Adventure Honeymoons on the Ski Slopes: 5 ways to make them work

Lucy Grewcock    bestskiholidays, New Ski Holiday Ideas     adventure honeymoon, Adventure honeymoons, Canada, Dog sledding, heli skiing, Honeymoon, Ice diving, jackson hole, japan, Lake Louise, Montgenevre, north america, off piste, Saas Fee, Sainte-Foy, Ski Slopes, Skiing, snowshoeing, Yonezawa

There’s no set rule that says you have to spend your honeymoon lying flat out on a tropical beach or wandering dreamily around a historic city. Whether you’d prefer adventure honeymoons that find romance in remote wilderness locations or ones packed with adventure and crammed with extreme activities, there are plenty to really get your heart thumping.

Plan a honeymoon packed with adventure. Image: Flickr/ bradleypjohnson

One of the best ways to combine romance with adventure is to swap white sands for fresh snow. Iced mountains, falling snowflakes, flickering log fires and candlelight dinners: a ski-based honeymoon can be a truly magical and memorable way to start married life together.

But how can you make sure that your honeymoon is more than an average ski trip?

Here’s how:

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Ski jobs: is this the best job in the world?

Gabriel    bestskiholidays     heli skiing, ski jobs, Skiing, Skiing Holidays, skiing jobs snowboarding, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays, snowboarding jobs

What’s the best ski job? Well, others might disagree, but I think it could be the heli-ski guide. When it boils down to doing what you love, heli-ski guides love what they do because to them it is the best job in the world. But I can’t be the judge of this – I’m just a professional tour guide and ski instructor: I know they’ve got one of the coolest jobs around!

Ski Jobs: we think we've found the best job in the world Image:Flickr/ kentgoldman

So, answer the following questions and see how your job matches up. Time for a career change? Or just a skiing holiday to see for yourself? This could be one of the best jobs in the world – if you’re not jealous now, you soon will be!

How big is your office space?

Heli-ski guides’ offices are about 2.2 million acres and have an average annual snowfall of 25 meters. Getting to the copy room might be tough, but then again, we don’t make copies. Heli-ski guides have earned a 360-degree corner office, with mountaintop views. The only time they see a “cube” is when they drop them to the bottom of their tumblers and pour a drink over them.

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Heli-skiing in British Columbia

Neil Skilton    ash     heli skiing, heli-ski British Columbia, off piste, ski, Skiing, Skiing Holidays

The day you’ve been waiting for has finally arrived.  It’s a crisp morning heli-skiing in British Columbia, and the fresh mountain air fills your lungs as you head outside to admire the spectacular scenery.  A hearty and delicious breakfast is devoured and will provide necessary fuel for the day ahead.

Route up. Image: Flickr/lucelu

Morning briefings on the weather, snow conditions and departure times are relayed by the lead guide to the small group of enthusiastic, yet slightly nervous people, among who you stand.  You feel excited, yet there has been a knot in your stomach since you awoke.  Avalanche beacons are tested and everyone gets a good opportunity to perform several practice searches.

Outside, by the helicopter, you’re introduced to your pilot and given a review on helicopter safety procedures.  Then it’s into the chopper and before you know it the ground is disappearing.  Nervous, excited exchanges of glances between your co-passengers intermit with views you’ve only ever seen out of ski movies.

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A Trio of Extreme Activities in Asia

Tim B    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     base jumping, heli skiing, kl tower, kuala lumpar, Malaysia, russia, shark diving, thailand

It’s easy to get jaded about travelling, especially if you think you’ve been everywhere and done everything. But thanks to the sheer diversity of this wonderful planet we live on, there’s always something out there that you have yet to experience.One great way to pull yourself free from the creeping feeling of ennui is to satisfy your thirst for adrenaline and try out a few extreme sports. The thrill and excitement provided is enough to pull anyone from the abyss of boredom and apathy. But if you’re going to do it, you should do it right.

To help you out, here are five of the best extreme sports and activities from across Asia, each one sure to kick-start your zest for life.

Dive with sharks in Thailand

The whale shark is the largest fish in the world. They can grow to up to 12 metres (40 ft) in length and can weigh more than 36 tonnes (79,000 lb). But despite their gargantuan dimensions and many rows of sharp teeth, the whale shark feeds almost primarily on plankton and small fish. That knowledge, however, is unlikely to make diving with the massive beasts any less exhilarating.

Richelieu Rock, HinDaeng and Chumphon Pinnacle in Thailand are some of the best locations if you want to come face-to-face with these titanic predators of sea. The whale sharks can normally be encountered in April but have been known to show up during February and March too.

Go BASE jumping in Kuala Lumpur

If you’ve not come across it before, BASE jumping involves leaping from a variety of fixed objects – Buildings, Antennae, Spans (bridges) and Earth (cliffs) – with a parachute. Despite involving altitudes far lower than sky diving, it’s a far more dangerous activity. With parachute deployment occurring much earlier in the flight, the risks of a malfunction arehigh. But with proper training and the right equipment,. BASE jumping is sure to get your adrenaline pumping.

The KL Tower International BASE Jump is held every year in Malaysia, with the opportunity to jump from the country’s five tallest buildings in Sarawak, Sabah, AlorSetar, Penang and Kuala Lumpur. The Menara Kuala Lumpur Tower is the tallest of the five, at over 420 m (1,300 ft) in height.

Go heliskiing in Russia

Next to shark diving and BASE jumping, you might find the prospect of skiing to be a little tame. However, heliskiing is a different kind of thing altogether. Heliskiing dispenses with the mundanity of popular resorts and crowded ski lifts that you’re probably already well-accustomed to. Instead of the traditional ski lift, you’ll be carried away by helicopter to relatively untouched slopes that are off the beaten track. The risks of encountering hazards like avalanches are higher as you’re outside of the normal resorts, but locations are always selected carefully. Most specialist adventure travel insurance policy includes cover for heliskiing for an additional premium.

There are a number of ideal heliskiing locations in Russia, including the Kamchatka Peninsula and Krasnaya Polyana, a town located at the foot of Russia’s Caucasus Mountains. If you’ve already been heliskiing in somewhere like Canada, you might find the Russian experience to be a little more rough and ready but with the right guide and the right equipment, you’re sure to get the adrenaline rush you’re looking for.