International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) 2022 Uzbekistan Trip Report

Mattadvproject · Feb 9, 2022

G'day all,
I'll keep the introduction light as there is no guarantee I will even make it there...... it's already been a very rock road with a ton of challenges. Tomorrow (Thu 10th Feb) I'm leaving Granby around 7am and will be heading straight to the Denver International Airport. This time, I have my wife (Julie) coming with me and I'm really excited to have her along. It's been very challenging just to get to this point and we've lost most of the group. As it stands, there will only be myself, my wife and my mate Kevin. We've lost a Skitalk member and his wife, my buddy Gordon (still trying) and then two others. It's just me and Kevin who will be skiing (with a local guide) at the moment.

The initial challenge was obtaining the tourist visas for Uzbekistan. The e-Visa was down so everyone else had to send their passports away with a bunch of paperwork, to the Uzbek Embassy in Washington DC and have them processed manually. I was lucky in that I have a UK passport and did't need to send off for a visa, I can get one on arrival (allegedly). The guys all got their visas in time and then the next challenge has been meeting the COVID requirements. That's been really tough.

Uzebekistan had completely closed their borders during the height of the Pandemic, but several months ago they reopened. COVID restrictions for entry gradually tightened as Omicron did the rounds in Eurasia and infection rates in Uzbekistan increased (they are on their way down after peaking on January 23rd with 1,428 new infections in one day). Since then, like many other places around the world, they have dropped steadily. Current infection rates are 773 new infections (as of the 8th Feb).

Unfortunately for us, we have had several people in the group who recently had COVID (myself included when I tested positive by PCR on Jan 19th when I was in North Macedonia) and Uzbekistan in the last 3 days, has tightened up the requirements for travel. Previously it had offered you the option of either a negative PCR test taken 48 hours or less prior to arrival OR test on arrival with RAT (Rapid Antigen Test) if you didn't have a negative PCR. That was going to work for me as I was testing negative via RAT, but still positive by PCR. I had documented proof of recovery via RAT but couldn't pass the PCR. I took one on the 31st when I got back to Granby but was still positive on the 2nd Feb.

Then they changed the rules of entry (saw the rule change on the 7th Feb) and that really put a spanner in the works..... That meant that I would no longer be eligible for travel, as well as a few of the others. I tested again on the 7th but didn't think anything would change. I was really worried. Amazingly, today (9th), at 4pm, received my notification that I was negative by PCR. I wasn't expecting that. So then the frantic packing began in order to be able to travel on the 10th. I really didn't think it was going to happen.

I still have to do another test tomorrow at the airport ($250 for a rapid PCR with results in under an hour) so if I had a false negative, then I'm sunk and I will have to turn around. The testing center is past security apparently, so they will have to let me check-in before I have to go and take the test (that will be interesting right there), so I'm not counting my chickens just yet. This could all turn south again.....

So hopefully the next time I check in, I will be somewhere further along in my travels with my wife and then Kevin can leave without difficulty. I hope all goes well. Hopefully Kevin still makes it and it would be amazing if Gordon can get a negative PCR in the next couple of days. He's going to keep trying for the next couple of days in the hope that things will change. Hope he makes it. Well, wish me some more luck, I'm going to need it. Hopefully this will be the start of a cool trip, otherwise this trip will end before it started.....

Oh the joys of international travel to exotic locations during a Pandemic...... Onwards and upwards!

- Matt

Drahtguy Kevin · Feb 9, 2022

I look forward to the next couple of weeks of adventure. I can almost taste the beef tongue in creme sauce now!

dbostedo · Feb 10, 2022

Drahtguy Kevin said:
I look forward to the next couple of weeks of adventure. I can almost taste the beef tongue in creme sauce now!

Oh! You're "Kevin"

Have fun - I look forward to the pics and videos!!

Mattadvproject · Feb 12, 2022

Feb 12th - made it to Tashkent!

By the skin of our teeth..... the trip that nearly didn't happen. So we had hoped that the major challenges were going to be over once we made it to the airport, but that didn't turn out to be true. We drove down to DIA from Granby nice and early, arriving at the Baymont by Wyndham around 9am and then leaving my truck there for long-term parking ($6 a day, cheapest parking in the area). Then we caught a Lyft to the airport and were there around 10am. Our flight was scheduled for 1:56pm, so we had almost 4 hours and it turned out we need all that time.....

