Riding the Himalayas and Testing the Future of Bindings

I have snowboarded in a lot of incredible places around the world, but Kashmir was different from anything I had experienced before.

The idea started back in 2019 when someone commented on one of my YouTube videos and told me I should visit Gulmarg in India. At first, I thought they were joking. When I pictured India, I definitely did not imagine deep powder, huge alpine terrain and a gondola climbing almost 4,000 meters into the Himalayas.

A few years later, I finally made the trip.

Arriving in Kashmir

Getting to Gulmarg is already an adventure.

I flew from Canada to Delhi, continued to Srinagar and then travelled through the mountains by jeep. The roads were narrow, the journey was long and the military presence throughout the region was impossible to ignore.

But the moment we arrived in Gulmarg, everything changed.

Snow was falling through the trees, the village felt peaceful and the local people welcomed us with hot tea. It immediately felt like we had arrived somewhere special.

Riding One of the Highest Gondolas in the World

The Gulmarg Gondola takes you far above the treeline and gives you access to enormous open bowls, untouched powder and some seriously wild terrain.

The scale of the mountains is difficult to understand until you are standing there.

There were barely any crowds and fresh lines seemed to continue forever. Some of the turns I had in Gulmarg were among the best of my life.

On our final day, we rode from the top of the mountain all the way down to a village in the valley. It felt less like a normal day at a snowboard resort and more like a full mountain expedition. That run alone made the entire journey worth it.

Snowboarding with the Local Riders

One of the best parts of the trip was meeting the local snowboard community.

Many riders in Kashmir have limited access to modern snowboard equipment, but their passion for riding is huge. They use whatever gear they can find and make it work.

Watching them ride reminded me how easily we take good equipment for granted in North America and Europe.

If I return, I want to bring additional gear and leave it with the local riders. The snowboard community there deserves more support.

Testing the CLEW Independence in the Himalayas

This trip also gave me the opportunity to properly test the CLEW Independence binding in real mountain conditions.

I have ridden almost every type of snowboard binding and have now spent hundreds of days riding CLEW. What makes the system different is that it gives me the feeling and response of a classic two strap binding while allowing me to step in within seconds.

In Gulmarg, that became a real advantage.

At almost 4,000 meters, after long travel days and while standing in deep powder, I did not want to sit down or struggle with frozen straps. With CLEW, I could simply step into the binding and ride.

The entry feels smooth and natural. There is no complicated movement and no need to ratchet the straps again every time I get off a lift.

It Still Feels Like a Real Snowboard Binding

The biggest question people ask me about CLEW is whether the riding experience feels different from a traditional binding.

My honest answer is no.

The Independence feels responsive, direct and secure. Energy transfers quickly into the board and the binding performs exactly how I expect a serious snowboard binding to perform.

I rode it through deep powder, steep terrain and long descents in the Himalayas without feeling like I was making any compromise.

This is not only a convenient binding. It is a performance binding that also happens to offer one of the easiest entry systems I have ever used.

Lighter Than Other Hybrid Systems

Weight is another major difference.

Many hybrid entry systems feel heavy once they are mounted to the board. The CLEW Independence feels noticeably lighter, both while riding and while carrying the snowboard.

That matters during a normal resort day, but it becomes even more noticeable when travelling through large mountain terrain or hiking with the board.

Because the highback stays attached to the boot, the board is also easier to carry and the binding is always ready for the next entry. The highback never folds over the heel edge or blocks the system when stepping back in.

Comfort That You Can Actually Feel

The integrated canting places the feet at a slightly more natural angle. It sounds like a small technical detail, but I could feel the difference during long days.

One of my friends on the trip regularly experiences discomfort around the arch of his foot. After trying the Independence, he immediately noticed that the position felt more comfortable.

He stepped in on his first attempt and rode away without any learning period.

That says a lot about how intuitive the system has become.

Built and Assembled in Germany

Before travelling to Kashmir, I visited the CLEW production facility in Germany.

Seeing where the binding is developed and assembled gave me a completely different understanding of the product.

CLEW is still a relatively small snowboard company, but the team is obsessed with engineering, testing and quality. The bindings are assembled in Germany and every part of the system has a clear purpose.

After riding the binding in one of the most demanding environments I have visited, that attention to detail makes sense. The binding simply works.

My Honest Conclusion

Gulmarg was one of the most memorable snowboard trips of my life.

The mountains were huge, the powder was deep and the local snowboard culture made the experience feel completely different from riding in a normal resort.

The CLEW Independence was the perfect binding for this trip. It gave me the response and control of a classic two strap binding while making every entry faster and easier.

No special snowboard boots. No sitting down. No repeated ratcheting. No compromise in performance.

After riding so many different snowboard bindings over the years, CLEW is the system I trust for everything from regular resort days to deep powder and serious mountain terrain.

Would I return to Kashmir?

Absolutely. I would go back tomorrow.