Fed up with downhill skiing, long lift queues and ridiculous prices? Get back in touch with the fun you had when you first learnt to ski and take up cross-country skiing. From January 2013, we are running a brand new 5-day introduction holiday based near Courmayeur in Italy. You will learn the techniques of 'the classic style' on prepared piste, skiing within a set of tramlines. The only thing to worry about is - it's very addictive and you may never go back to downhill! Already hooked and experienced? Our new classic Grand Traverse of the Jura, is a superb 175km journey through a quiet corner of the French Alps, where it's not unusual to ski all day without seeing anyone. Covering @ 30km each day, carrying only daypacks, our luggage is transported to our hotels. 

For 28 years KE have been travelling to the far corners of the Earth to find new and exciting ways to enjoy our amazing Planet. This year has been no exception and we've found some beauties for you. There will be lots of exciting new holidays in our forthcoming brochures but here is a sneak peak of what's to come in 2013. Looking for wilderness? Over in Turkey you can walk the St Paul Trail, a rough country path following in the footsteps of the first missionary journey to Asia Minor. For a little bit more luxury, try Slovenia and our new, hotel-based 1-week walking holiday in the Julian Alps. Interested in new climbs and treks in the Himalaya? Look no further than our Chulu and Tilicho Pass expedition in Nepal or our Hidden Himalaya of Burma trek. Stay updated by checking out 'What's new' on the web.

Long time leader and now oracle on all things in our office, Pete Royall has just returned from trekking the exciting NEW Western Route on the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland. Away from the crowds, but with classic views of the main Alps, lots of easy summits and glacier travel, see why Pete thinks this is best.

We're often asked 'When will dates and prices go live so we can book for next year?' We are currently adding 2013 dates to the web and you can already book next year's holiday in Morocco, Nepal, India, Bhutan and on Kilimanjaro. Prices are confirmed in October and will mostly stay the same, but are refundable if you're not happy. 

We still have 39 one-week trips in Europe departing in Sep and Oct which vary from walking the Amalfi Coast in Italy, trekking through the White Mountains of Crete to a traverse of the Picos de Europa in Spain.  What all these holidays have is virtually guaranteed sunshine, which unless we have an Indian summer has been rare in the UK this year!

A big thank you to Cotswold Outdoor from the Juniper Trust who recently donated nearly £6000 which brings their total amount of donations over the last few years to over £25,000!  KE clients are entitled to a 15% discount at Cotswold who in turn donate a further percentage of each spend to our favorite charity. The lucky projects that benefited from this amount were the ABVK School for handicapped children 12 miles east of Kathmandu in Nepal, the hugely successful Peru Solar Light venture run by Val Pitkethly and the building of the  Asumbar Village School in the Northern Pakistan looked after by Ayub Khan. All these projects are regularly checked by KE leaders leading groups in these countries.

These guys look a little lost in the high meadows of the Alps, I wonder if they are going to ask the goat for directions? Let us know what you think they are saying and the most amusing caption will win a  Deuter Futura 32 backpack worth £85. The Futura top loaders feature a revised carrying system for comfortable lengthy day hikes and is absolutely perfect for walking holidays like our  Ridges and Summits of Bulgaria.

To enter, simply email us your caption and recommend a friend who would like to receive the KE brochure. Last month's winner of a Micro Regulator Stove donated by Allcord is Roger Elmer. Congratulations!