Welcome to the world of conspicuous consumption, preening celebrities, snowbound indie film hopefuls and arrogant distributor moguls.
It lies amidst a wild, inaccessible region of snowbound crests, and is certainly nowhere less than 15,000 ft.
From Bamian it passes over the central mountain chain to Kabul either by the well-known passes of Irak (marking the water-divide of the Koh-i-Baba) and of Unai (marking the summit of the Sanglakh, a branch of the Hindu Kush), or else, turning eastwards, it crosses into the Ghorband valley by the Shibar, a pass which is considerably lower than the Irak and is very seldom snowbound.
Between Kabul and Herat there is no " royal " road, the existing route passing over the frequently snowbound wastes that lie below the southern flank of the great Koh-iBaba into the upper valleys of the Hari Rud tributaries.
A freight train traveling between Kirkby Stephen and Barnard Castle becomes snowbound in the Westmorland hills.
