Northern Europe was plunged into a deep freeze last week, with temperatures plummeting to almost -43C in parts of Sweden.
22.12.2023 - 11:41 / nationalgeographic.com
Balancing on a narrow ledge at the top of Lone Mountain Peak, I peer down one of North America’s steepest and most challenging ski runs, the Big Couloir — a triple black diamond-graded gully ranging from 40 to 50 degrees over an intense 460 vertical meters. I’m going to ski down alone, with just the voice of legendary extreme skier Dan Egan cheering me on from behind. It’s the last day of Big Sky’s Steep and Deep camp, led by Egan, and this is the crux moment.
Founded in 1973, Big Sky resort was for many years an isolated skiing area known for its tree runs — mostly suited to intermediate skiers — and the intimidatingly steep Lone Mountain that dominates the surrounding landscape. Before 1995, skiers had to hike the peak to access the steepest terrain, until a small (15 people) and frighteningly exposed ‘tram’ was constructed. This season, though, a new cable-car with a 75-person capacity opens, helping to put the resort firmly in the category of one of America’s premier skiing areas.
But for many travellers there’s already a great reason to make the journey out west: the chance to combine skiing with a day-trip to explore the world’s first national park. Right on Big Sky’s doorstep are the wilds of Yellowstone, whose ancient forests and grasslands are home to wolves, bison and a 45-mile-wide volcanic crater, a hot-spot populated with more than 10,000 geothermal features, including Old Faithful geyser.
Taking a break from the Steep and Deep camp a few days before, Yellowstone’s legendary geyser had been the focal point of a two-hour skidoo adventure across an epic winter landscape. Hammering through the park’s snowy highway at 30 miles per hour, I spotted vast herds of bison, a bald eagle, coyote and a bobcat. The scenery is surreal, primordial and cinematic — as steam rises up through the ground, acidic water bubbles through the rock and the visible crater rim reminds me that we’re actually inside one of the largest super-volcanos in the world, albeit a long time dormant.
During summer, visitor numbers to Yellowstone are huge but we raced along apparently alone in the wintry wilderness. The park’s bears are happily hibernating at this time of year, but we see bison and stop to let them pass as they trundle across our path just a few feet ahead. At Old Faithful, it spurts steaming water bang on cue. While it’s not the largest geyser in the park, it is a great place to show off Yellowstone’s force of nature. The build-up of pressure in the chamber below explodes skywards with Swiss timing.
But back on the slopes of Big Sky, my own pressure is building as I prepare to drop into the Big Couloir. Every turn counts and a fall could mean a long slide down, dodging rocks and jagged bands of cliffs. After
Northern Europe was plunged into a deep freeze last week, with temperatures plummeting to almost -43C in parts of Sweden.
One Thursday last March I emerged from the Jungfraujoch, Europe’s highest train station, and crossed into another world. Inside the station, a guide with a novelty Swiss flag was marshalling a party of Asian visitors. Outside, we were soon on the Jungfraufirn, a small glacier that feeds the Aletsch, the largest glacier in the Alps. Sunlight shone through breaks in the cloud, and the ice, flanked by buttresses of dark rock, ran south for miles. The pitch was gentle and the ungroomed snow looked inviting.
2023 has been full steam ahead for rail transport with a roster of new train routes and destinations announced.
Germany is celebrating the 250th birthday of one of its best-loved painters, the Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). His work features mountains, ruins and stormy seas, often with human figures, such as Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. There are exhibitions in Hamburg (until 1 April), Berlin (19 April to 4 August) and Dresden (24 August to 5 January 2025), where Friedrich lived for 40 years; he is buried in the city’s Trinitatis Cemetery. His birthplace, Greifswald, has a festival (31 August-1 September) and three exhibitions at the Pomeranian State Museum (from 28 April). Visitors can also follow in the artist’s footsteps – literally, as he preferred to travel on foot, sketchbook in hand – to locations in his paintings, such as Rügen Island or the Saxon Switzerland national park.germany.travel
Further frequencies will be added between Zurich and various existing European destinations including Alicante, Madrid, Naples, Venice and Vilnius.
America's national parks continue to draw big crowds. In fact, attendance has bounced back almost to pre-pandemic levels, with nearly 312 million visitors in 2022, according to the National Park Service. Visiting one of the U.S. park sites remains an incredibly popular travel choice for many people.
If you’ve been conjuring up images of whipping down the ski slope (or simply getting cozy during apres-ski in a beautiful setting), you might also be wondering about the best ski destinations to check off your bucket list. New data from the travel insurance experts at Compare the Market AU has recently revealed some of the objectively best ski destinations in the world to help bring your vision to reality.
Iglu Ski Announce Incredible Ski Savings in their End of Year Sale.
There are plenty of unique and memorable ways to make the most of the European winter, whether you want to take a snowy train ride across the Alps, cosy up in a wood cabin in the Scottish Highlands or watch the Northern Lights dance across the skies from a frozen lake.
Embark on a journey to discover unparalleled winter luxury at these four exquisite alpine retreats. From Sir Richard Branson's opulent mountain haven in Verbier, to the snow-lover's dream at Pendry Park City in Utah, each destination promises not just the world's best ski slopes but an elevated winter experience.
With mixed amounts of snow across Europe's ski slopes the week before Christmas and with ever decreasing amounts of expected snow, many resorts are pushing for greater climate action and alternative ways to find income, particularly as artificial snow isn't the panacea it was once thought to be.
One of the most picturesque villages in the Tirol, Alpbach is not the place for a rip-roaring après ski scene, but its clutch of classic wooden chalet hotels, traditional stube restaurants and quiet bars make it a great choice for a restorative mountain break. Alongside the perfectly groomed pistes accessed by the Wiedersbergerhorn gondola, are easy snow-shoeing trails, a 7km toboggan run and torchlit hikes. Mountain huts dot the Alpbachtal-Wildschönau valley, serving käsespätzle (Tirolean macaroni cheese) and spiced gluhwein. Stay at the Post, a charming, family-run hotel in the heart of the village – and the best value in town.Doubles from £138 B&B; hotel-post.co.at