I’d be remiss to only discuss Mountain Travel Sobek’s intriguing trip to North Korea in September. MTS has a slew of other phenomenal trips scheduled this year including their first-ever trans-Himalayan trek in Nar & Phu: The Forbidden Valleys of Nepal, for dedicated high altitude trekkers. Other new adventures they’re launching in 2012 include a 28-day trek that stretches from coast to coast across Iceland, hiking in the Swiss Alps and staying at classic Swiss lodges for the more moderate hiker, and a 9-day rafting and trekking adventure in the Annapurna Range. Also, don’t steer away from their more traditional rafting adventures, especially on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River and Alaska’s Tatshenshini, two of the most adrenalin-pumping multi-day river outings in North America.