We sat in the piano bar at Hotel Dizin. In neighboring Iraq, U.S. forces were anxious to depose Saddam Hussein. It was late afternoon, and the bright Iranian sun cut through the spacious windows, illuminating speckles of floating dust.

It had been an incredible day of skiing. In fact, one of our best. The four of us had boot-packed a 15,000-foot peak and surfed through knee-deep champagne fluff under the cover of clear-blue skies. Now, we thirsted for beer in the comfortable piano bar. But the bartender was nowhere in sight, and a closer inspection revealed that the bar was caked in dust. As a last resort, we had ordered chai from the waiter.

Dizin Ski Resort is a relic from the reign of the Shah who was ousted in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini. In an effort to stamp out après ski, the Ayatollah quickly outlawed alcoholic beverages, and just to make sure, he also outlawed skiing. Even if little has changed under the current leadership of Ayatollah Khameini, at least skiing is legal. We finished our tea and walked outside. A group of local teenagers goofed around in the dusty parking lot. One walked towards us, carrying a mysterious bundle.

"Whisky?" he asked.

I nodded, and he revealed what looked like a recycled brakefluid container with Russian letters.

"From Chechnya," he added.

Over the next two weeks we drank a lot of chai.