The Shah’s mountain legacy Our intrepid writer Andreas Hofer with a brilliant dispatch from

WITHIN MOMENTS of Lufthansa’s flight LH600 January. At minus 20°C, Iran feels more like Siberia than touching down at Imam Khomeini International a Gulf country. You’d better cover up, ladies - what a grim airport, a sudden change takes place in the crowded frost. Yet I rejoice. I have come to . ‘It is certainly cold aisles between Business Class and the tightly packed Unlike Siberia, there’s a ban on alcohol in the five-star enough to ski in this rows of Economy. Young women returning from shopping Laleh hotel, of course (if you’re not one of the Russian country of snow-covered trips to Europe tuck their fashionably highlighted manes tourists, that is, who have a habit of importing vodka in mosques, palm groves, and carefully blow-dried hairstyles swiftly under humble fruit-juice tetra packs). There’s also a universal smoking and minarets. But will it shawls. But there is a practical side to this. Tehran at ban, supported by heavy fines. be appropriate?’ 2:00am is veiled in smog, and the streets are carpeted It is certainly cold enough to ski in this country of with half a metre of snow. snow-covered mosques, palm groves, and minarets. But The smell of kerosene welcomes the tired traveller will it be appropriate? first in the neon-lit, vast arrival hall, and it follows them The streets of the capital are choked with gas-guzzling stubbornly all the way down town. Ovens and camping Paykans (Hillmans), home-made Peugeots, and the burners fight a desperate battle with the cold in mid- ubiquitous blue Nissan-like pick-up trucks, carrying an

74 | Ski+board | skiclub.co.uk Andreas Hofer

An Iranian odyssey

reminder of civilisation in this barren landscape. The owner of a roadside eatery, built on a platform overlooking a white foaming torrent of melt-water, grills us some fresh trout and complains about the lack of tourists like me and Anders Bergwall, the Swedish ‘In the mountains, the mountain guide who is my companion on this adventure. pulpit is powerless. The range, a wall of Dolomite-coloured cliffs Girls show off their to a large part completely void of vegetation, separates shapely figures in tight the country from the Caspian Sea. , a ski suits. They exchange dormant volcano is - at 5,678 metres (18,629ft) - the the veil for stylish woollen highest peak of a massif comparable with the Alps. Here caps, and love their are the most fashionable ski resorts in Iran: (3,850 boyfriends defiantly. After metres), (3,050 metres), and (3,600 dark in the chalet, Johnny metres), all within easy reach of the city by car, provided Walker may drop by for a the traffic is moving. brief visit - or even stay In Dizin, the Shah wanted to create a winter resort the night.’ as splendid as the ones he would visit every season in Switzerland. It was never finished. A few gondolas and cable cars were built (they are still in good condition), plus a handful of , and a few Puma lifts. Concrete pillars for more lifts stand idle, as do lift stations which never opened, and hotels never finished, as well as the elegant three-storey chalet the Shah gave as a birthday present to his third wife. The main hotel is operated by the state, friendly yet empty. Skiers do come here from Tehran – but only at weekends. When the snow conditions are right, the skiable area is vast, and you’ll have it virtually average of 10 times the maximum load. To go to Dizin, all to yourself. The mountain restaurant sells kebabs, rice, the Shah’s favourite , north of Tehran, one has hot tea and fresh fruit juices as well as hamburgers, of to endure traffic jams of biblical dimensions. Since the course. Everybody is helpful, and proud to have foreign Shah and his dreaded secret police, SAVAK, were ousted guests. The skiers here are a wealthy crowd. You can tell in 1979, the city has grown without much planning from by the stylish and expensive ski dresses and the many roughly one million to almost 15 million inhabitants. And nose bandages which pretty girls show off like a badge each one of them seems to own at least a handful of of honour. Only the wealthy will spend good money on cars. No wonder petrol, which costs five pence a litre, has cosmetic surgery. A nose job is like a Gucci handbag here. to be rationed, and the black market in fuels is thriving. The skiing in Iran, of course, is nothing like Val d’Isère It feels like freedom when we finally get off the or Courchevel. Of the 30 or so resorts scattered over the Western highway en route to Quazin, and start our country, only a few run more than one or two lifts, and ascent into a snowy land of sheer rock and steep the hotels (although impeccably clean and hospitable) ravines. Giant steel pylons transporting electricity can’t compare with the luxurious comfort of Swiss hotel seemingly from nowhere to nowhere are the only palaces. What makes the experience worthwhile is the ❱❱❱

