0 FOR WINTER SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS - THE BEST WINTER DESTINATIONS IN THE U.S.

THE BEST WINTER DESTINATIONS IN THE U.S.
Aspen, Colorado
If you are looking for a skiing resort that will test your skill, offer great slopes to practice new maneuvers and will prepare you for the next winter ‘X-Games’, then Aspen is pretty much the place to be. Aspen’s Snowmass sports eight terrain parks, four halfpipes and over 300 marked trails from more than 40 lifts. In short, it is a professional skier’s nirvana! Of course, for the faint of hearts, Aspen has a great nightlife, too, and can really show you a good time even without hitting the slopes as a pro.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
The location of Jackson Hole makes it a great skiing spot as it stands right next to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The locals here are so good at skiing that even the so-called skiing experts come here and find out what their real skill level is! Skiing is much more than a sport when you hit the slopes at Jackson Hole, with the place being an absolute Mecca for professionals, much like Aspen. Theres plenty of hotel options in Jackson Hole for all types of travelers just take your pick.
Heavenly, California
It might sound a bit ironic for those who do not know that California also has great skiing slopes on one edge of the state. The stunning resort of Heavenly is less than an hour away from the Reno airport, close to the Nevada border at the south end of Lake Tahoe. Apart from all the snow, slopes, and skiing, California keeps up its tradition with big game casinos and jazz stars all packed on either side of these amazing slopes. Even if it’s skiing, in California it comes with entertainment.

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0 snowboarding destinations

Whistler, Canada

Altitude: 653-675m; Highest lift: 2,284m; Pistes: 40/110/50 beginner/intermediate/advanced; Closest airport: Vancouver Airport, 120km; Closest rail station: Whistler. A round trip from Vancouver costs C$199; Resort website: whistlerblackcomb.com
Why? Whistler consistently tops the podium in "best ever" polls because it never stops progressing. Its funparks are the best in the business, its pistes are always corduroy in the mornings, its freeriding terrain is easily accessible and - due to the proximity of the Pacific - often blessed with powder. New for this year is the Peak-To-Peak gondola (due to open at the beginning of December), which will directly link Whistler and Blackcomb mountains for the first time and further increase the scope of the place. And for 2009, expect the forward-thinking park shapers to be experimenting with their snow-shaping toys in readiness for the 2010 Olympics.
Getting there: Neilson (neilson.co.uk, 0845 0703460) has seven nights' accommodation at the Holiday Inn Sunspree, Whistler from £1,018 in December including scheduled Air Canada flights from Heathrow and all transfers.
Where to party: Garfunkels and The Boot are the two biggest snowboard-hangouts in town.
Les Arcs, France
Altitude: 850m (Bourg St Maurice), 1,600m, 1,800m, 1,950m and 2,000m; Highest lift: 3,250m; Pistes: 144/66/29 beginner/intermediate/advanced (with Paradiski neighbour La Plagne included); Closest airport: Geneva, 135km; Closest rail station: Bourg St Maurice; Resort website: lesarcs.com
Why? Take the train to Bourg and you're at the end of the line. As a town it's not the prettiest in the Alps, but its access to Les Arcs (via a funicular train that runs every 20 minutes between 7:30am and 7:20pm) is superb, and the resort is one of the most snowboard-friendly in France, featuring several funparks and world-class terrain. The Vanoise Express is scheduled to re-open in time for Christmas 2008, completing the Paradiski link with La Plagne and Peisey-Vallandry and further broadening Bourg's reach for snowboarders.

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0 Most Romantic Travel Destinations of the World

World’s top 10 most romantic travel destinations:


1. Cala Dogana, Levanzo, Sicily

2. Oia, Santorini

3. Paris

4. Maldives

5. Château de Chillon, Switzerland

6. Venice

7. Ulun Danu Temple, Bali

8. Oahu, Hawaii

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0 First choice of my greatest destinations: Colorado Grand Canyon

Colorado Grand Canyon

First choice of my greatest destination, definitly is Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon looks great in the pictures , and this is one of the first destination would I like to visit.

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is contained within and managed by Grand Canyon National Park, the Hualapai Tribal Nation, and the Havasupai Tribe. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery. It is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,000 feet / 1,800 metres). Nearly two billion years of the Earth's geological history has been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While the specific geologic processes and timing that formed the Grand Canyon are the subject of debate by geologists, recent evidence suggests the Colorado River established its course through the canyon at least 17 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River continued to erode and form the canyon to its present-day configuration.

For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.

more information on: Wikipedia

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