We went to check in and immediately they asked us for our PCR tests. This is where we had gone wrong. There was a lot of mis-information about when exactly we needed to have the testing done. Most sites were saying 48-hours or less, prior to arrival in Tashkent. Given it takes more than 30 hours of travel time, that needed to be the day of departure, so we needed to be tested on the 10th. We had gone through the DIA website and booked a test at the airport testing center at 11am, for a RT-PCR at the cost of $250 each, with a 30 - 60 minute turnaround time. There was no where in Granby we could get this done, it had to be done in Denver. The airport seemed the most logical and convenient location.

The testing center was past security though, but we assumed we could check-in, get the test done and then show results at the gate. Unfortunately that was not to be, the check-in agent said that TSA wouldn't let us check in without the PCR test being done, so were were denied check-in. Ruh roh..... the agent told us that there was another testing center abotu 25-minutes drive, so we had to go online, register for an account, make an appointment, book a Lyft, take all our bags, and get to the testing center. So, frantically we put all of that together and made it to the testing center. We paid the fees, got the nasal swabs done and then jumped back in our Lyft. Thankfully the Lyft driver who picked us up stayed and waited, so we paid him cash for the return journey and we tipped him out handsomely so we didn't have to organize another driver which would have taken more precious time.

Then we had to sit by check-in and wait for the results to come through via email. My wife got hers after about an hour, but mine hadn't come through (I was locked out of my personal Hotmail account and had to have my results send to my wife's email account) so I called them up and they said I had had an indeterminate result. Grrrr! More waiting. It was now noon and check-in closed at 12:50pm for the flight. Thankfully 15 minutes later, I get the all important email and I was negative, so time to check-in. Yay!

The flight from Denver to Washington DC went fine after that, we got to the gate with time to spare and then the flight from DC to Istanbul had no issues. We had 4 hours in Istanbul and got to experience the Turkish Airlines lounge and that was amazing. It's massive and has a huge array of food and beverages and commanding views of the sprawling main terminal. I was quite impressed by Istanbul airport and it's definitely up there on my last of best airports. We had a little scare trying to get on the plane to Tashkent as there is no public wifi in the main terminal and we couldn't upload our PCR test results until a kind Turkish Airlines ground staff member signed us onto his wifi so we could download and show our PCR test results. Phew!

Then it was onto the plane for an easy 4-hour flight to Tashkent. Surprisingly, local people still clap landings here (haven't heard that for a while), maybe a good landing is a rare thing?! Lol, who knows, but that was a nice touch. Then it was through immigration and then baggage claim (which takes a long time at more than an hour with no other flights around). By the time we were through customs, it was after 3am. We headed outside into the rain and an absolute mass of aggressive taxi drivers and other onlookers. Thankfully we had a driver from the Lotte Tashkent Palace Hotel with a sign up to meet us and we headed to the hotel. It was about 4am when we got to bed and then didn't wake up till around1:15pm.

Whoops! That was supposed to be our sightseeing day in Tashkent but we'll have to do that at the end, when we have 2 days to look around. We organized our train tickets and English-speaking guide for Samarkand (tomorrow's adventure) and then had a quick look around the city close to the hotel. The hotel (Lotte Tashkent Palace Hotel) is quite nice, the staff are very friendly and the rooms nice and big and well-appointed. We'll be staying there a couple more times during the trip.

Tomorrow we take the high-speed (Afrosiab) train to Samarkand at 8:30am and will arrive in Samrkand around 10:30am. We treated ourselves to VIP class on the way out, can't wait to ride on this 200mph train. Samarkand is probably the thing I was most looking forward to seeing with all of it's Silk Road history. Can't wait!

- Matt

Jenny · Feb 12, 2022

I’m stressed out just hearing about it!

AmyPJ · Feb 12, 2022

Can’t wait to hear more and see more pics of this amazing adventure!

Mattadvproject · Feb 13, 2022

Cheers everyone!
The stress of getting to Uzbekistan has definitely been worth it. Day 2 is in the books and what an unbelievable day. We jumped on the Afrosiyob train from Tashkent North Station to Samarkand on the brand new high-speed train. This was a direct train stopping at the ancient UNESCO heritage listed Silk Route cities of Samarkand and then Buhkara. It was only 2 hours or so to get to Samarkand and $35 per person one way, for VIP class (well-worth it). We left at 8:30am and arrived in Samarkand just after 10:30am.

