‘Hockey in Heaven’

LEH, India — More than 11,000 feet above sea level, a group of 30 women spread out and got to work around an open-air ice rink.

Armed with shovels, brooms made from small branches, and hockey sticks, they cleared the surface of the New Rink after an overnight snowstorm. Billowing green nets, intended to keep the sun from melting the ice, hung heavy with white powder, sagging toward the surface of the rink. The women pushed and pulled at the fabric, using their sticks to thwack the net, hoping to dislodge its frosty burden.

Once the snow was cleared, it was time for the national women’s ice hockey team of India to start what the players call “camp.”

For 15 days, 20 national team players and 10…