Bolivia

With so many 6,000-plus metre peaks in the Andes, Chile and Argentina tend to steal all the limelight (and most of the snow) in South America.

But even if the skiing and snowboarding in South America is generally better further south, countries like Venezuela and Bolivia have towering mountains of their own and slopes that'll take your breath away - quite literally in Bolivia's case.

Chacaltaya is the only ski resort in Bolivia and, with a base of 5,200 metres (just over 17,000 feet), it has the distinction of being the highest ski resort in the world. Thank God (which you ought to be able to do personally from here) the top of the lift is only another 200 metres up the mountain.

At 5,400 metres (17,716 feet, or the same height as Everest Base Camp), you need to be fully acclimatised to high altitude. Sitting around reading a book will leave you sucking at the air for oxygen, not to mention exerting yourself on skis or a snowboard. Were it not for this, most intermediate riders could probably handle the one slope at Chacaltaya with ease.

The ski season in Bolivia runs from November to March.

Cost

Accommodation is strictly off-mountain for this little adventure, but cheap and plentiful in nearby capital La Paz.

Getting here

This obviously isn't your standard family holiday destination. However, Continental, Iberia, United Airlines, Lufthansa and KLM all have regular flights into Lima over the border in Peru. Flights to La Paz are also easy enough to come by, though because of the altitude only certain planes can land at the airport there.