We hired a local English speaking guide with an SUV, for $100 for the day and it was well worth it. Our guide (Timur) met us at the station with a sign with our names on it and we could escape the throngs of aggressive taxi drivers touting for business. Timur spoke great English and had been a guide for 8 years. He drove us to many amazing places, I apologize as I no doubt have them out of order, but we visited mosques, madrasses, shrines, markets and eateries. It was quite the day.

The architecture and history of Samarkand is stunning. I've seen the Taj Mahal and think that is definitely the most beautiful man-made place I have ever been too, but Samarkand is a close second particularly as there are so many sites to see. Unfortunately, given I can't post my high-resolution images, again I'm going to have to limit this to 10 photos that I have already shared on Instagram. Sadly I have a lot more photos but the resolutions are all too high.....

The main sites we went to were the Shah-i-Zinda Ensemble, the Amir Temur Mausoleum, the Afrosiyob Fortress ruins and then the Registan complex with it's 3 amazing madrasas. We also had a great early lunch at a renowned plov restaurant (local delicacy of rice, carrot, lamb or beef cooked in oil in a massive cauldron) and then to the market to try fresh bread and pomegranate juice. All in all, it was one of the best days of siteseeing I've ever had and I can't recommend Uzbekistan and especially Samarkand, enough. It's so convenient to take the high-speed railway from Tashkent and as there are several early morning and evening trains so you can do it in one day if you like.

We have decided to do another day with our guide tomorrow to explore sites in the mountains about an hour outside of Samarkand and then we'll take the train back to Tashkent around 4:40pm. Can't wait for more adventures! Until tomorrow.... here's some of the highlights from today.

- Matt

Jenny · Feb 13, 2022

Beautiful - all mosaic, right?

Mattadvproject · Feb 13, 2022

Jenny said:
Beautiful - all mosaic, right?

Yes, so much intricate and ornate work. It was truly breathtaking. Sadly we won't be able to go to Bukhara and Khiva on this trip, but they are just as beautiful and easily accessible further along the Silk Road train line..... we'll just have to come back!

Mattadvproject · Feb 14, 2022

14th Feb - Samarkand Day 2
We organized with out local guide Timur (now shortened to Tim!) to take us on another day tour. The plan was to go up to the mountains for a picnic (lamb) and look around an ancient city but unfortunately the weather gods did not co-operate. The hotel (L'Argamak) put on an awesome, early spread for us so we could have some food early and head out for our tour (very nice of them). Tim was there at 8:10am to meet us and off we went. Unfortunately as we got up higher, it started to snow and was really cold, not ideal conditions for visiting more outdoor sites, so we turned around and headed back to the city. I can imagine though if the weather was nice, it would have been stunning. It was nice just to see some of the little mountain villages on the way though.

Our first stop on the way back to Samarkand was to a new craft village (Koni Ghil Meros) on this little stream area. It had opened right before the Pandemic and the villagers were struggling mightily without any tourists. We checked out the the "silk paper" production, where they make paper completely from scratch, using only power harnessed from hydro-power from a stream. They take bark from a Mulberry tree and then pulp it using a water-powered pounding machine. The pulp is then mixed with water and collected on a fine mesh sieve and then allowed to dry. It is then placed onto a wall panel for further drying. Then the paper is rubbed smooth with a shell or a piece of animal horn to make the paper really smooth, then it is ready for use/sale. They make 100 sheets of paper in this way, each day and can also make paper clothing, bags, art and many other items.

Then we visited a pottery craftsman who lived at the end of the village but he did not have any pottery classes running, so we talked and he gave us some of his beef paste, a special family recipe that was thankfully a lot better tasting than it looked. He was a lovely man, very friendly and happy to see some tourists for the first time since the start of the Pandemic. Then we headed back into Samarkand and checked out a couple of sites.

