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Another outfitter also conducts South Pole expeditions. Each year, Adventures Network International (ANI) offers several options for Ski South Pole All The Way expeditions. The first is a 1,175km (730-mile), 2-month trek from Hercules Inlet on the Antarctic coast to the South Pole. The shorter 40- to 45-day version, a mere 934km (580 miles), begins where Reinhold Messner began his famous Transantarctic crossing. Skiers are picked up by aircraft for the return trip. Other start points are possible but all require a resume of previous expedition experience. Minimum numbers are required for these guided expeditions but ANI will support self-guided ones. —LF

Tours: Polar Explorers ( 800/732-7328 or 847/256-4409; www.polarexplorers.com). Adventure Network International ( 801/266-4876;www.adventure-network.com).

When to Go: Mid-winter.

Carlos Ibañez del Campo International Airport, Punta Arenas, Chile.

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Abseiling off Table Mountain

A Real Cliff Hanger

Cape Town, South Africa

Let’s start at the top of Table Mountain. The real reason to make your way up this sandstone monstrosity is to go down it, and there’s only one respectable way to do that: backwards, off a cliff, attached to a single sturdy rope.

Table Mountain in Cape Town, on the southernmost peninsula of South Africa, is home to the world’s highest commercial abseiling experience. Abseiling (or rappelling, as it’s more commonly known in the U.S.) is the controlled descent from a mountain by rope. Expert climbers use the technique to safely navigate steep or otherwise dangerous terrain. For the rest of us, it offers a stupefying (though relatively safe) ride down a jagged, vertical rock face. With professional guides in charge, all you have to do is get through your safety briefing, wear the proper equipment, attach to a rope-and-anchor system, and step off a cliff’s edge straight into thin air.

Snowboarding Extreme Terrain

Major to moderate steeps, perhaps a chute or three, and glades where good carvers can slide between the trees—these are the types of terrain where you’re liable to find expert snowboarders who are looking to ride in ungroomed territory. Here’s a list of resorts filled with areas to entice riders seeking extreme terrain. Boarders who like to cruise and carve down groomed and manicured slopes will find plenty of choices, too. —LF

Big Sky, Montana, U.S.A.: While riding up the Lone Peak Tram at Big Sky, much of the extreme terrain is within view. You’re at the peak of the resort and the only way down is via steep routes, such as the Gullies. If you and a buddy have the proper avalanche gear and experience, you can check out with ski patrol to challenge Big Couloir, with its 53-degree pitch near the top. Boarders’ favorite runs include the natural half-pipe located off the Swift Current high-speed quad chair next to Lower Morning Star and Shedhorn, which they call Shredhorn. Boarders who want to carve head up the high-speed quads on Andesite Mountain for fast runs down. 800/548-4486;www.bigskyresort.com.

Kirkwood, California, U.S.A.: This small resort is tucked away from the main hubbub of South Lake Tahoe, but it’s worth the drive over Carson Pass to frolic on the high-altitude open bowls, chutes, and steep runs that fall off of a horseshoe-shaped ridgeline. Many of the slopes are north-facing, so they hold snow well into the spring. Add on an average annual snowfall of 40 feet (12m) and you have the making of an extreme place to rip up the mountain. 800/967-7500 or 209/258-6000 for lodging, 877/KIRKWOOD [547-5966] for conditions; www.kirkwood.com.

Mammoth, California, U.S.A.: The sheer number of slopes and the length of the resort’s season—often late October into June—make this a popular place for snowboarders. Freestyle riders can be found jibbing on the rails in the terrain parks, which are designed for different levels, from the Disco Park where groms and other beginners tackle small bumps to the Unbound Main Park where freestylers perform radical maneuvers such as 720s. Riders catch big air in the 22-foot-tall (6.6m) Super