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No matter what time of year you get the bug to strap on the skis (or the board), you can take to Oregon’s Mount Hood. Here, you’ll find Timberline Lodge at about 1,200 metres.
During the summer months (from June to September) you’ll find plenty of skiers higher up the mountain at Palmer Snowfield. The best part is you can get up early to do a bit of skiing, then head down to Portland for some craft beer and doughnuts, or go a bit further to enjoy the amazing coastline. Take in artsy Cannon Beach, wander the promenade at Seaside or catch a wave at Indian Beach.
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Californian ski and surf
Pack your wettie and your skis and take off on a thrill-seeking Californian day trip. Spend your morning surfing the friendly Bolinas break locals have tried so desperately to keep secret (they remove road signs almost as soon as they’re put up), then buckle up for the four-hour drive to Squaw Valley, host of the 1960 Winter Olympics. There’s no need to rush – runs are floodlit by night, giving you plenty of time to ride the legendary slopes.
Ski one hour, sunbake the next
If you decide to add Cyprus to your next itinerary, put a few days aside for some fun in the snow. That’s right, in the heart of the Troodos Mountains, Mount Olympus has four ski slopes.
It’s a short season, from January to March, and it’s all pretty gentle, but it does have the honour of being one of the few places in the world where you can get your hit of snow-based action for part of the day then sunbake yourself silly at a beach resort just an hour later. Nearby Paphos has 27 beaches ranging from very popular to almost deserted, the perfect way to warm up after your unexpected snow experience.
Ski the Spanish way
When you hit slopes around the world you expect vistas daubed in snow, but the pistes of Sierra Nevada boast panoramas far more unusual – the shimmering expanse of the Mediterranean Sea. Andalucían rays beam down on Europe’s southernmost ski slopes most days of the year, making it the ideal place to go if you’re torn between sun and snow.
As the ski season slips into spring, the days get warmer and the sparkling blue begs you to swap your boots and poles for togs and a towel. Make for the shore, known as Costa Tropica, just 100 kilometres away.
Hit the slopes, Morocco-style
Morocco tends to conjure thoughts of tagines, deserts and inescapable heat, so you’ll be forgiven for forgetting to pack your skis. Yet only 70 kilometres from Marrakesh, the Atlas Mountains are home to Oukaïmeden, Africa’s highest ski resort.
Oukaïmeden offers a Moroccan take on the classic sport. Clamber onto a donkey instead of a chairlift, haggle for a cheap set of skis and spend a bizarre après-ski in awe of the snake charmers and street performers who roam Jemaa El Fna.
Glacier kayaking
While some wring their hands at the mention of shrinking glaciers, a beautiful side-effect of glacial retreat peppers Alaska’s Prince William Sound. A 16-kilometre trail of ever-changing ice sculptures graces the bay, creating a striking landscape best explored by kayak. It’s a two-hour water taxi trip to the Columbia Glacier, but keep your eyes peeled along the way for seals, sea lions and, if you’re lucky, whales.
When you arrive, swap the motor for a paddle and coast around the vibrant blue shards, listening as great chunks of ice crash from the terminus of one of the world’s most rapidly changing glaciers. Scientists predict its retreat will halt in the next five to 15 years, when it will stabilise and cease shedding.
Hot tub igloo
The thought of walking into an igloo in a bathing suit is enough to make anyone shiver. But Engelberg Iglu-Dorf has its own in-igloo spa and sauna equipped with a heating system to fend off the cold. The igloo village it resides in is built from scratch every year, and the spa igloo accommodates up to six guests within its icy walls, which are adorned with Inuit art carvings. It’s a constant –5°C inside, but the 38°C jacuzzi will make you forget the chill.
Kawaii Japanese ice-fishing
Hunting for lunch on a frozen river sounds like a macho way to fill your belly. Not in Japan, where ice-fishing oozes cuteness and culminates in bowls full of crunchy wakasagi (tempura smelt fish). Colourful tents rise from Sapporo’s solid Barato River, some with portable heaters offering respite from the cold (find one and make friends with the owners).
Grab a teeny-tiny rod, settle on a low-rise stool and dangle your line in a hole carved in the very thick crust. Once you’ve reeled in a feast, dip your snacks in batter, plunge them into a bubbling pot of oil and give them their marching orders straight to your gob.
Taking the plunge, iceberg style
If you’ve done enough tropical dives to have found Nemo 50 times over, it’s time for a new adventure. Grab the thickest possible drysuit, check the water is clear from floating chunks of ice and roll into Greenland’s Disko Bay.
The thick-skinned take off from Ilulissat, where 20 million tonnes of ice fall per day, for a hit of iceberg diving. The ocean temperature hovers around freezing point, but exploring the shifting and sighing underwater world of icebergs is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Frozen Dead Guy Days
With events including coffin racing, a hearse parade and frozen turkey bowling, Frozen Dead Guy Days seem more like a scene in a Tim Burton film than an annual festival in the quiet mountain community of Nederland, Colorado.
Dreamed up by a cryonic-crazy family that has kept its Grandpa Bredo on ice for years (and across continents), it’s hard to decide if the story behind the festival or the festival itself is more bizarre.
