Fall in ski country can be a lonely place. The summer tourists are gone and the skiers and snowboarders have yet to arrive. Cold temperatures bring a frosty blanket of snow and ice, while darkness and clouds hover like the flu. When Halloween arrives, lone pumpkins dot the deserted main drags and cobwebs form on unused doorways.
And then, of course, there are the ghosts of visitors past  … More
Do skiing and culture mix? Rarely. In 1834 the French novelist Balzac wrote about it in his novel Séraphîta, but the kit was rudimentary to say the least. (“Seraphitus threw his weight upon his right heel, arresting the plank – six and a half feet long and narrow as the foot of a child – which was fastened to his boot by a double thong of leather.”)
A century later another Frenchman, Jean-Paul Sartre, ventured to the slopes of   … More
Surf adventures are fraught with setbacks, sidetracks, and risks. But those who’ve mastered the art of the journey have a heightened sense of awareness, allowing them to stay cool when it counts, and make the most of every situation.
There are only a few places where the locals truly relish the approach of winter — and they are mostly very expensive places. The North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii is one of them.
If you want to live in one of the $4 million-plus homes along “surfing’s downtown,†Ke Nui Road in Haleiwa, it helps to be one of the best surfers on Earth. Their sponsors pay $15,000-$20,000 per month to rent these pads during peak season to house their athletes and staff. But if your surf skills are less than world class, you could still stay along this famous stretch of beach for $1,200 per day during the off-season  … Pictures and more