* Pack Your Passion: Bear watching in Katmai National Park, Alaska
From a thousand feet up in the cockpit of a floatplane, southwestern Alaska feels like the edge of the world.

* The Cedar House Sport Hotel, Truckee
After a winter day spent playing in the mountains, half the fun is getting out of the snow. Truckee now gives you a cushy reason to get off the beaten path.

* Downward Momentum
Boarding in July? Snowmelt lakes in the heat of summer? Mount Shasta proves it's a place for all seasons. (pg. 7)

* Beirut, the Paris of the Middle East