Iran may not be the first country that springs to mind for a skiing holiday, but it is steadily gaining the reputation.

Tired of cliched resorts, irregular snowfall, long lift queues and restrictions on off-piste access, powder hunters from Europe and North America are beginning to trickle in to a country most think of as an inhospitable patch of desert.

"As far as pure skiing is concerned, Iran easily holds its own compared to Europe and North America," explains Bob Mazarei, a Swiss-based skier at the forefront of the modern international telemark, freeride and adventure skiing scene.

"The altitudes in which many of the Alborz ski areas are set almost guarantee excellent powder. Well-traveled skiers are familiar with this. And from all accounts, the powder is as good quality as anywhere in the Rockies.

"Your typical American skier," says Mazarei, "would never believe this was possible" -- hardly surprising given that fewer than 500 US nationals visit Iran each year.

Iran has dozens of peaks over 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) , hundreds of kilometers of untracked mountains and -- best of all -- a guarantee of first rate snow and plenty of sunshine throughout the winter and early spring.