Snow and ice

Andorra has its fair share of ski resorts, where the biggest are Vallnord, near the border to Spain, and Grandvalira, stretching from the border to France and inland. Both are composed by several areas. Vallnord consists of Arinsal, Pal, and Ordino-Arcalis, while Grandvalira covers Pas de la Casa, Encamp, Grau Roig, Soldeu, El Tarter, and Canillo. During summer, Vallnord turns into one of the biggest cross-country and downhill mountain bike parks in Europe. And for those with less hunger for adrenaline, there are always the hiking trails with splendid views.

The small town of Fernie is nestled into the foot of the Canadian Rockies, 300 km southwest of Alberta. Fernie was put on the map many years ago by its coal mining trade, but since the 1990s, it has gained much attention for another natural resource. During winter, the population increases as herds of passionate snow enthusiasts migrate to this non-commercialised wonderland to search out its world renowned "champagne powder". Fernie's ski resort is often voted as one of the top 10 resorts in North America, but somehow it has managed to keep its small town charm. All visitors here seem to blend into the local lifestyle, things are laid back and relaxed. For those serious about their riding/skiing and with proper avalanche training, the real action in Fernie is its backcountry. There is plenty of companies offering trips to experience untouched bowls and to make all your friends jealous with photos of you chest deep in powder.

Glacier walking is a fun and adventurous way to get up close to what Greenland is so famous for, namely, ice. It requires the use of glacier boots with crampons, harness and ice axes and the technical know-how that goes with it. A skilled guide is necessary unless you are a group of experienced outdoor freaks, knowing how to do all the rescue operations in case someone falls into the many bottomless crevasses.

The Greenlandic Ice Sheet is that big chunk of ice that covers the interior of Greenland. Roughly 80% of Greenland's surface is covered by this one-piece of ice sheet (also called ice cap), making Greenland very white. At its thickest, it is more than 3 km deep and it stretches about 2400 km north to south - sizes that are too hard to comprehend for the human mind. A visit to the edge of the ice sheet will put a bit of perspective to it. You can easily look across some of the glaciers that run off the ice sheet, not knowing whether a finger of ice is 150 m or 150 km wide, since the air is so clean and everything is just rocks and ice with no point of reference.

Iceland has a plethora of geothermal pools, but Blue Lagoon is not quite like any of the others. This is both good and bad – there is far more to do here than at most other pools in Iceland, but it is also much busier and more crowded. However, Blue Lagoon easily lives up to its hype. Not always blue (this requires a blue sky, so expect milky white water on an overcast day), Blue Lagoon boasts a large network of pools at varying temperatures (find yourself a hot-water outlet to get some serious heat), excellent saunas, in-water massage treatments (incredibly relaxing), out-of-water beauty treatments and a good restaurant – try the sushi. While in the water, enjoy a complimentary silica face-and-body scrub, have a drink by the bar, or pick up a rejuvenating algae masque. Renting a robe is highly recommended, as the air gets pretty chilly in Iceland even in summer. For a novel experience, make use of the late opening hours (to midnight) during summer.

When you travel to Iceland, you should definitely also take advantage of walking on one of the many glaciers that you see when you drive around the varied landscape. It may be risky to walk on them alone, so it is recommended to take a glacier guide who can steer clear of known glacier cracks and the like. It is also a good idea to take the right equipment - i.e. crampons and ice ax. But it is an exciting and different feeling to walk on pure ice and see the black lava ash that has coloured the huge ice formations several hundred years ago - and "blue ice" in between the cracks, where the ice melts.

If you are hiking a glacier and you want to challenge yourself, ice climbing is an excellent opportunity. As with glacier hiking, it is important that the equipment is in order, so it requires both a guide, crampons, ice axes, helmets, harnesses and ropes - and fear of heights is probably not the best thing to suffer from .... The guide typically finds a suitable vertical wall of ice, where he fastens the hook and rope on top. Then, you will be strapped to one end of the rope, and the guide keeps a hold of the other end, all while you climb up the wall by hammering 2 ice axes, and your crampons into the ice and rappel back down. It can easily be done, even if you have not tried it before, and it requires more technique than strength, but it is pretty crazy!

Travelling in the South East of Iceland on the ring road, you pass by Jökulsárlón. Where a branch of the Vatnajökull glacier almost reaches the ocean, a lagoon is filled with icebergs floating towards the sea. Less than a century ago, the glacier still reached the ocean but the lagoon has been growing rapidly in the last decennia.
You can hike along or take a boat trip on the lagoon to admire the different shapes and colours of the ice and also to see seals swimming in-between them.
The black-sanded beach contrasts well with the icebergs that made it all the way out to the sea while waves are crashing into them.

Longyearbyen is the northernmost real town on the planet with university, supermarket, bank, library, and yes, even night clubs. The town is located so close to The North Pole (1300 km... yes, that's close) that it's in the dark half of the year and enjoys the midnight sun the other half. During autumn and spring, there is a good chance of catching northern lights waving up and down the sky in the most amazing hues of greens and violets. Svalbard has a big population of polar bears, so Longyearbyen is probably the only place on the planet where students are allowed to carry firearms to uni (we kid you not). Polar bear protection (firearms) also need to be carried when venturing into the amazing raw arctic wilderness, which lies unspoiled beyond the settlement. Just grab your ski, snowmobile, dog sled or hiking boots and off you go - just remember your rifle... or better, join a tour.

The Tersky Coast, its shores lapped by the White Sea during the few months when it isn’t frozen, is home to a people called the Pomors whose ancestors left Russia in the Middle Ages to live here in the Arctic. They remained free from the yoke of serfdom and landownership that blighted the rest of the country, developed their own way of life based mostly on fishing and certain aspects of their culture became affected by the indigenous Saami. To this day they have preserved a remarkable amount of traditional log architecture including homes, churches and freezer huts full of ice-blocks. The Tersky Coast starts at Umba and a rough asphalt road continues to the beautifully located village of Kuzreka. From here a dirt track leads on to Kashkarantsy and Varzuga. The former has a huge number of traditional log cabins, some more than a century old. The latter’s central square has three beautiful wooden churches on a river bank. After Varzuga the road ends and Pomor villages such as Chavanga and Chapoma remain in isolation. Even further is Sosnovka, a Saami reindeer herders’ village.