jan. That was a particularly cold winter and I fell ill due to the -20C below temps. Currently I live in the Ontario snow belt, have been for more than a year now. Apparently the previous winter was the coldest in many decades but the temp only fell till -22C or maybe -20 for two nights (can't remember exactly). The lowest I've experienced is a -36C. We got stuck on Saling in a snow storm during the winters at 5300 meters. Had to dig a snow cave to stay alive. On Hombroq it was -38 to -40C but I couldn't verify that through any credible means. In Rattu we call a day with -12 to -15C a good day for skiing. I've been sleeping on rocks, with a sleeping bag of course, in temps below -10C since I was 15. Interesting story: I once peed all over the officer's lounge's bathroom bowl in Rattu because I didn't realize that the water in the bowl was frozen solid.

Now, ever wondered what the folds on that topi are for? Also, mufflers and scarves are used there to shield the ears along with the face and the neck from the cold. Next, they did own proper winter clothing (as much as they needed). But see the strange thing about earthquake disasters is that when they turn your house into a pile of rubble you can't really go fishing for your gloves in it. And so despite owning proper clothing, you're left without them. The temps that those kids were dealing with could not have been dented much with a fire, which I'm sure they had enough sense to build. If they didn't have enough clothing to survive their winter then I'm pretty sure they would've gone extinct by now. These people do own goose down jackets, they're pretty cheap up there, but they only wear them when they feel the need.

ps: Firstly Gilgit is the warmest darn place in all of Gilgit Baltistan. Next, an average low of -2.7C in Gilgit is absolute rubbish. Interestingly, google also says that Rattu has an average low of -1C, lol. About Canada; through out the winters I saw women in skirts, everywhere, but even still they aren't as immune to the cold as the people back home. Btw one thing I forgot to mention is that if you over clothe yourself, then go out and work yourself into a sweat then its about 100.34 times worse than being cold. And unlike the Icelandic and the Canadians these guys have to go out and do hard manual labor everyday. I'm still pretty sure you have no idea of the kind of traditional clothing these guys have for winters, which they rarely wear anymore and instead wear those winter jackets you like, but only when they feel the need.
 
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Yar mein tou zara dur ka Kashmiri hun, second generation born out of Kashmir, grandparents left Srinagar in their childhoods. As for every human being is equal, of course, the conditioning that these guys get plays a major part in making them superhuman to cold. Howeverm, the subtle physical differences are there. For example, a Caucasian just on the bases of his skin pigmentation would find it a lot more difficult to survive in the Sahara or Cholistan.

Btw I have some seriously fond memories of Bagh from my childhood, majesty doesn't even begin to describe it. I was heart broken when I heard that the 2005 quake nearly completely destroyed Bagh, how is it there now? Is it still the jannat ka Bagh that I remember it to be? And yup this shortage of water I'm aware of. Especially when the streams and springs dry up in the winters and it hasn't snowed yet.



Yar kia hogaya hai. First, unless you were born in Kashmir you can't compare yourself with them. And I'm not talking muzafarabad. True paharis are born further north from there. Second, -10C doesn't even cut it. On top of that, unlike in the US, these guys spend all their days outside working in the winters. No centrally heated offices for them. Thirdly, never make the mistake of disregarding a pahari's words on cold, mountains, snow, etc. There's more wisdom in them than boasting. Next, like I explained before, those shalwar kameezes serve them just fine. If we can't handle it, it doesn't mean that they cant either. These guys were wearing these clothes when your compatriots thought that Mont Blonc was the highest mountain in the world and that the Alps were the coldest place on the planet. Furthermore, they were getting gangrene and hypothermia because their houses were destroyed and everything in them with it. You know, no shelter and no clothes left. Tell me you'd sleep happy outside your house, in the open, in the winters with your winter jackets, thermals and gloves in -10C. You know this tendency of North Americans stating the 'feels like temperature' instead of the actual base temperature? Yeah, these guys don't really care for it that much. Lastly, they can find winter jackets, thermals and gloves just fine in their local bazars, thank you very much. Try to wear their coats and Chitrali topis sometime. Northface's beanies?......pfffft. Legend says, the first porter to go up K2's side was wearing wooden shoes. Climbing gear, however, is a completely different story.
Bagh is booming bro and So is Rawalakot.

Dubai k Sheikho ny boht construction ki ha yaha py or Chinese ny b.

Sometimes i feel earthquak was blessing in disguise.
 
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Bagh is booming bro and So is Rawalakot.

Dubai k Sheikho ny boht construction ki ha yaha py or Chinese ny b.

Sometimes i feel earthquak was blessing in disguise.

True, the places have changed a lot after the earth quake and usually for the better. Awesome to hear that Bagh is still awesome.
 
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I visited kel valley and espacially the place Arnag kel is the most beautiful placce i ever visited..... words of my friend ... if God asks me what kind of granden you want in havens then i will ask Him tu give a garden just like arang kel....its beauty mesmerizes you ....... and trek to arang kel from kel valley is a difficult one
 
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