Snow and ice

While most travellers have heard of Russia's longest train ride east along the Trans-Siberian, not even many Russians have heard of this other epic journey heading 2.5 days northeast from Moscow to Western Siberia's Arctic Circle. Day one takes you directly north past historic towns such as Yaroslavl and Vologda. On day two you branch off northeast on a different line. The track is hemmed in with dense taiga forest and you pass small huddles of wooden huts in clearings. This stretch of track was built by gulag concentration camp victims and, according to the author Aleksander Solzhenitsyn, "beneath each tie two heads were left". On the third day you branch off east onto another gulag-built line heading towards the Polar Ural Mountains and, on their far side, Siberia. You are now well beyond any road network. There are no real stations any more - the train just stops and people get out and wander off into the snow. You may well see fur-clad nomadic reindeer herders or their encampments of conical reindeer-hide tents. The final stop is Labytnangi, gateway to the Yamal Peninsula.

When you are a rich oil sheik, you can have everything... even snow in the desert. Fitted inside the second biggest mall in Dubai, Mall of the Emirates, is an artificial plastic-fantastic winter wonderland with real snow, ski slopes (including a 400-metre-long run and a black run), snowboard funpark, toboggan runs - yes, even live penguins. The snow park at the base is a bit of a mayhem of kids in all sizes and concerned parents. All equipment, clothes and boots are of course included, and there are even special jackets for those wearing a traditional kandura or abaya. For observers the whole hullabaloo can seems tacky and stupid, but Ski Dubai is very popular and everyone is having a blast.

Denali National Park is mainly a summer attraction. During winter, the park is closed for the biggest part but this means also that there won’t be thousands of people visiting at the same time as you. At the visitor centre you can borrow snow shoes and ski poles for free and you can go snow shoe hiking. A great hike is to the top of Mount Healy from where you get beautiful views of the park and its mountains. If you are lucky, you can see moose either along the trail or along the access roads to the park.
The tourist facilities right by the park are closed in winter but in the nearby town of Healy there are several places to stay and restaurants which are also open in winter.

Dog mushing is a true Nordic and fun experience! There are several ways to learn or try mushing for the first time. You can try it on and around the Chena river in Fairbanks. If you take a tryout tour, you will get your personal instructor who will get the very-eager-to-run dogs and sleds ready. There will be a team of about ten dogs strapped in with two sleds behind them, the front one for the guide and the rear one for you. The dogs listen to the commands given by the mushing guide: "how" is left, "ghee" is right. When the breaks are released the dogs speed off but after a while they get into a more chilled pace. When you are talented and the guide trusts your skills, you might even be allowed to ride the front sled and steer yourself.

Unfortunately, Valdez is known to most people thanks to its oil spill in the 80's when the Exxon Valdez ran into a reef just outside the bay. The North American pipeline, which runs all the way through Alaska - North to South - ends in Valdez where the oil is transported further on ships.
There is a lot more to the Valdez area than oil, though. In the summer months, it is mainly a fishing town and a gateway for hiking and glacier tours. During winter, it is the base for snow adventure sports. 48 km (30 mi.) from Valdez is the Thompson pass, from where you can enter the Chugach mountains by helicopter, snowmobile or on foot for some of the most amazing snowboarding and skiing there is on the planet!