Making life a holiday with interesting vacation and adventure ideas.

Speed riding is a mix of skiing and paragliding, a bit like kiteboarding on snow. It was popularised by a group of French paragliders and is said to be the fastest way to get down a mountain, at least in one piece.

It still seems like a pretty extreme way to get an adrenaline rush though. World champion Liox Jean-Albert, saw in the new year at a New Zealand Hospital after crashing at Treble Cone a few days earlier. He had been hoping to compete in the New Zealand Airgames.

You can see a video of speed riding on New Zealand's TV3 news page.

Labels: Liox Jean-Albert, New Zealand, Paragliding, skiing

Reporter Jeannette J. Lee of Associated Press, has written an informative article in HeraldNet, about the Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood, Alaska, and the efforts by its wealthy owner, John Byrne III, a self-professed ski junkie from Utah, to encourage snow lovers to abandon the classic slopes of Whistler, Deer Valley and Aspen and head to the far north.

Jeannette J. Lee reports that this long-time niche venue for locals and adventure skiers, is undergoing a $25 million expansion, including refurbished guest rooms, to lure larger groups of winter vacationers, particularly families, to its peaks.

Negotiations are underway to open hundreds of acres of raw terrain in the Chugach Mountains to skilled off-piste or backcountry skiers and snow-boarders but beginners are also being catered for, with a new conveyor-belt lift and snow-making machines. It seems the competition on the slopes is getting hotter.

Labels: Alaska, Canada, Chugach Mountains, Girdwood, ski, skiing, snowboarding

The first forecast of the American ski season from the Boulder-based Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), which started up operations this week, indicates that a few inches of the white powder could pile up by Wednesday morning. It seems that colder temperatures, along with a dusting of snow this week, could significantly improve the outlook for Skiing during Thanksgiving in western Colorado. The best chance for snow being Tuesday night.

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has upgraded its website with more archived reports on avalanche accidents and a Google Maps platform offering information on avalanche problems and travel recommendations.

More information from the Aspen Times.

Labels: 2007, Aspen, Boulder, Colorado, ski, skiing, Thanksgiving, USA

Now if you're thinking of enjoying winter sports in Europe, here is an idea for adding zest to this season's skiing trip. How about combining it with Europe's most active volcano, Mount Etna in Sicily.

Volcanoetna.com has comprehensive information about the volcano, including spectacular pictures of the recent eruptions, and features an article about trips to Mt. Etna. Climbing mount Etna is described as an unforgettable experience and regarded as a must do activity, during a Sicily tour.

Etna offers different tourist activities at different times of the year; the ski season on Mount Etna runs from November to March, and you will find detailed information about skiing on the mountain at the Volcanoetna.com website.

Labels: Etna, Italy, Mount Etna, Mt Etna, Sicily, skiing, snowboarding, volcano

Global warming continues to cause havoc with the European ski season, the Sofia Echo reported on Monday 22 January, 2007, that in Pamporovo, the resort most affected by the warm weather, temperatures reached 4 Celsius in the morning and the sun melted the thin snow cover.

All of Bulgaria's leading winter resorts were forced to open the season without much snow and at Bansko resort, skiing conditions are being maintained by using artificial snow machines.

Labels: 2007, Bulgaria, global warming, skiing