Ski+board | 75 'Sometimes we even skied in vineyards'

Liberty on the slopes: Superb powder at Chergerd

unusual altitude, the amount and quality of snow, and be used any more. Rug dealers with secret accounts ‘The skiers here are a the enthusiasm, skill, hospitality and pride of the native in Dubai and Qatar will find a way round this, but not wealthy crowd. You can skiers. And although the prices for skiing tickets double the state-owned hotels and airlines. You have to carry tell by the stylish and every year, Iran is still a cheap country for winter sports. rucksacks of cash with you, or US dollars, the unofficial expensive ski dresses A day pass in Dizin costs the equivalent of £7, a double lead currency. If you use the services of a travel agency, and the many nose room in the best hotel £20. Ski rentals are very cheap they will pay for most of your expenses by money transfer. bandages which pretty by European standards too - as long as you bargain well As Iranian money has a lot of zeros, people talk of ‘tumans’ girls show off like a - and the equipment offered is of better quality than in (1000 Rial), or ‘Khomeinis’ (10,000 Rial), also nicknamed badge of honour. Only many places in the Alps. ‘papers’. So when you bargain for a taxi ride or some the wealthy will spend In the city, many public buildings have gender-separated souvenirs from the bazaar, remember - a paper is a dollar, good money on cosmetic entrances, the women in the streets predominantly wear one Rial is nothing, and three Khomeinis will buy you a can surgery. A nose job is like black, and unmarried men can only dream of love while of (Russian) Baltika beer which is virtually non-alcoholic. a Gucci handbag here.’ keeping themselves desperately busy repairing their cars Iranians are seriously hurt by the backwardness of their (which they seem to do on every corner of the country). But government (as well as the embargo by the international here in the mountains, the pulpit is powerless. Girls show community) in their lifestyle, education, and their pride. off their shapely figures in tight ski suits, exchange the veil As it is difficult for them to fathom that the nuisance for stylish woollen caps, and love their boyfriends defiantly. and hardships are brought upon them by a bunch of old After dark in the chalet, Johnny Walker may drop by for a clerics with foggy eyeglasses, many suspect a world- brief visit, or even stay the night. wide conspiracy, which may not be far off the mark. The guardians of faith who molest everybody whose Petrodollars keep flowing and prop up the regime, inflation behaviour is anti-religious - girls who wear mini-skirts, and unemployment is rampant, and real-estate prices or are not veiled, boys who drink – rarely ski. They wield compete with London and Moscow (pre credit crisis). Life batons, not ski poles. This is one of the main reasons why is hard, and poverty not quite the road to enlightenment. there is so much liberty on the ski slopes. This irresistible Those who can, go abroad, those who can’t, quit their concept, where all skiers are equal and neither Satan future with a shrug. nor the ‘Axis of Evil’ will have any meaningful impact on One day the pistes will be completely empty, and neatly performed powder tracks is so powerful, that not the Revolutionary Guards will have it all to themselves. even Mullahs can defy its attraction: in Chergerd, a resort Provided someone teaches them how to ski. near Esfahan, I saw a Kaesbohrer ratrak carrying a solemn My and gear not only attract a lot of attention and group of black-robed clerics in large, white turbans smiles of disbelief - they also look quite out of place in the cruising up and down the slope. The ski-lift was shut, but richly decorated entrance hall of Esfahan’s Shah Abbasi they were obviously having a great time. They nodded with Hotel, a converted 18th century caravanserai. The pools, approval, even risking a smile. fountains and neatly trimmed trees in the courtyard are Decades of the ever-tightening embargo restrictions covered with snow, and so is the blue-tiled 18th century have had a growing impact on the country, particularly mosque behind my room. The snow-capped turquoise- banking. All major international banks have ceased blue dome forms part of the historic building complex. The business with Iran, which makes trade more difficult and late Shah was so fond of this hotel that, repeatedly during expensive, as armies of middlemen take their cut, and the 1970s, tour groups returning from a day’s sightseeing all foreign companies doing business in Iran will try to in nearby Persepolis or Pasargadae would find their indemnify themselves against possible ‘exposure’ with luggage taken from their rooms and piled up neatly near ruthless profits. Imported goods are now predominantly the reception desk “as the royal retinue had unexpectedly Chinese or of Russian origin, and credit cards can’t officially commandeered their room” (The Bradt Travel Guide).

