A Piece of the Action

There was a time when the word vacation meant only abiding sloth and the most stressful holiday activity was lying beside the sea, scratching your stomach. Athletics were restricted to raising a glass to your lips or pushing your chair away from the dinner table. Exertion was all but unknown.

Now there are exciting alternatives to those effortless days. The era of vacation action is upon us. From the heights of the Himalayas to the depths of the Caribbean, more and more holiday adventurers are booking activities that not only tax spirit and sinew but are enormous fun besides. Here, then, is our hot hit list of authentic walks on the wild side.

Treasure Islands

It doesn't take too much prodding to get a Caribbean visitor to start dreaming about discovering sunken or buried treasure. The area is alive with tales (and relics) of pirates, Spanish gold, sunken ships and yellowed parchment maps that seem to cry out for some adventurous explorer to dig deeper, dive farther offshore--and discover long-lost wealth. Estimates of the number of ships sunk in the Caribbean and western Atlantic are as high as 3000. In the Anegada Channel of the British Virgin Islands alone, more than 250 ships are supposed to have gone down between 1523 and 1833.

Bear in mind that most of the ships that went down during that period either ran aground or tore out their bottoms on the numerous coral reefs that lie just beneath the surface. Tides and shifting sands can cover a ship or move a wreck miles from its original site. Those same tides can cause lost treasure to rise to the surface, too, and rumors are rife about a vacationer who happened to be walking on the beach of Grand Cayman Island some years ago and found an estimated $100,000 in gold and diamond jewelry, gold, silver and platinum. The first piece of jewelry was lying on the sand and the rest was only six inches below the surface.

The Cayman Islands (Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac) are a particular favorite among amateur treasure hunters, as much because of the pleasant surroundings as for the chance of coming up with a fistful of doubloons. Diving is among the most popular tourist activities--whether for gold or for fun.

As local legend has it, on a dark night in November 1788, a convoy of British merchant ships was sailing to the east of Grand Cayman. Because of the inaccuracy of navigating charts in those days, this was a particularly hazardous route in these treacherous waters. The lead ship, the Cordelia, struck a reef and raised flags of warning and distress. The other ships misunderstood the signal in the darkness, and nine more ships struck the reef before anything could be done. The fluke of an anchor said to be a relic of this "wreck of ten sails" can be seen today from land. In addition to the jewelry supposedly found on the beach here, a platinum bar dated 1521 was recovered from a shipwreck just off Grand Cayman.

Although there are no treasure hunts specifically designed for visitors, the Caymans are full of dive shops and operators; the best of those include: Cayman Kai, phone 809-94-7-9556; Brac Aquatics, 809-94-8-7323.

Chopper Skiing

There's one very important appeal of adventure vacationing: In no other holiday environment do participants become such close comrades so fast. It's clearly the fact of facing legitimate danger together and the common searching for personal limits that forge a bond. The men and women who play games in the world's most dangerous places always seem to have a lot in common.

I first discovered this bond when I went to investigate the then-fledgling activity called helicopter skiing. At the time, I was a solidly competent intermediate down-hiller, which in British Columbia's Bugaboo mountain range qualified me to make beds and scrub pots. I suppose that the run down Everest is more difficult and the south slope of the Matterhorn is steeper, but with the exception of those two towering peaks, there's very little skiing on this planet that even compares for danger and difficulty. This is not an enterprise for the faint of heart or for those who routinely overestimate their abilities.

Over the past decade, schussing down remote, untracked powder in both the Canadian and the U.S. Rocky Mountains has become an increasingly popular pastime, and the opportunities to enjoy this downhill thrill have expanded considerably. Prices can be high (as much as $3000 for a week-long, all-inclusive package), but there are now day trips that allow first-timers to see whether or not the singular adrenaline surge is really worth the cost.

The major lure is the opportunity to ski slopes unmarred by tows or lifts--or other skiers. Helicopters carry a dozen or so experts to the top of a high mountain selected for perfect snow conditions, and skiers follow guides who not only seek out perfect powder but also avoid invisible crevasses and terrain that poses probable avalanche danger. This is a place where nature is clearly dominant.

Helicopter skiing in Canada was pioneered by Austrian mountain guide Hans Gmoser, who heads an operation called Canadian Mountain Holidays, out of Banff, Alberta. His modest lodges, tucked into the corners of the Canadian Rockies known as the Bugaboos, Cariboos and Monashees, have become the very essence of the sport and host its most dedicated adventurers.

Those same lodges have recently been utilized during the summer months for an activity called heli-hiking. Again, the chopper is used to place heli-hikers at heights that might otherwise take a full week to reach. Up here, close to the Continental Divide, there are cols to be climbed and high-altitude adventures to be enjoyed that most mountaineers might never see.

For helicopter skiing:

Canadian Mountain Holidays, P.O. Box 1660, Banff, Alberta TOL OCO; 403-762-4531.

Cariboo Helicopter Skiing, Ltd., P.O. Box 1824, Banff, (concluded on page 160)Piece of the Action(continued from page 154)

Alberta TOL OCO; 403-762-5548; between January and May, 604-673-8344.

Mountain Canada Purcell Helicopter Skiing, P.O. Box 1530, Golden, British Columbia VOA 1HO; 604-344-5410.

For heli-hiking:

Tauck Tours, P.O. Box 5027, Westport, Connecticut 06881; 800-GO-TAUCK.

White-Water Rafting

The abundant snows of the past few winters have created consecutive seasons full of spectacular white-water adventures. Knifing through 20-foot-high river waves, racing downstream at whirlpool speeds, clothes drenched with spray and the screams of your fellow rafters hardly audible over the noise of the river makes even the wildest roller-coaster ride seem tame.

