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holiday gift guide:: KAVU PERMAGRIN For friends who do it all. Because of their curve fit and ultraligh injected- molded frame Permagrins are great for skiing, snowarding, biking and running. They have an eight-base shatter proof poly carbonate lens with scratch proof coating and offer 100 percent UVA and UVB protection. Kavu, www.kavu.com. $64 • -=-=----- Gear is great, but it only serves to help us get what we really want: the experience. Instead of giving your friend a new pair of ski socks, send him skiing with a lift ticket to his favorite ski area; instead of buying him the latest crampons, get him a lesson at a respected ice climbing school. MOUNTAIN SHEPHERD WILDERNESS SURVIVAL SCHOOL, LYNCHBURG, VA " IBEX VELO VEST Amid an array of new space-age technical fabrics, good old-fashioned wool is making a comeback. New wool is touted for its comfort (no more of Grandma's itchy scarves), wicking and durability. The Velo Vest features Schoeller wool, a nylon and Lycra blended front for wind protection and a knit-wool back for breathability. Coming in men's and women's designs, it makes a great gift for anyone who participates in aerobic activities. Ibex, www.ibexwear.com. $115 TEVA TIPTON Know someone who's always getting cold feet? (Or someone with the opposite problem?) Teva Tipton is the answer fo r both. The Outlast Temperature Regulation system uses microcapsules within the fabric that change form to keep feet at a constant temperature . leva, www.teva.com. $100 Think of it as boot camp for adventurers. Mountain Shepherd will teaGh 'students the seven wilderness survival priorities in immersive classes and by the end of each session, campers will feel at home eating grubs and purifying water with foliage. The camp is run by a former US Air Force SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) instructor and is regarded as one of the most comprehensive, and intensive survival schools. Your buddies will love and hate you when they return (quite possibly the perfect gift for a curmudgeonly boss or in-law). Mountain Shepherd, www.mountainshepherd.com. 434-841-0508, $150-$350 EXUM MOUNTAIN GUIDES MOUNTAINEERING SCHOOL, MOOSE, WY The path to enlightenment is uphill. Exum Mountain Guides will show someone the way. Rugged guides will school wanna-be mountaineers in America's gnarliest mountains, Wyoming's Grand Tetons. For three-quarters of a century, Exum Mountain Guides have shown city slickers why it's called the WiLd West. Exum, www.exumguides.com.301-133-2291.Prices vary H20 HEll ADVENTURES, VALDEZ, AK Make a dream come true for any expert skier. For a mere $4,550 you can send one Lucky person to H20'S Heli Ski Guide Camp, where company founder and World Extreme Skiing Champ Dean Cummings and his staff wilL show anyone what it takes to be an ALaskan heli- ski guide. Students Learn route selection, snow stability forecasting, gLacier travel, crevasse rescue and dozens of other essential backcountry skiLls. And they get tons of helicopter and cat skiing on Alaska's best big-mountain terrain. OnLy 10 spots are availabLe. Other ski and snowboard packages from $3,500 a week or $690 a day. H20 Heli Adventures, WWW.h20guides.com. 901-835-8418 MEDJET ASSISTANCE Even if you can't trek through Tibet with a loved one, you can make sure they get home safely. Membership in a friend's name entitles them to a ride home from anywhere in the world in a flying ambulance if they have been hospitalized. $195 individual or $295 per family. Medjet, www.medjetassistance.com. 800-963-3538 FSILANGUAGELESSONS The best way to experience a new culture is to talk with the natives. Is someone you know traveling to Everest but doesn't speak Nepalese? No problem. FSI (Foreign Service Institute) language lessons will get them up to speed in one of 30 languages with a range of tapes, CDs and books in all levels from survival basics to fluency. FSI, www.travlang.com. 800-218-2131, courses range from $59 to $699 67