76 | Ski+board | skiclub.co.uk Andreas Hofer Ruins at Persepolis, the ancient capital of the Persian empire An Iranian odyssey

SNOW IN THE STREETS. Under an overcast sky, people With elaborately carved pear-wood blocks, some of them hurry along - collars turned up - numb hands protectively many generations old, the master stamps rows of paisley ‘With frozen toes, hands in front of their faces. Shopkeepers crouch behind and floral patterns patiently next to each other until, after deep in my pockets, I kerosene burners. The gold souks around the corner many hours, a beautifully coloured tablecloth or bed cover stepped through the are not open yet. Even the scavenging magpies in the emerges. I’m offered tea and allowed to watch this century- 17th century gate to the park seem numb from the cold, too weary to go on their old craft. Snow falls through the open skylight. Qaisariyeh Bazaar. Miles routine inspection of the garbage bins. Anders wanders The drive through the desert is a journey through time. of roofed, narrow streets off in search of a driver willing to take us (in such bad We passed mud walled villages abandoned a few hundred full of corners and little weather) the 400 miles through the snow-blown desert to years ago, dilapidated fortresses and clay castles, courtyards displayed the Shiraz, leaving me to enjoy a stroll through the old town. complete with watch towers and moat bridges, windswept treasures and spices Isfahan (altitude 1,585m, population 1.5 million) is graveyards and decaying shrines. Onwards and upwards, of the orient: all void of the manifestation of a Persian dream. With its turquoise until we neared Zhiraz ‘Naqsh-I Rustam’, the awe-inspiring buyers, yet busy with domes, elegant minarets, soaring tiled portals and delicate rock tombs of the Achemenid kings Darius and Xerxes, traders talking and garden pavilions, its mirrors, golden mosaics, subtle who tried in vain to subdue Athens 2,500 years ago. Their lamenting their plight.’ frescos, elegant columns, stone bridges, parks, pools and vast palace complex and imperial city is to be seen a few fountains, it is all grace and perfect balance. European kilometres down the road, or what is left of it after it was traders in the 17th and 18th centuries were stunned by the burned down by Alexander the Great, conqueror of the magnificence and wealth of the Safavid Shahs, who gave world and destroyer. the city its face. Today’s tourist hordes (which consisted “You will go skiing in the Zagros mountains?” the on this January morning exclusively of Anders, who had beautiful young woman at the front desk of the Homa disappeared, and me) feel similarly overwhelmed. All these Hotel Shiraz asked, with a nod in the direction of our skis. grand monuments just for me to marvel at: the Madrasa She handed us our room keys and added with the same Chahar Bagh, the multiple arched Allahverdi Khan Bridge, official tone of voice: “Would you mind of I join you?” I withered stone lions, shrines, merchants’ houses, palaces, almost dropped the keys. Just an hour ago, the girl in the and mosques, the Jewish quarters, Armenian churches, the bookshop was petrified when I involuntary touched her elegant symmetry of the Maydan Imam, said to be three covered arm. “Excuse me?” times the size of St Mark’s square in Venice. “Yes, my boyfriend and I would love to join you. I have Under covered arcades around the square, carpet my day off tomorrow. Oh no, I can’t. I have an English traders, antique dealers and miniature painters keep shops, exam in the evening. Almost forgot.” With a smile of sipping tea and waiting for buyers and springtime. With regret, she already turned to the next customer leaving us frozen toes, hands deep in my pockets, I stepped through bewildered. She was just joking. Wasn’t she? the 17th century gate to the Qaisariyeh Bazaar. Miles of The same evening, however, she drew a map for us roofed, narrow streets full of corners and little courtyards showing all the ski resorts close to Shiraz (altitude 1,600m, displayed the treasures and spices of the orient: saffron, population 1.5 million) and gave us a list of excellent dates, dried fruit in all colours and shapes, pistachios, restaurants and cafes. Shiraz is a university town, famous almonds, and hazelnuts in neat piles and cones, metal for its medical faculty, and the hotel lobby and numerous works, china, oil lamps and vases complicatedly staked or bars in the centre are full of young people of both sexes hanging from vaulted ceilings. Streets of jewellery, tribal having a great time without getting married first. The city is rugs and saddle bags, silk and brocade, all void of buyers, rich, clean like Zurich, and full of vibrant street life. What a yet busy with traders talking and lamenting their plight. difference from the rest of the country. Here, we met Masut Stiff from the cold, I entered one of the workshops where - the only driver in Iran with a VW caravelle bus. Our skiing cotton cloths and shawls are colour-printed by hand. adventure would now start in earnest. ❱❱❱

