Skiing the extra mile: Norway's version of the Alps (IO2.com)
CROSSING THE PATAGONIAN ANDES[CHILE AND ARGENTINA]
The Edenic Río Manso Valley, at the southern tip of South America, is pure Patagonia—high, open country surrounded by ancient alerce forests (think redwoods) and populated by gauchos and trout. How you choose to play on this nine-day camping trip—rafting the Manso's Class IV-V rapids, casting for rainbows, or horseback riding along the riverfront trail—is up to you as you venture west from the altiplano of Bariloche toward the chiseled fjords of coastal Chile. OUTFITTER: Adventure Tours Argentina Chile, 866-270-5186, www.adventuretours-south.com. WHEN TO GO: December-March. PRICE: $2,900. DIFFICULTY: moderate.
MUSHING WITH THE GREAT WHITE BEAR[NORWAY]
You take the reins on this 12-day dogsledding sojourn across the frozen island of Spitsbergen, Norway, 600 miles from the North Pole. When the huskies are resting, keep busy by snowshoeing amid gargantuan icebergs, cross-country skiing over glaciers, and spelunking blue-green ice caves. Defrost at night in a lodge made of sealskin and driftwood, expedition-style tents (you'll be snug beneath reindeer-fur blankets), and a Russian ship intentionally frozen into the pack ice. Your only neighbors will be the island's 4,000 polar bears (in case of emergency, your guide's got the gun). OUTFITTER: Outer Edge Expeditions, 800-322-5235, www.outer-edge.com. WHEN TO GO: March-April. PRICE: $3,990. DIFFICULTY: moderate.
POST ECO-CHALLENGE MULTISPORT[FIJI]
The professional adventure racers have gone home, so now you can spill your own sweat on the 2002 Eco-Challenge course. This new ten-day trip gives you access to some truly wild, made-for-TV terrain: mazy jungle trails, precipitous singletrack, and idyllic beaches. After sea-kayaking two days to the island of Malake, where spearfishermen bring up walu for dinner on a single breath of air, you'll mountain-bike 25 miles over rugged terrain from the village of Ba to Navilawa. Next up is a two-day trek through lowland rainforests to the summit of 3,585-foot Mount Batilamu, followed by Class II-III rafting on the Navua River, from the coral coast to the interior village of Wainindiro. After all this, you've earned two days of beachfront R&R on the little-visited island of Kadavu. OUTFITTER: Outdoor Travel Adventures, 877-682-5433, www.otadventures.com. WHEN TO GO: May-October. PRICE: $1,999. DIFFICULTY: moderate.
Nomads Have More Fun
Get out, get wild, with these 53 awe-inspiring, soul-soaring journeys.
The Man Who Knocked the Bastard Off
Edmund Hillary, a self-described "average bloke," made one of the 20th-century's landmark feats seem properly human and straightforward.
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