James Willcox is the MD of Untamed Borders Ltd. Untamed Borders is the first company ever to arrange ski trips to Afghanistan.
We asked him how he managed it and what it is like?
We had been successfully running cultural and trekking trips in Afghanistan for years but the idea that skiing could be possible first came to mind in 2009 in a small shepherds hut in the Wakhan district in Afghanistan’s far North East. I met an enthusiastic aid worker named Ken who was hiking with his girlfriend. He told me of a small group of ex-pats who regularly skied the Salang Pass that links Kabul with the Northern Provinces. His pictures looked amazing and we agreed in principle to try and run a trip.
The more I tried to work on the details of the trip the more it seemed like an idea that would never come to fruition. There are no lifts, no equipment and crucially no guides. It was fine for ex-pats to ski in the hills but ski touring in uncharted peaks needs professional expertise and just when we were ready to pack it in help came through a project to increase tourism in the Bamian region in Central Afghanistan. Famed for the once having the worlds largest standing Buddhas carved into the rock above the town, Bamian is home to the peaceful Hazara people and is one of Afghanistans most beautiful regions. Bamian and the stunning nearby lakes of Band e Amir regularly see plenty of tourists in the summer but the winter is a very quiet time. A local NGO thought that Bamian could be a future ski destination and is in the process of training local guides using the services of Nando, an IFMGA qualified guide from Italy.
Clearly I was not the only one who thought skiing could be a reality in Afghanistan so we joined forces with this initiative in Bamian and the ex-pat skiers in the Salang to create Afghanistan’s first ski tour.
It is not every ski resort that sees the tourists outnumbered by journalists but that was Bamian in 2011. We stayed in simple rooms heated by traditional wood fired Bukhari stoves. Two Afghan men who I had met previously as guides now work with Nando to run a small ski rental business gathered from donations and are training ski touring guides to the nearby Koh e Baba (old man mountains) range. As well as some top ski touring with Nando our guests visited the remains of the nearby Buddhas, played football with some kids in Dragon Valley and ate kebabs and rice in traditional Chaikhanas (tea houses) in Bamian’s lively bazaar.
We then headed to the Salang Pass near Kabul for a trip up Entente Peak. So named as it was first jointly climbed and skied by a mixed group of French and British in 2003. We drove through Russian built tunnels with icicles hanging from the ceiling and snow drifting in through the holes in the concrete.
However, the highlight for me was on the second day in Bamian. At the foot of the Koh e Baba range we met Asif and Habib. Two brothers aged 11 and 12 they had seen the skiers and with the help of their father had made a set of skies out of wood, metal, and old rubber boots. They only had one pair and took it in turns to make runs. Children in Europe and America would probably turn their backs on the idea of ski touring without lifts but these two brothers had to wait their turn even to get that chance. They get ski lessons through the program twice a week and Untamed Borders hopes that in 5 years time Asif and Habib will be guiding our guests on the slopes of Koh e Baba.
We know that ski tourism is not the answer to the problems facing Afghanistan but in a small corner of the Hindu Kush it can help. The men who run the small ski rental place do need more equipment but what they really need is more skiers. With luck they will get them.
Untamed Borders has a range of trips planned with Nando to Afghanistan in 2012. Wey’ll be back in Bamian skiing the Koh e Baba as well as plans to arrange heliskiing in the Wakhan and first ascents of 6000 metre peaks.
Please visit www.untamedborders.com or contact us on info@untamedborders.com for further details on how to visit Afghanistan as a ski tourist or how to donate equipment to the skiers like Asif and Habib.
Homeboy Ski Blog
This is a guest post from our friend James of Untamedborders.com. James is a real deal. He skis where most of us will never even have a chance to ski. When James is not guiding people around Central Asia he can be found either in Peshawar drinking tea, in Amsterdam with his girlfriend or in London where he is slowly coming to terms with owning a flat with negative equity.
“Skiing the high snowy mountains of Afghanistan would be a dream come true for many backcountry skiers, but as we all know, it is not possible as long as the fighting keeps going on in the country.” – Marko, Homeboy ski.
At the time Marko was writing this in the Autumn of 2009, Afghanistan had already seen a number of skiers on its slopes and was preparing the ground work to accept its first batch of foreign back country skiers. As with many things about Afghanistan, the public perception of the country is often very different to actual life on the ground.
Picture taken by Chad Dear, March 2010
Ever since the International forces ousted the Taliban regime in 2001, intrepid foreign workers have been heading to the slopes near Kabul for some escapism during the winter months and today a small group now regularly use the slopes of the Salang Pass for few runs each week. In the winter of 2009 the Bamian valley in Central Afghanistan has had its first injection of a US.5 million investment to boost its fledgling tourism industry. Local guides have been trained to show how the region, most famous for its giant standing Buddhas which were destroyed by the Taliban 9 years ago, can be a year round tourist attraction. Two American ski consultants spent last winter there and can confirm that the slopes of Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush range is one of the worlds finest backcountry ski areas. Already the prospect of ski tourism has attracted some media interest and it seems that against all odds Afghanistan can be a ski destination.
The development plan in Bamian is to first attract foreign workers from Kabul and wealthier Afghanis before trying to attract foreign tourists in 3-5 years time but Untamed Borders, a travel company from the UK, is already advertising places for Afghanistan’s first ski tour in March 2011.
Untamed Borders is a small niche travel company that organises guides and trips to Pakistan and Afghanistan. They want to use their experience, knowledge and long lasting relationships in Afghanistan to allow back country skiers a unique experience that will be as much a cultural exploration as a skiing trip. Their itinerary intends to allow the guests to follow the routes pioneered by the ex-pat workers in the Salang Pass and then to use the services of the newly trained local guides in the Bamian region. They will also encourage the skiers to bring extra second hand ski equipment to help stock the fledgling local ski rental business of Bamian.
Picture taken by Chad Dear, March 2010
It seems incredible that peaceful pockets can exist in Afghanistan. However, one of the things that has driven the violence in Afghanistan is the fact the country is made up of many different ethnic and religious groups who are often distrustful of each other. Bamian is the home of the Hazara. The Hazara are descendants of an army left as a garrison by Genghis Khan and have mongaloid, oriental faces. They are also Shia muslims in a country dominated by Sunnis. Over the years they have persecuted and neglected by various governments and it is only since the US and ISAF forces have been in the country that schools, hospitals and roads have been built here. This is why the security situation there is far removed from the Pashtun led insurgency you see on the news in the southern provinces.
Untamed Borders use guides that have worked in Afghanistan since 1997 and have a deep understanding of the risks involved in travel to the country and where it is possible to travel safely and why. They have many friends in all the places on the trip who give them up to the minute information on what is really going on.
The question still remains whether Afghanistan, a country with poor infrastructure, no ski lifts and possibly crucially, where alcohol is illegal, can really attract skiers from Europe and America that are used to their creature comforts. However, it is clear that it will not be for a lack of opportunity should the brave wish to make the trip.
Homeboy Ski Blog