Next was the Ulughbeek Observatory, home of an ancient observatory built by Ulug Beg, grandson of Timur, partially destroyed in 1449 and then rediscovered in 1908. There was a great view of the market and other sites we had visited the day before, from the ex-Uzbek President's mausoleum. The highlight of the day though (for me at least) was our next stop as I had been wanting to try some Somsa (meat samosas), Shashlik (kebabs) and Munty (momo's or dumplings). Tim took us to his favorite restaurant where we could try all 3 and for $20, we ate like kings with 3 x somsa, 6 x kebabs, 2 x munty and a basket of bread and drinks. The food was awesome! Definitely the best food of the trip for me and another box ticked.

We finished off with a visit to the Uzbekistan wine museum and some wine tasting. The venue was impressive and very different, in a big old Soviet-era hall with a museum and then a large separate room for the tasting. The lady presenting was very nice and there were 12 glasses in front of Julie and I. The colors were all pretty brakish and I hate to say this (I really try not to be negative), but easily the worst wine I have ever had. The first three were regular wines, but barely drinkable and then we had 6 super-sweet desert wines that I could only take a sip of the first three and had to leave the rest. Then we went really upped the ante and moved on to brandy, cognac and then their equivalent of Yaegermeister. Uugh, not my cup of tea unfortunately so I could not try those. We felt bad, but the lady seemed to have a sense of humor and we laughed it off. Oh well..... all good I hope!

Then it was back to the station to wait for the Afrosiyob train back to Samarkand and our last night in Tashkent before heading up to Amirsoy. When we got back to the Lotte Tashkent Palace Hotel, @Drahtguy Kevin was there waiting for us and he summoned up enough energy for a quick Uzbek beer. Tomorrow, we head to Amirsoy and the start of the skiing!

- Matt

Drahtguy Kevin · Feb 15, 2022

@Mattadvproject getting deep on a bonus half-day to begin our trip. A gondola ride and short slide down a groomer dropped us into several similar lines. It was a great way to kickoff the trip.

Tricia · Feb 15, 2022

@Mattadvproject the pictures are gorgeous so far.
@Drahtguy Kevin That is the pow pow of which you speak!

As your signature says...Give'r

Mattadvproject · Feb 15, 2022

15th Feb - Traveling to Amirsoy and bonus powder turns!

After a lovely breakfast, it was time to checkout of the Lotte Tashkent Palace Hotel and head up to the mountains. It's ski time baby! Our driver from Le Chalet, Amersoy Ski Resort was there to meet us in a nice Hyundai H1 van which had ample room for only 3 passengers and luggage. It was rush hour trying to leave Tashkent and the roads were hectic. The driver definitely was not enjoying the city driving. It took about an hour for us to gain our first views of the Tien Shen Mountains and they were impressive. We quickly started to wind our way up the mountain roads with plenty of fresh snow blanketing the meadows and hills. As we got up higher, we drove past the base terminal of the new gondola/parking area, designed to ease congestion on the upper roads and in Amirsoy itself.

The snow was really starting to get deep as we round the last few switchbacks and entered the resort. Our driver took us straight to the office building for Le Chalet (a complex with nice cabins and a large restaurant, with easy access to the beginner runs and quad chair). We weren't able to check in as it was only 11am, so Kevin and I got all our backcountry gear ready and changed into our ski gear. My wife went and did some work.

We got a lift in a lovely (brand new) Lada Niva to the gondola complex where we proceeded to buy a half-day ticket $20 (RFID rechargeable card) and headed straight to the top. It was easy to see the potential of this place with long, untouched ridgelines running away from the gondola. We quickly found a line to the skier's right of the summit and enjoyed boot-top deep untouched pow for a long run. Eventually we were forced into the bottom of a steep gully which we had to sideslip our way through it, slowly in places to avoid sharks.

Finally we came out on a groomed run which would lead us to the bottom of the beginner chairlift. We would need to take that up and then ski down a few yards to get to the gondola. Then we would head back again and this time head out a few more ridges, to the skier's right. There were a few tracks on the top, but we still found plenty of fresh. There were some legitimately deep faceshots on some of the steeper rollovers. We were having a blast. This time getting out to the groomer did not involve the big slow sideslip out and our lap was quicker. We met several really nice and friendly Uzbek people on the chair and in the gondola and they were excited to meet us and know where we were from. We were given a warm greeting from everyone we met, it was really endearing.

