Watch Omar Abdullah and Abhay Deol drifting at OVERDRIVE's Winter Drive
We at OVERDRIVE are easily bored without a challenge. So when things were going smoothly, issues were getting closed on time and V8-powered race cars were easily tamed on race tracks, we started dreaming of snow. Why? Because in snow there is no traction, no control. It's a slippery slope that most sensible people will warn you against.
That, in a nut-shell. is the logic behind why we decided to go on the 2014 Winter Drive to Gulmarg. Dangerous terrain, snow-covered roads, any speed beyond 5kmph could spell disaster, and braking meant going on a long sideway drift that you had little control on. These are excellent conditions to test our driving skills and more importantly to scratch that crazy itch.
Support extended from Mercedes-Benz India and Kashmir's uber luxurious Khyber Resort and Spa set the wheels in motion and we reached Gulmarg on January 17.
Day 1With us were five time national rally champion Hari Singh, Raid de Himalaya president Vijay Parmar,  actor Abhay Deol and seven very brave participants. The drive to Gulmarg was tough. The roads were slippery and covered in snow and when we tried to put snow chains on the tyres for better grip on road, it came off in no time. Nonetheless the drive was made more fun by the luxurious Mercedes-Benz ML-Class and GL-Class SUVs. On reaching Khyber, it was time for us to prep the luxury SUVs for the tough and slippery driving conditions, and take a well-deserved break from a rough ride at Gulmarg.
Once inside that resort, the warm interiors and hot and declicious kahwa was enough to whet our appetite.  The Kashmiri preperations were delicious, and we were all set for the second day of the drive.
Day 2
We started the Day 2 with three Mercedes-Benz SUVs â€" two GL 350 CDIs and a lighter ML 350 CDI. After prepping them with snow chains, we took them to our snow-covered playground for the next two days â€" the sprawling Gulmarg golf course. Abhay Deol enjoyed drifting in snow in the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class. "It was beautiful," he said. We agree, Mr Deol. Watch the video above to see how far the SUV drifted.
Day 3The third day was even more epic. After a Prinoth Husky worked all night to undo all the havoc we had wreaked on the golf course on Day 2, we were back at it again. Joining us was the flamboyant Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who made quite an entrance on a snow mobile. The man not only knows his automobiles well, he also knows how to put them to the right use!