Gulmarg, March 1 -- The medals glittered in the thin mountain sun, but when athletes were asked where the real gold was forged, they didn't point to the podium. They pointed uphill toward the snowbound ridges of Gulmarg and the disciplined, relentless world of the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS), according to a release.

At the 6th edition of the Khelo India Winter Games, held here from February 23 to 26, athletes from across India, representing states, Union Territories, and institutional giants like the Indian Army, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), echoed a common refrain that HAWS made this possible.

Founded in December 1948 by General K S Thimayya, then a Brigadier, as the 19 Inf...