There are few other means of travel that put participants as close to the forces of nature. River running has become so popular that most of this country's mightiest rivers have trips offered by commercial operators.

The nature of the river normally dictates the quality of the experience. You may well wield a paddle--with your guide shouting instructions from behind--or you may end up as just another passenger hanging on for dear life. When you get tired of watching the cliffs, rocky banks and forests go by, there are usually swimming, picnicking, hiking and fishing, among other diversions. The combination of the river, the sourdough pancakes at breakfast, the steaks and spuds at dinner, the companionship around the campfire and the lullaby of the water after the last ember has died makes for adventure that's more than memorable.

The Colorado River (Grand Canyon Section), Arizona: The most challenging of all river trips and some of the great moments of human experience. You shoot some 100 rapids as you run the 280 miles between the most common put-in area (near Lees Ferry) and the headwaters of Lake Mead. For a complete list of outfitters (who go downstream in everything from dories to motor-powered rafts), write to the Superintendent, Grand Canyon National Park, P.O. Box 129, Grand Canyon, Arizona 86023; 602-638-7888.

The Middle Fork of the Salmon River, Idaho: The 106-mile stretch floated by most outfitters runs through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness over 80 or more wild rapids and into the second deepest gorge on the continent. Middle Fork District, Challis National Forest, P.O. Box 337, Challis, Idaho 83226; 208-879-5204.

The Youghiogheny River, Pennsylvania: The trip down the seven-and-a-half-mile wild section of this Eastern white-water stream lasts only a little more than half a day--but you get quite a run for your money. Ohiopyle State Park, P.O. Box 105, Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania 15470; 412-329-4707 or -4704.

The Chattooga River, South Carolina: After seeing Deliverance, which was filmed here, people who didn't know any better tackled the white water in metal canoes, which usually ended up on the river's bottom. In other words, this is no canoe trip for beginners; but in a raft, with a guide, almost anyone can survive. Wildwater, Ltd., Long Creek, South Carolina 29658; 803-647-9587.

The Cheat River, West Virginia: Arguably the great-granddaddy of all Eastern white-water runs, this one, in the Appalachian foothills, has more bumps, holes, waves and hydraulics than any other 12-mile watercourse in the East. In all, there are 38 major rapids laid practically end to end. Travel West Virginia, State Capitol, Charleston, West Virginia 25305; 304-348-2286; 800-624-9110 outside West Virginia.

Hawaiian Hang Gliding

First-time visitors to Honolulu usually take at least one round-the-island tour, and their expressions of awe are seldom greater than when they look up above Makapuu Point. There, soaring serenely on the warm trade winds, is usually a flotilla of modern Icaruses riding the breezes off the lava-etched windward coast of Oahu.

It's probable that some of the appeal of hang gliding in Hawaii is in the opportunity to be carried aloft over areas of this mid-Pacific paradise that are inaccessible to all but airborne visitors. Thanks to recent aerodynamic improvements in hang-gliding equipment, this activity is no longer considered strictly a fringe sport, appropriate only for potential kamikaze pilots. Surely, the fact that Hawaii boasts some of the world's most beautiful remote sites has inspired the sport's boom in the islands.

What's hardest to believe is that beginners actually survive this hazardous hobby. An organization called the Tradewinds Hang Gliding Club runs a very popular beginners' program for those interested in savoring the immediate rush that comes with unpowered flight. Tradewinds' emphasis during the introductory lessons is on fun, though the basic course demonstrates to novices just how hang gliders manage to stay aloft and familiarizes fledgling pilots with all the glider parts and support equipment.

Tradewinds also runs breath-taking excursions for advanced fliers off the main ridge of Makapuu, among the velvety-green cliffs of the Koolau Range. Waimanalo is also a favorite ridge-soaring site for accomplished hang-glider pilots.

Tradewinds Hang Gliding Club, P.O. Box 543, Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii 96734; 808-396-8557.

Full of Hot Air

Ballooning was a French invention, and that may be why the skies above France's most historic terrain sometimes seem to be beautifully littered with huge, colorful canopies. Especially over the historic châteaux of the Loire Valley and the fertile vineyards of Burgundy and Bordeaux, balloon trips have suddenly become a staple part of the sight-seeing inventory.

But it's also no longer necessary to float over France to enjoy this pleasure. The Napa and Sonoma valleys of Northern California offer extravagant balloon trips to some of the wine country's tastiest cellars. The focus is on vineyard-to-vineyard travel, with passengers able to choose stops that offer red or white, still or sparkling wine. It puts a new perspective on the idea of getting high.

The most extravagant balloon meeting of the year takes place every fall in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta runs throughout the second week in October, and as many as 500 balloonists congregate for everything from very competitive racing to leisurely rides through the picturesque desert countryside. Colorado offers its own classic in Colorado Springs, an annual Labor Day competition.

Balloons over Steamboat, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, is another Western hot spot, offering everything from a half-hour ride to a 16-hour instruction/flight program that can cost as much as $1750. The emphasis is on learning the mechanics of what makes balloons go and how to control ascents, descents and direction, using wind currents for navigation. Instruction is mostly on a one-to-one basis, while passenger rides include as many as five people at a time. At least it gives you someone to hold on to.

Balloons over Steamboat, P.O. Box 880377, Steamboat Plaza; Steamboat Springs, Colorado 80488; 303-879-3298.

Pacific Adventures, 1641 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90024; 213-473-6571.

Balloon Aviation of Napa Valley, P.O. Box 3298, Napa, California 94558; 707-226-8348.

Balloon Federation of America, P.O. Box 264, Indianola, Iowa 50125 (include stamped, self-addressed envelope); 515-961-8809.