Dear Members & Friends of Islamabad Jeep Club ( IJC )
Alhamdo Lillah
Team IJC arranged a Snow Cross Peace Rally 2012 at Kalam
We started our journey on Friday 3 rd Feb 2012 at 3 pm from Toll Plaza.
At first 11 different 4x4's managed to arrive at Mingora. Stayed there for a night & on Sat 4 th Feb at 8 am started our journey towards Kalam.
Had a cup of tea with Colonel Nadeem at Madyan.At Madyan Mitsuman , Aamir Malik & Dr Nadeem Naeem along with Mr Imran joined.So total number of rides went upto 13. Later Mitsuman's friends came from Lahore on Hilux Tiger. The final number of rides went upto 14.
As we started our journey towards Kalam there was little snow covering the mountains. As we proceeded further toward Kalam it started Snowing & it covered the whole area.
When we reached Kalam it was fully covered with snow. After dumping our luggage into our hotel we had lunch then went outside to have our Peace Rally along with locals at a ground close to Kalam
Enjoyed driving our 4x4's on snow. After sunset we came back & enjoyed watching videos of the event.
On 5 th morning we presented Shield to Gulzada Sb ( Ex Nazim of that area & who helped Team IJC in all the flood relief activities in that area )
& certificates to all the participants
Aim of the event was to highlight the need to promote Tourism in Swat specially in Kalam. People of the area are very friendly & are always there to help u out.
There is complete Peace in the area & lovely place to visit in winters also.
Special thanks to
1 : Colonel Nadeem , Captain Asher & their team for giving full support to our team
2 : Gulzada Sahib & his team for helping out in all matters
3 : Mitsuman who came all the way from Karachi
4 : Ajab Khan who came from Peshawar & arranged boarding , Lodging
5 : Saeed bhai who came from Lahore
6 : Hayzin for a Special Cake for IJC Snow Cross 2011
7 : All the friends for making this event a success
Hats Off for Asad Marwat & his Team for all the arrangements
As usual lot of videos & pictures were taken n will be uploaded soon
Regards
All IJC Members
Msg from Hasan ( Hayzin )
Every year brings new challenges, new hopes, new ambitions and with it all...a new awakening.
Since I have joined the Islamabad Jeep Club, I have had the chance to explore many different terrains.
For those of you who have never heard of the IJC (Islamabad Jeep Club/ www.ijc.com.pk); this is a club where like minded
enthusiasts who love the outdoors, our country and 4x4s come together. We promote the notion of being P+ (Pakistan Positive).
This trip to Kalam (Swat) is part of the annual IJC Snow Rally. Our main aim, other than bashing snow, was to let the people of Pakistan know
that despite the battles fought in Swat and the destruction of the floods of 2010, that the people of Swat rely on tourism to support their families.
Swat has finally been made a safe place again and people should go there as it has some of the most beautiful scenery that we have access to here in Pakistan.
The Army has worked hard to restore the roads and keep peace in these areas. The road to recovery is still long for the locals. Signs of the devastation and destruction still remain.
Over 36 major bridges were destroyed owing to the floods and IJC has sponsored and rebuilt one of them purely from our own pockets.
I have attached some photographs of our trip. We left Islamabad on Friday afternoon 3rd Feb and returned last night Sunday 5th Feb. There were 30 of us adventure junkies with 14 jeeps.
As we left Islamabad, there was non stop rain which soon turned into non stop snow. We traveled a total of over 350km (one-way) to Kalam, where the temperature was -14 degrees Celsius!
The Pak Army was of great support to us. We were provided with security for our entourage and the Colonel in charge appreciated our efforts in promoting Swat.
All in all, it was a great trip with great company.
Next stop, Cholistan Desert Rally!
Best Regards
Hasan Ruvi Zaman