Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to research (training included) sediments and glacial ice, survey landforms, and document their size and type-information that will greatly benefit sci· entists in better predicting the impact of floods, surges and sediment t ransfer from active glaciers. The jokulhlaup (floods resulting from a volcano erupting beneath an ice cap) of September 2001 has given sci· entists and researchers an overwhelming and exciting task in docu· menting its impact on the landscape. Along with assisting in this project, you'll bear witness to active volcanoes, glaciers and waterfalls shooting out from prodigious rock faces. Accommodations include a feels·like·home tent and feasts of nonperishable food. 14 days, March-September, $1,995. Earthwatch Institute, www.earth- watch.org, info@earthwatch.org, 800-776-0188.
Known as the Haute Route, this trip is deflnitely for the experienced, technical skier. An eight·day adventure, the trip begins with a 9,000 foot descent of the Vallee Blanche. You'll cross-country ski from hut to hut, climb the steep and quarrelsome Grand Combin with skis on back and ice pick in hand, traverse the White range from France and explore sections of Switzerland, as well. And then there's the harsh mountain weather: wind, snow and ice as well as avalanches. For a fitness reference, eosley and Houston figure that skiers who regularly ski black or double black routes in North America should be okay for this trip. 8 days, April-May, $1,750 (airfare not included), 8 skiers max. Cosley and Houston, www.cosleyhouston.com. fun@cosleyhouston.com. 760-872-3811.
Yes, this mountain has a ski lift, but you won't spend time in a long line waiting for it In fact, you won't see the ski patrol or even the ski school giving lessons to toddlers and greenhorns. This is the kind of isolated, and hazardous, skiing you dream about The lift takes you to over 7,200 vertical feet and then it's up to you to make your own way down. No groomed trails up here; you and the guides make up the routes. This seven-day wilderness ski trip is for those who can confi· dently descend the black diamonds in the US. 7 days, January-March, $1,99s(alrfare not included). Doug Coombs Steep Skiing Camps Worldwide, www.dougcoombs.com. dougcoombs@blissnet.com, 307-734-0028.
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If you're not going to be in Europe this winter, check out the following snow trip reviews on our website. Heli·ski in British Columbia www.blue.com/snow/bc. rip it up in Cordova, Alaska www.blue.com/snow/cordova or ride New Zealand's best kept secret in Craigieburn www.blue.com/s now/craigieburn.
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