Ski+board | 77 The Zagros mountains have four dozen peaks over Skiing in the village of Chergerd, we came just in 4,000 metres, and we certainly had the firm intention time for the Hoseyn processions. The villagers skittered to ski them all. For a week we drove in our Volkswagen down the snowy paths, afraid to be late for the great bus from village to village in a north-westerly event, the women like giggling nuns, the boys all direction. Sepidan, Yasuj, Khafar, dressed in full martyr gear – black garb and green Chergerd. We stopped wherever Masut head-bands, the men with sombre faces, shouldering found a place for us to stay - quite often the obligatory chain scourges. Their drums and chanting in the middle of nowhere, parked on accompanied us on the slopes above the village, where the side of the road. Got our ski gear out, we climbed higher and higher under an azure sky. buckled our boots, stuck the hides to our Our most memorable meal was in the house of the skis, and started to hike up a peak village teacher of Sisakht. His (invisible) wife prepared somewhere in the endless winter a succulent lamb curry with herb salads, then chicken landscape. Masut would wait with dried cherries and carrots, a lentil and bean soup, patiently, sometime for the followed by sweet pastries, her own honey, and glass whole day until we returned, after glass of bitter tea, all served on the floor with us exhausted, but happy. We crouching in a circle. Our shoes, which we had taken climbed mountain passes off in front of his house, were frozen when we left. The and ravines, crossed moon was out and bigger than usual. valleys bare of human or Was it a miracle how Masut managed to keep our even wild life, skied in travel papers in order through all the checkpoints? resorts where we found Only once were we stopped by police - in the middle of them, and sometimes nowhere. When they saw our ski equipment they were even in cherry gardens all smiles and very apologetic and explained that they and vineyards, some of thought we were poachers who wanted to go for some them at altitudes of more mountain gazelles out of season. “These beautiful animals than 2,500 metres. I had are hungry now, and tame,” said the lieutenant. “It would no idea that the Shiraz grape be a shame to kill them.” He told his men to get back into would be so resilient. the police car and saluted us with a smile.

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