Honduras is no secret to backpackers, but for the more upscale crowd the small country is constantly overlooked for the more developed beaches and rainforest of Costa Rica and Panama. Here in lies the opportunity: Instead of competing for white sand real estate or crowded canopy zip line tours, head to Honduras for vast cloud forests, virgin rivers, and warm locals. Guest guide Tim Shisler takes us along as his raft careens through two-story high rock walls, flies along a zipline and explores Honduras in Central America.

Photo:  © Tim Shisler

Dozens of snowkiters will attach themselves to giant kites so they can harness the wind during Kite Soldier 2010, put on by Snowkite Soldier, in central Idaho Feb. 19-21. Some of these riders on skis and snowboards will fly hundreds of feet in the air, while others will reach speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour, as they zip through a 14-mile course heading uphill thousands of feet to mountain peaks around Idaho's Camas Valley.

During the infamous Poker Run, snowkiters will go through five checkpoints, collecting a poker card at each one.  The snowkiters with the highest hands will take away thousands in prizes at the award party Saturday night.

Not sure if you want to try snowkiting?  If you are an intermediate skier or snowboarder or better, get ready to learn. There are several places you can start snowkiting in the West.

Photo by Aaron Beck

If so, you have another two weeks to put together a video conveying "What Inspires You to Ski Tour?"  Canadian Mountain Holidays, one of the longest running and most popular companies offering heli-skiing in the winter and heli-hiking in the summer, has partnered with ARC'TERYX, to offer the "What Inspires You to Ski Tour?" contest winner an all-expenses-paid trip for two. The winner and companion  get a seven-day Heli-Assisted Ski tour at the Adamant Lodge in Western Canada from April 2-10, 2010.  For all the details, rules and regulations visit "What Inspires You to Ski Tour?". The contest ends February 15, 2010.

If you're a cold-weather vacationer, have you gone dog sledding yet?  With some companies, you just sit back in the sled and enjoy the scenery, while a musher controls the dogs as they drag the sled through meadows and trails in the woods. Other companies, however, teach you skills to control the dogs and steer the sled.

Here are some places where you can take a dog-sled tour.   Lots of winter resorts, especially ski resorts, also offer dog-sled rides as an alternative to a day on the slopes.