Don't look down: The heady rush as you inch your way up frozen waterfalls is incomparable Downhill skiing and snowboarding aren't the only winter sports - far from it.
Whether you're an adrenaline junkie or just love the big, white outdoors, there's a snowy holiday tailor-made for you...
Ice diving in the French AlpsRecreate the ice-diving scenes from Luc Besson's The Big Blue and plunge into the teeth-chattering depths of the lake at Tigne through a hole carved into the frozen surface.
Chilly, but you're fitted out with dry suits and scuba kits attached to a sturdy rope. When you're finished floating under the icy surface, admiring the sun refracted from above and stalactite-like formations on the underside of the ice, an instructor stationed by the hole will haul you out.
Though it's perceived as being an extreme sport, it's accessible to all and suitable for beginners and advanced divers.
Fear factor 4/5 (out of five, one not scary at all, five for fearfully frightening)
Details:
Stay at the four-star La Ferme du Val Claret Apartments in Tignes, from £506 pp.
Inghams is offering a seven-night stay on a room-only basis, based on four sharing from January 16, 2010, including flights to Geneva and transfers (020 8780 4447, www.inghams.co.uk).
Ice dive from mid-December to late March, from £67 pp per diving day; £84 pp per diving night. Evolution 2 Ice diving school (00 33 (0) 479 064 576, www.evolution2.com).
Bobsleigh in Norway
Speed freaks will adore the bobsleigh track at Lillehammer. Shoot headfirst down the Olympic track at 60mph, nose inches from the ice, bones rattling.
You receive instruction from the GB team before your descent and can ride skeleton (solo, attached to a tiny sledge) or, for the faint-hearted, hop into a four-man vehicle, piloted by an expert. Either way, it will be the ride of a lifetime.
Anyone pulling up to 5Gs on the sharpest bends becomes a certified member of the prestigious 5G Club.
Fear factor 5/5
Details:
Original Travel (020 7978 7333, www.originaltravel.co.uk) has two nights from £1,270pp on a half-board basis staying at the Hunderfossen hotel. Price includes flights, transfers and bobsleigh rides.
Man's best friend: What better way to take a tour of the snowy scenery than being dragged at breakneck speed by a pack of dogs?Dog-sledding in Lapland
Explore the furthest reaches of Swedish Lapland leading your own team of Siberian huskies along remote, snowy trails.
After a day spent gliding through the silent, icy countryside, retreat to private log cabins equipped with saunas deep in the wilderness.
You'll be expected to pitch in, fetching water by drilling a hole in a nearby frozen river or lake, while your guide prepares a warming reindeer stew.
On clear nights, there's a good chance you'll see the fabulous Northern Lights. You'll also spend a night at the Ice Hotel, where extra activities on offer include ice-sculpting, snowshoeing, ice-fishing and snowmobile elk safaris.
Fear factor 2/5
Details:
Original Travel (020 7978 7333, www.originaltravel. co.uk) has three nights from £1,045pp (one night B&B in the Ice Hotel, two nights dog sledding, staying in wilderness cabins on a full-board basis) all transfers and return flights with SAS.
Ice climbing near Mont Blanc
This is the place to head for vertical ascents. Inch your way up to the summit of frozen waterfalls under the watchful guidance of experienced instructors. The views from the top, with Mont Blanc looming in the distance, are breathtaking.
It sounds extreme, but no climbing experience is necessary.
If you need more bang for your buck, dog- sledding, trekking and torch-lit mountain descents are also on offer.
Fear factor 5/5
Details:
Black Tomato (020 7426 9888, www.blacktomato.co.uk) has three nights' full-board accommodation, plus ice climbing, including flights, transfers and full-board accommodation, from £544.
Top Gear: Take a spin in a Porsche on a frozen lake Driving on ice in SwedenSpin and skid your way across the ice, Top Gear-style, on an ice-driving course in Are. Camp Are has a sports car driving course on a huge frozen lake.
See how a Porsche or Lamborghini - and your nerves - deal with manoeuvring the slippery surfaces.
The course can be booked on arrival in the resort through a Neilson rep, but you need to give a couple of days notice.
Prices start from £300 for an hour in a Ford Focus Rally competition car, or for some serious metal, a Lamborghini or Porsche costs £400 an hour.
Europe's longest zip line, which lets riders reach top speeds of 113kph while dangling 64m above a snow-capped forest, are also on offer in Are.
Fear factor 4/5
Details:
Book activities through Camp Are (00 46 (0) 647 525 25,www.campare.se).
Stay at the three-star Renen Apartments from £215pp. Seven nights accommodation, departing January 17. Price includes return flights from London, transfers and seven nights accommodation on a self- catering basis. Book through Neilson (0844 070 3460, www.neilson.co.uk).
Piste bashing in France
Serre Chevalier has opened its piste-grooming school to the public, so you can ride in one of these monsters.
They may not be quite as zippy as a Porsche or even a go-kart - the top speed is just 22kph - but they have their own special appeal.
Been beaten by the piste? Get your own back by bashing it into shape. The sheer power of the bright red PistenBully 300W Polar is appealing - it has four times the horsepower of a Land Rover.
Former F1 world champion Alain Prost and Olympic downhill ski champion-turned-rally driver Luc Alphand raced them last season.
Fear factor: 4/5
Details:
A half-hour session at Serre Chevalier's Piste-Grooming School costs £45.
Seven nights self-catering accommodation and a six-day lift pass costs from £206 pp on selected dates. Call the Serre Chevalier Vallee Tourist Office and quote DM for more information on this offer (00 33 (0) 4 92 24 98 98; www.serre-chevalier.com).
What a view: After taking your revenge against the pistses, enjoy the peace and quiet of the mountains before the skiers Ice fishing in Finland
Catch your own lunch fishing for Arctic char, pike, trout and grayling on a frozen lake in Levi, Finland.
You'll be snug in special gloves and overalls, so won't feel the nip. You'll reach your angling spot by catching a lift on a snowmobile (to be in charge of your own, you must have a valid driving licence).
Once you've reeled in your catch, you'll be taken to a hut, where you can cook it over an open fire before driving home.
Fear factor: 2/5
Details:
Expeditions last around three hours and cost £132 per adult through Neilson. Seven nights accommodation in the four- star Chalet K5 II in Levi starts from £374 pp, departing January 9.
The price includes return flights from London Heathrow, resort transfers and seven nights on a chalet basis (daily breakfast, daily afternoon tea and six home-cooked, three-course evening meals served with wine and after-dinner coffee), through Neilson (0844 070 3460, www.neilson.co.uk).
source: dailymail
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