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Editor: Celia Fielder
Previous Special Issues:
NEW FEATURE
Disabled? No problem
Colorado by Car
Ice Climbing
Paradiski
Special Features | |
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Aspen is legendary. Renowned as a mecca for the rich and famous, it certainly attracts its share of glitzy skiers whose prime aim is either to be seen or to catch an equally wealthy partner on or off the slopes! But this generalisation is unfair - for Aspen/Snowmass, as the Crown family corporation which owns the resort prefers it to be known, has some of the best skiing you will find anywhere. In addition to Ajax Mountain which rises from the town centre, the neighbouring slopes of Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass are all included on the one ski pass. ...read more about NEW FEATURE Whatever the disability – amputee, visually impaired, quadraplegic – there is scope and opportunity with special equipment for young and old to experience the freedom and thrill of the mountains and snow which the able-bodied take for granted. ...read more about Disabled? No problem Aspen, Vail and Breckenridge are the three Colorado resorts best known to British skiers, all sufficiently large to keep the most avid skier and boarder happy for at least two weeks. But for those of independent spirit who are adventurous and seek variety, a car opens wide horizons and the opportunity to visit two or more resorts within a week or ten days. Here are a few suggestions! ...read more about Colorado by Car Take a cheap flight to Oslo Torp with Ryannair and for a spine-chilling challenge head for the hinterland and try Ice Climbing. The area around Rjukan, on the edge of the Hardangervidda, a vast inhospitable wilderness beloved by intrepid cross country skiers and hikers, is a mecca for ice climbers. The steep gorge, a few kilometres from the town, close to the infamous factory at Vermork where the Germans in World War II tried to manufacture heavy water for the production of an atomic bomb provides some of the finest routes. There are so many in fact – 147 - that this remote area in the Telemark region of Norway with its myriad of frozen waterfalls has been dubbed the Ice Climbing Capital of Europe. Rjukan lies on the valley floor, deep in shade from mid October until late April – a dark and depressing place in which to live, but providing as a result the perfect conditions for the ice. ...read more about Ice Climbing A monster two-storey gondola costing 15 million euros, the Vanoise Express, transports in three short minutes two thousand skiers each hour between La Plagne and Les Arcs –thus linking two already large ski areas to become the world’s biggest! The statistics are as breath-taking as the ride. With a capacity for 200 skiers or boarders split between two levels, this mega-cablecar glides across the ravine between Montchavin Les Coches and Peisey Vallandry. There is no sensation of movement – only when you pass the opposite gondola, do you realise how fast you are travelling. Three minutes, at 45 km per hour, is all it takes! ...read more about Paradiski |
