500 Adrenaline Adventures (Frommer's) - Lois Friedland [97]
While any fully inflated inner tube will suffice, actual snowtubes are a much better ride—instead of a “donut hole” in the center, the snowtube is more of a disk that’s dimpled in the middle, providing a seat for the rider that reduces drag and increases speed. Speaking of speed, riders can hit some surprising velocities on their downhill run because the snowtube has so little resistance on snow or ice. That fact, plus the near-total lack of steering control, have led to some fairly impressive accidents and injuries. Newcomers—and people who value their teeth and bones—might want to obey the signs that instruct them to snowtube only on slopes that are specifically groomed for the tubes.
Safety precautions aside, this is great family fun that can be enjoyed by young kids as well as old-timers—especially when the snowtubes are lashed together and everyone goes down together. And if that’s not enough of a thrill for you, some folks have even taken to towing snowtubes behind snowmobiles—much to the delight of cosmetic dentists everywhere. —ML
Hawksnest Resort, 2058 Skyline Dr., Seven Devils, NC ( 800/822-4295 or 828/963-6561; www.hawksnest-resort.com). Moonshine Mountain, 5865 Willow Mountain Rd., Hendersonville, NC ( 828/696-0333;www.moonshinemountain.com).
When to Go: Jan–Mar.
Asheville Regional Airport (75 miles/121km).
$$ Hidden Valley Motel, 8725 NC Hwy. 105 S., Boone, NC ( 828/963-4372;www.hiddenvalleymotel.com). $$ High Country Inn, 1785 Hwy. 105, Boone, NC ( 800/334-5605 or 828/264-1000; www.highcountryinn.com).
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Extreme Ski Touring
Sweat Your Way to the South Pole
Antarctica
South Pole ski expeditions are for serious adventurers only. If you think it will be fun (as well as an extreme challenge) to ski 6 to 10 hours a day over the top of a 3km-thick (2-mile) ice pack day after day, all the while pushing against relentless winds, perhaps this trip is for you. You’ll have to train for months ahead of time because you’ll need terrific endurance and stamina to spend so many days hauling a heavy sled across the Polar Plateau. And when it’s time to camp, you must have enough energy left over from the day’s trek to set up tents, make dinner, and heat snow for water. People who have made this trek say there’s nothing to match the extreme beauty and isolation of the Polar Plateau. The collective experience of knowing you may be the only people within hundreds of miles gives you a sense of the ultimate challenges faced by the original teams who explored this region. And reaching the geographical South Pole by your own efforts will change you forever.
Polar Explorers, which has been ranked as one of the Best Outfitters on Earth by National Geographic magazine, offers trips to the Geographic South Pole, the most southerly point on earth. You could take the South Pole One Degree Ski Expedition or the longer South Pole Two Degree Ski Expedition, the two shortest trips. They run simultaneously, once a year around New Year’s, when the sun never sets in this part of the world. (Polar Explorers also offers a two-month ski touring expedition across the White Continent.)
Both Polar Explorers South Pole Expeditions start at Patriot Hills base camp in the Antarctica. Weather permitting, after a few days to acclimate to the cold and prepare for the expedition, you’ll fly to either 88° or 89° south (depending upon the trip you choose) to start your expedition. Six to 19 days (again, depending which trip you choose) of ski touring across the Polar Plateau later, the South Pole will be in sight. After popping the cork and celebrating your arrival, you’ll camp and await the return flight to Patriot Hills. If time permits, you may tour the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research