Stay cool this winter with our selection of the best things going on

What an awesome combination - skiing, socialising and some cultural experience. This trip seems to have a little bit of everything and that's why we like it so much. Hakuba village hosted many events during the 1998 Winter Olympics and gets up to 13m of powdery snow each winter so it's safe to say that we're quite keen to try the Japanese Alps this year.

We've already mentioned that Winter 09/10 is going to see a real explosion in people wanting to venture off-piste for the drama of untouched powder and empty valleys, but backcountry or offpiste skiing carries some serious associated risk. Avalanches are regular and hard to anticipate. This local course in Boulder would make the ideal introduction to the safety considerations of backcountry skiing.

"MUSH!" We reckon this dogsledding tour would make a fantastic winter trip - the cold clear air, the steaming breath, the yelping excitement from the husky team and the crunch of fresh powder under your sled-rails. What a way to spend a weekend! And that's all before you get to unwind at the luxurious traditional Swedish base camp!

We've seen some fantastic listings from the Chamonix Experience team on Ooh.com, but this is one of our favourites. Something a little different, which would make a great 2 day addition to a ski trip to Chamonix this year. Learning to ice climb is a thrilling, tough and technical approach to spending time in the mountains; this course would make a great inroad for beginners to try this fantastic sport.

Ski touring is another of the diverse ways of experiencing the beauty of the mountains and the pleasure of ski or snowboard descent. Typically ski touring is a little more involved than the regular chairlift/descent routine, with your guide picking a route for you to "skin", or ski uphill, up a route before making your off-piste descent. For curious newcomers to the ski touring world, we think this 8 day introduction based in Chamonix is an awesome way to try it out - but get booking, places will go quickly on this one!

While we've been digging around for cool winter stuff to do, the season has rolled in and Winter, for those of us in the Northern hemi-sphere now seems to have a firm grip on us. Which is why we're recommend preparing for anything the weather might throw at you with this innovative Igloo building and reindeer tour. We're delighted that the guys from Solberget Wilderness Retreat decided to list this tour on Ooh.com - it's original, fresh and it sounds like you'd learn some useful stuff along the way.

The global obsession with untouched powder, clear mountain air and the sublime vacancy of mountain landscapes devoid of human life has been brewing for some time now, but this winter, back-country (off-piste) skiing is going to explode. So where better to get to grips with proper free-skiing than Kashmir, India. The Gulmarg resort offers a dazzling range of slopes starting out from the highest chairlift on earth. Yep, the absolute highest. Top that with snowfalls that would bury cities, and monkeys that throw snowballs and you're in for a totally unmissable ski vacation.

The Snow Valley Huskies have charmed us completely here at Ooh. This listing offers the chance to take part in a fast-paced dogsledding wilderness adventure. Take these friendly and clever animals across the wild and beautiful trails of the Canadian Rocky Mountains on an unforgettable day tour.

We absolutely love this listing and we're delighted to recommend it in our winter Hall of Fame - experience the British Winter at it's most sublime.