The 25 th January 2009 will become known as a landmark date in Iran. Why is this? It was simply because that was the day when a skier born and bred in that very country took part in the World Cup Skiing tournament in Kitzbuhel, Austria.
You would expect to see skiers from familiar countries taking part in such an occasion – places more accustomed to snow perhaps, such as Switzerland, France, and the host country Austria.
But Iran?
It might not sound like the best place to go as far as the search for snow is concerned, but you’d be wrong in that respect. And that might be one of the reasons why someone has finally got enough experience and enough talent in the area to enter into the Skiing World Cup in the first place.
His name is Hossein Kalhor, and he is just twenty five years old. Now it must be said that his biggest success at the event was simply taking part, since this in itself made history in his country. Unfortunately he never made it past the first round.
His chosen event was the slalom, a notoriously dangerous and dicey event that tends to throw up some surprises quite often in the final standings. This time it was certainly a surprising run, considering that Kalhor made it down to the finish line – albeit in next to last place. But a couple of the famous name skiers who were taking part in the event didn’t even manage that, so he had something to celebrate.
Perhaps the most memorable comment made by the Iranian was his opinion of the course itself after he completed it. He said: “The course was very slippery.”
An accurate assessment for sure, but it is one that perhaps you wouldn’t have heard from anyone other than a skier from Iran. Good luck to him for the future though, as he seeks to progress beyond the first round of each tournament he takes part in.
So where exactly did he get his experience with skiing, living as he does in a country that isn’t well known for its snow?
He was brought up near Tehran, which is a mountainous part of Iran that enjoys the Alborz range of mountains. Those skiers who are in the know will already be aware that there are plenty of ski resorts in the area. And indeed, this is where Hossein Kalhor earned some cash as an instructor in his past.
It might seem hard to believe that the first resort here has now been going strong for thirty years. But it just goes to show that the snow is here, and so are the people who want to keep this secret to themselves.
Kalhor may not become skilled enough to worry the best of the expert skiers taking on the World Cup and other similar events, but he will certainly give them plenty to think about. And perhaps also he will give hope to others in Iran who may follow in his footsteps in the future.