Winter Festivals 2012: Snowboard Events and Ski Parties

Lucy Grewcock    ash     chamonix, ski fetivals, Skiing, Skiing Holidays, skiing in Austria, skiing in France, Skiing in Serbia, Skiing in the US, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays, Switzerland, whistler, winter festivals

What could be better than spending a week in the mountains, shuushing down iced-white pistes and bounding through fresh powder? How about adding world-class DJs, all-night parties, arty events and extreme freestyle competitions? Welcome to the world of winter festivals 2012…

Winter festivals are never just about the sports Photo: Will Bremridge

From Austria to North America, ski parties have snowballed in the past few years, and they’re set to get even bigger and better in 2012. Here’s a few that are full-on winter festivals, add these to your calendar: read more

Top 10 active breaks for solo travellers

Helen Warwick    ash, Top 10 Adventure Sports Travel Lists     active holidays, adventure holidays, adventure holidays US, France, RTW, scotland, solo travel, Sweden

All your friends coupled up? Can’t find a single travel chum to get away with from the nine-to-five daily grind? An adventure on your lonesome may in fact be one of the most rewarding trips you’ll ever choose to do.

Chilling out near Stockholm Image: Helena Wahlman/imagebank.sweden.se

Going it alone may be slightly scary, but it’s guaranteed to be an unforgettable escape for all the right reasons. And operators have realised the demand for single persons is enormous, so today there is a huge amount of choice— and it’s increasing. Make sure you choose a trip where the itinerary and activities have been created especially for solo travellers with single rooms included in the price.

Whether you embrace the luxury of time alone or take comfort in numbers, we’ve rounded up the top 10 active breaks for solo travellers…

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Walking gear : how getting your kit off keeps you warm

Mark Pawlak    ash     clothing, Nepal, trekking, trekking gear, Trekking in Nepal, Walking clothing, walking gear, Walking kit

Sounds crazy? But that’s right, the best way to keep warm is to get your walking gear off  – well, as much of it as possible…

We all keep on far too many clothes when it warms up, leaving us with little else to put on when the temperature drops again – no wonder we still feel cold when mummified in winter jackets and fleeces.

Layer up when you need to, kit off when you don't. Image: Flickr/thedanphotos

The same applies when we come in from the cold or shelter for a while when out walking. Basically , we play the layer game when the temperature drops but don’t like to reduce layers when it rises again.

The key to getting your layers right is to not judge temperature by what’s outside, but on how warm you feel inside.

Some of these skills come with experience, but arguably you can learn them walking to the shops: you don’t need to be trekking in Nepal to apply the onion-skin approach to layers.

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Geographically embarrassed : Is it Red Sea or Dead Sea?

Mark Pawlak    ash     Dead Sea, Diving Holidays, Diving in the Red Sea, Egypt, Jordan, red Sea, Scuba, Scuba Diving, scuba diving holidays

There are a number of travel trivia questions that always turn up in quizzes and conversations. And every time they have you scratching your head in a, ‘I really should know this’ kind of way. Well, we’re looking at the places and countries causing this confusion, starting with the Red Sea / Dead Sea mystery.

Diving in the Red Sea, not a dead sea Image: Flickr/derekkeats

As it’s likely to be a geography question that reveals your confusion, let’s start with location then explain more about these two very different places – pay attention, we will be asking questions…

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5 reasons why you need travel, not Christmas

Mark Pawlak    ash     camping, kitesurfing, Kitesurfing Egypt, New Zealand, RTW, Spain, Travel, trekking, Walking, Xmas

If you’ve a travelling gene, every holiday is a chance to get away and Christmas is no exception. Now, if you’re living in the UK or northern Europe, it’s likely you’ve been waiting all year for that skiing or snowboarding holiday.

Can you spot Santa?

But, if you’ve needed thawing out since October and are dreaming of feeling the sun on your neck, you’ll be teasing yourself with trekking somewhere warm – or just going ‘random’ and rocking up at departures with half-baked plan and a dream…

So, here are 5 reasons why you need travel, not Christmas.

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Travel pictures and the worlds 10 best travel photography cities

Kerry Hetherington    ash     australia, England, Italy, japan, RTW, scotland, Spain, travel photography, travel pictures, united kingdom, US

There are thousands of places in the world you could grab travel pictures, but which cities offer up the best travel photography opportunities for the travel mad snapper/ photography mad traveller?

We are all travel photographers. Could be with a brand new DSLR, a happy snappy or an iPhone/ mobile phone; it’s still photography.

Have camera will travel, but where?

“You can find pictures anywhere. It’s simply a matter of noticing things and organising them. You just have to care about what’s around you…” (Elliott Erwitt).

So, whether you want a great city scape, a beautiful sunset or a bustling restaurant, all corners of the globe can provide a multitude of opportunities to capture creative images.

Here’s my 10 best travel photography cities and top spots to get those shots (I’m sure there are many more!).

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Movember, Moustaches and Motor Bikes

Sophie Nicholson    ash     Alps, climbing, France, Motor cross, Motorbikes, Snowboarding, trials

In a month where men grow moustaches for charity, one blogger finds her own way to mix it with the boys. And with the snow yet to fall, she’s taking on the rough stuff…

The sun may well have shone relentlessly over the past few weeks but there’s no denying that summer is long gone here in the Alps. The sky is still brilliantly blue but the everpresent scent of burning of leaves, the early morning frost on cars and total lack of people anywhere are constant reminders that it’s definitely November.

Gripped - and no tasche

Hmmm, yes November. A strange month indeed. I mean, what really happens in Movember apart from people growing dodgy facial hair for charity? In the climbing world at least November definitely signals a time of transition. Some will just head indoors and immerse themselves in the sweaty, shirtless, self conscious world of the climbing gym. Others will pack away rock shoes and chalk bags, replacing them at the front of kit cupboard shelves with crampons and ice axes as they eagerly await favourable ice climbing temperatures and conditions.

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