What does Kandahar have to do with Skiing?

The Afghan city of Kandahar crops up in skiing all over the world - but why? What does this desert city have to do with skiing? The answer lies with one man ...

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If you've skied in one of a long list of resorts around the world, there's a good chance you will have skied on a piste called Kandahar; stayed in grand hotels called Kandahar; watched racers on TV competing for the Kandahar Cup; seen members of the prestigious Kandahar Club about town; or simply strolled down Kandahar Street to one of the World's best après bars.

But Kandahar is a provincial city in Southern Afghanistan, perched on the divide between desert and mountains. In modern history, it is perhaps best known from the 2001-2022 NATO conflict, like so much of the rest of the country.

So what links the two? What links this dusty city with some of our favourite ski areas?

The answer is one man, Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, Lord Roberts of Kandahar, a victorian era British army General who gained superstar status for his imperial victories, and was one of the earliest promoters of skiing as a sport in the early 1900s.

Here's the story of how Field Marshal Roberts found Victorian fame, and made Kandahar everything to do with Edwardian skiing.

Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts of Waterford and Kandahar, VC, etc.

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