Annual weeklong ski reunions in the Rocky Mountains or the Alps can attract up to 40 alums.

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From stage seven onwards, the race heads for the Jura mountains of eastern France, before going into the Alps and a punishing climb to the summit of Avoriaz.

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There is also plenty of skiing, snowboarding and cross-country skiing to be done elsewhere in the country, where the mountains may not soar as high as the Alps, but assets include cheaper prices, smaller crowds and a less frenetic atmosphere.

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They fly as near the Yukon as possible, hire a vehicle and use it as as a base for days of canoeing or climbing the spectacular mountains that outdo their own Alps.

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Before this, scientists believe, Antarctica looked more like Alaska or the Alps, consisting of a range of glacier-capped mountains.

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