We did another lap, staying on a really long ridge and getting fresh tracks all the way down. That was a great run. We ended up in that same first gully, but it was worth it. By this time it as 2:45pm and time to head back to the office for check-in. When got in, the chalet was ready and my wife had already gone down with all the bags. We had a lift in the Lada again and found the chalet. Inside they are pretty nice, a decent-sized living room/kitchen area but the bedrooms are a little small. We do have two bathrooms, so that is convenient.

The next challenge was to find where to eat as there are 3 options, ranging in price. The cheaper options are in the main base area next to the gondola and they look ok, but we were on a mission to try the fancier option first and that was at the Alpina restaurant and that is back at the chalet area. They were setting up for a party, so the decor looks different to the website images I had seen. There was a big language barrier, only the manager spoke some English so we resorted to their online menu and good ol' Google Translate.

Unfortunately the food is very overpriced (beers were warm and $8 rising to $9 a bottle!!) and the staff are very young and extremely inexperienced. Thankfully the included breakfasts we will be having there is buffet style, so then the language barrier will be less of an issue. Then a big kid's birthday party came through and it was definitely time to get out of there. I don't think we'll be eating dinners there again. The restaurant near the gondola has an English menu and seems much more reasonable priced. I knew that this would be a time to learn and figure out what we liked and where we will eat, so we'll try something different for tomorrow and hopefully it will go better. Live and learn, that's why we are here......

Tomorrow should be an amazing day though. There's still plenty of untouched snow to be had with some easy skinning. The forecast is for sun and we will be meeting up with our local guide. Can't wait!

- Matt

Mattadvproject · Feb 17, 2022

16th Feb - Amirsoy full-day

We got to meet with our local guide Kseniya and ski with her. Kseniya is Ukranian originally, but has been skiing in Uzbekistan since 2 years of age. She's a fantastic skier and knows these mountains like the back of her hands. Her father Gregoriev has been skiing the Chimgan area for 40 years and is an absolute legend, begin featured in some older ski movies with another legend, Dominique Perret.

We started with a couple of runs in the off-piste area and skied a really nice face off of a ridgeline that was steep and deep. That was a great way to warm up. We skied another ridgeline, super fun, but with a couple of tracks on it. Then we hit a new zone, way out skier's right and this whole area was completely untouched. It took a short, 10-minute ski to reach the start of our zone and I stopped a little shorter to set up my bigger camera to film @Drahtguy Kevin and Kseniya ski a beautiful ridgeline poised perfectly in the sun. I'll share that footage later but it looked incredible, a really nice ridge. Then I dropped into another deep, more open ridge and the snow was incredible and the light perfect. More good footage in the can.

It was a very easy traverse to get back to the resort and we headed back down quickly for another lap in that zone. Unfortunately the cloud was starting to build for the second lap and we had a much longer skin on a pretty gnarly ridgeline. The views behind that ridge are incredible, with much bigger peaks and ridges and some really tasty terrain below us, with steep ridges and couloirs. It's all south-facing. Kseniya had never skied it. The skin along the ridge was really fun and adventurous, with a lot of technical features like wind-drifts, drops and short, steep faces to navigate.

We pushed way out to a really nice ridge, for about an hour. We waited for a while but the full sun would not come back so after a while of waiting, we had a moment of slightly better brightness and I dropped in. I really wanted maximum vert on this as I was filming, so I skied the whole shot in one go, probably 1,500ft vert of untouched pow. That was a dream run, just wish we had the sun on it (getting spoiled here with the weather!). Then we had a nice team-ski through some open trees on a ridge before we had to enter a gully.

We didn't get very far before the foliage got too tight and we had to put the skins on and start skinning out. We had about 6 ridges to skin up and over to get to the resort and it was a lot of hard work, some of those ridges were very steep. It took over an hour to get back to the resort but was definitely worth it, even though we were sweating a ton and working hard.

That night we headed to the restaurant on the first floor of the main building (about a 10-minute walk from our accommodation) to try something new, since we had not enjoyed the fancy, overpriced $9 selling restaurant where were eating breakfast in the mornings (breakfast was really good thankfully and included in the price of the accom). Here we found an English-menu, a really friendly English-speaking waitress (we love you Moonie!) and very tasty, inexpensive food and $2.50 draft beers. This was the place! Love it! So we got to ski well and then eat very well. A happy team!

- Matt

Drahtguy Kevin · Feb 17, 2022

I’ll leave the heavy lifting to Matt for the Thursday report and just post favorite pics.

