Skim the clouds in a chopper then swoop into some of the most remote landscapes on earth in the north of Ethiopia. Each day you’ll witness panoramic views from the cabin of your private helicopter as it takes you to places only a handful of people have ever stood. Touch down in the Simien Mountains as first light illuminates its pinnacles and plateaus. Here, bearded vultures plunge from cliffs, scavenging for carcasses in the deep valleys below. Bleeding-heart baboons, found only in Ethiopia, journey in harems of 800, and rare Ethiopian wolves and walia ibex roam the World Heritage-listed national park.
This is a land steeped in history, with all the traditions you’d expect from one of the world’s oldest Christian nations. You’ll visit churches hidden in caves and hewn from rock almost 1,000 years ago.
And if hell were a tangible place it would take the form of the otherworldly Danakil Depression, where temperatures throttle the thermometer, making it the hottest place on the planet. Magma from the Erta Ale volcano spits and hisses from the ground and acid lakes sit in lurid ponds.
In the afternoon, you’ll soak out the heat in freshwater pools and return at night to lodges that nod to the traditions of the region, with the addition of modern amenities and luxurious trimmings. It’s an experience unlike any other – after all, more people have visited the moon than set foot in some of the locations you’ll explore.
Some activities are best left to the experts, and being dragged behind a bolting horse is one of them. Skijoring is kind of like harness racing, minus the two-wheeled sulky, and Switzerland is where the best in the business compete in this hair-raising sport. ‘Riders’ on skis are pulled behind a horse galloping at up to 50 kilometres an hour for line honours.
The White Turf meet is held on the frozen St Moritz Lake every February and features regular horse racing, jumps, trots and the skijoring showstopper. Imagine the Melbourne Cup with snow and fleeces instead of saddles and fascinators.
Are thoughts of razor-sharp blades through splayed fingers too much for you to consider ice-skating? Then this might just be the new winter activity for you. Take a normal bike, replace the front tyre with a blade and find yourself a good stretch of frozen ice.
Ice-biking seems to be particularly popular in China, where you can hire the unusual contraptions at South Lake in Changchun (capital of the north-west province of Jilin) and in Beijing, either at the Zizhuyuan Park skating rink or on Lake Houhai. While you’re attempting to pop slick monos, you might also notice another unusual mode of transportation: the chair sled, which basically consists of two wooden seats strapped together and propelled forward using fire pokers.
We’re all guilty of struggling to get out of the sack when it’s cold, and the annual bed race in Ottawa, Canada, will have you grasping the bedpost like never before. Held on UNESCO World Heritage–listed Rideau Canal (measuring almost eight kilometres, it’s the largest skating rink on the planet), the spirited Accora Village Bed Race is a community fundraising event that has become a flagship of the city’s Winterlude festival, held at the end of January or early February.
Join a team and hold on for dear life as you are wheeled across the 50-metre course or lead the charge on foot in your quest to reach the finish line first.
It started as a TV gimmick almost 20 years ago to give Germany’s B-listers amusing airtime. Today, wok racing has its own dedicated championships attracting, celebrity competitors and Olympians, including the Jamaican bobsled team. Competitors fly down an Olympic bobsled track on a large, modified wok, heating the bottom with a blowtorch before launch for extra slip and speed. Pilots can either go solo or compete in a four-person ‘woksled’.
The 2015 world championships were held in the former Winter Olympics site in Innsbruck, Austria. Here, visitors can also enjoy a piloted zip down the 1.2-kilometre bobsled track. Wok or sled? You decide.
Did someone spill a giant bottle of Blue Loo in here? Iceland’s Crystal Caves will have you wondering just that as you descend into an otherworldly realm. Pull on the contents of your wardrobe (and then some) and follow glacier expert Throstur Thor Agustsson on a caving adventure unlike any other. On the outside the Vatnajökull glacier’s white crust is UV-bleached and scuffed. On the inside it is transformed into a striking, glassy-blue cathedral, thanks to the tremendous weight of ancient ice pushing air bubbles out.
Come summer the caves melt and buckle, and in autumn Agustsson sets out in search of new hidden chambers to explore. Their impermanence makes Iceland’s caves all the more magical.
Climb aboard an Inuit sled and let the huskies do the work on a paw-powered expedition across East Greenland’s desolate hinterland with Pirhuk Greenland Expedition Specialists. The Tunu region, meaning ‘land at the back,’ lives up to its reputation as an area of extreme isolation. There are thousands of kilometres of pristine terrain to explore, against a backdrop of dramatic fjords and glacier-encrusted mountains.
Put your woollies on, give your four-legged friends the command and set off across the frozen sea. Explore glaciers, cut through powder-white plains and discover remote settlements. Spend your evenings curled up by the heater – yes, there’s one in your tent – and enjoy a front-row view of the northern lights.
How can you top standing in the shadow of a monstrous Patagonian glacier measuring 250 square kilometres and a whopping 15 storeys high? By hiking it, of course.
From a boat on Argentino Lake, Perito Moreno Glacier looks impenetrable. Sharp, tooth-like peaks jut out of a seemingly endless wall of ice, and colossal chunks crumble into the water. But as the boat draws nearer, the peaks become more rounded and hikers appear like ants moving around the blue lagoons and caves. It’s time to strap on your crampons and straddle crevasses as you tackle Argentina’s most famous glacier.
For some, getting choppered to the top of a sheer drop and left to find your own way down sounds like a very bad and somewhat dangerous joke. But for thrill-seeking downhill adventurers, heliskiing is the last word in must-do experiences.
There are a number of operators in Alaska, but we’re into Alaska Heliskiing. Why? Because while the operation is located right on the Canadian border near Haines and ventures to places with runs you can usually only dream about, it’s also got a huge range of options, including some for those who may be light of pocket. For instance, you can go for the whole package – seven nights in a fantastic lodge, 30 runs in the heli, everything included – for about US$6,250, or you can do a day in the big bird for about US$1,050.
Most people think of waterfalls as a refreshing spot to splash around in come summer. But for some, waterfalls are a winter playground to be conquered. Arm yourself with an axe and a rope and scurry up frozen falls, glimpsing water rushing beneath the ice as you climb.
There’s no better place to give ice climbing a go than the Norwegian town of Rjukan. Often considered Europe’s climbing capital, Rjukan heaves with climbers from December to March. Here you’ll find more than 190 waterfalls to poke your axe into, and are guaranteed to discover a wall of frozen water to suit any skill level.
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