International Lifestyle Magazine Issue 50 | Page 89

The story here is fantastic, after their own research on bears and then discovering that one of their natural areas was earmarked for change into yet another ski area, Lisa Stuart one half of the team, decided enough was enough. Determined not to see another resort in the Cantabrian mountains she set about creating a petition Save Spanish Bears to assist in protecting both them and the land they inh abit. You can find a ton of info on their website, but the biggest achievement of all, in my opinion, is their decision to educate others by showing them the beauty and the need for protection. You now have the opportunity to visit this beautiful area, from walking holidays, to ski touring, snowshoeing holidays and guided walks and scrambling. You can get into nature and leave no trace of your visit, taking with you only photographs and memories. I love the idea of snowshoeing, this is great for anyone who cannot ski (which includes me!) you basically have ski “shoes” and with the use of sticks, these are for balance, you can travel across the snow easily, so you get the benefit of being in snow without, again in my case, the fear of having skis strapped to your feet! Now, for those of you who do like to ski, then you should look at ski touring. The first question has to be, what is ski touring? If you’ve never ventured off-piste before but have been on one or two ski holidays previously, you can enjoy a ski touring holiday with Picos Rock and Snow. A steady snowplough technique will allow you to get around in the mountains once you’ve mastered the art of kick-turns - changing direction on the spot by lifting one ski at a time and turning to face the other way. You can read more about it at http://www.thepicosdeeuropa. com/picos-rock-and-snow/skitouring-holidays.html Travelling with a guide, or for those who are more experienced you can travel alone, you will benefit from experience and knowledge gained over years ensuring that your trip is both great fun and educational at the same time. New for 2013 was the introduction of bear watching. For a whole week you can go in search of the Littlest Grizzly, the Cantabrican Brown Bears! Can you imagine how exciting it would be to see a bear within its own environment? Click here to book your trip or to find out more http://www. iberianwildlife.com/asturias/ brown-bears-somiedo.htm

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