@Mattadvproject on the up. Our destination was a few hundred meters over the peak on the left.

One of the two stray dogs that joined us Thursday. He needed a rest after the long hike.

He liked watching Matt ski.

Our guide Kseniya with our lines on the middle ridge. It was the best run of my life. So far…

Kabobs and beer from a local stand where in order after our big day.

Kseniya and Grigoriy, her father. Grigoriy caught up to us on the skin track and joined in the adventure. He is a legend in the mountains of Uzbekistan as a guide, skier and alpinist. Movies have been made about him.

And we get to do it again Friday.

Tiki · Feb 17, 2022

Wow! Really enjoying this!

Mattadvproject · Feb 17, 2022

17th Feb - Ski Touring at Mt. Chimgan

Kseniya organized us a taxi at Amirsoy to take us to the ski area at Chimgan, overlooked by the impressive Mt. Chimgan (10,856ft). Chimgan is about a 25-minute drive with a crazy Uzbek driver (!) and has a 40-year old double chair that accesses some really good expert off-piste terrain (plus one groomer) and a t-bar down lower for vodka-drinking beginners. Ha ha!

Our plan was to skin up the western flank of Mt. Chimgan and ski Kseniya's favourite backcounty run, about a 3,000ft vertical ridge in the middle of a massive face. We started next to the main road to Chimgan, across the road from the new fire station. It started off pretty steep before mellowing out for a while and then getting steep again. The terrain and scenery were impressive but terrain management was important to try and keep us out of potential slidepaths as we ascended.

After about 2-hours we were taking a quick break and a couple of dogs appeared on the skin track below us. The quickly made it up to us and needed some pats and then not long after, Kseniya's dad (Grigoriy) appeared on the track. Awesome! I have not met him before and he is an absolute legend in these parts. He's been in Chimgan for 40 years and was one of the original guides. At 70 years young, he gets out and skins nearly everyday, most often by himself. He was welcome of the company and an absolute honor to meet him. He's a lovely chap and a great skier and inspiration. We we honored by his presence.

The skinning was arduous, but with the relatively low altitude, my previously COVID effected lungs weren't too stressed. My legs were definitely feeling it as this was the first serious skin I've done in more than 3 years. It took nearly 4-hours to reach our drop-in point, a beautiful 3,000ft north-facing ridgeline that ran all the way to the valley below, just above the old t-bar. There had been some massive avalanches earlier in the season and the debris piles and tracks, were still clearly visible.

There was no one else around, we had this massive area to ourselves. I was nervous and excited as I dropped in and my legs were definitely tired as I made my turns. The line was stunning and the snow just as good. I was able to make long, GS turns in the 12-inches or so of consolidated fresh snow. The turns were dream like. As much as I wanted to ski the whole run, I had to stop twice. By the time I got to the bottom, I had made exactly 101 turns. I looked back and could trace my tracks all the way to the top. @Drahtguy Kevin and Kseniya were already skiing and I readied my big camera out to film them. Grigoriy also made it down to the ridge from his line and the 3 of them made great turns all the way to the end of the ridge where I was waiting.

What a run. There was so much euphoria, Kevin said it was his best run of his life and now finally understood why people hike for hours for just one run. He was a convert. I'd say this run was easily in my top 5 all-time. It was an all-round great adventure. Then we finished off the afternoon across the road at a small roadside cafe, drinking local beer and eating kebabs and fresh bread. A great way to finish the day. We enjoyed a more relaxing ride back to Amersoy and it looks like we will be skinning to the same zone for another line down an even bigger ridge. Can't wait. Sorry legs.....

These pictures are out of order, but you get the idea......

What a day!

- Matt

Rdputnam515 · Feb 17, 2022

Looks like a fantastic trip!

Mattadvproject · Feb 18, 2022

Rdputnam515 said:
Looks like a fantastic trip!

Thanks kindly! Yes, it's exceeding my expectations in nearly every department. I'm really sad that 5 of the others couldn't make it, but stoked for @Drahtguy Kevin who's first time it is, skiing overseas!

Drahtguy Kevin · Feb 18, 2022

Friday fun! Uzbekistan offers a seemingly endless supply of untracked lines. We were thrown a curveball Friday, and our plans changed. Plan B was better than most Plan A that I’ve ever had. @Mattadvproject will be along to explain.