This year ice fishing trips started much earlier in November, but a very warm season may mean waiting to ice fish until late in December, he said. The season usually lasts into late March or early April.

The thrill of fishing here has both to do with the size and quantity of the catch.

"The largest landlocked salmon we caught on an ice fishing trip was likely about 16 inches. In the summertime, the largest king salmon taken by my guests have weighed in at 56 pounds."

Most of the tour participants are locals from Anchorage, making it a great way to get to know Alaska. Beyond fishing, there is nearby skiing, dog sledding and snowmobile tours, as well as airplane flights to see the wilderness.

Antarctica

If you really want ice, there's no place like Antarctica, the frozen continent. It's perhaps the most otherworldly experience a traveler can have while still on Earth.

Oceanwide Expeditions, a Dutch company with an office in Houston, has trips that pass from Ushuaia in Argentina's most southern Patagonia.

Their Atlantic Odyssey cruise is the ultimate in ice vacations, lasting nearly 40 days, with visits to the Antarctic peninsula, the South Shetland Islands, South Georgia and the South Orkney Islands.

The trip also includes visits to slightly warmer and equally exotic islands such as Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena, Ascension Island and Cape Verde.

Antarctica is rich in wildlife, from whales to sea lions to Emperor penguins and many other species of birds. Zodiac boats allow for passengers to get close to the animals, with expert guides explaining the wildlife.

Trips alight on various islands and also the Antarctic Peninsula to visit research stations run by different countries, giving a sense of the island's recent human history and the fragility of our hold on this most remote part of the world, beautiful and full of thrilling danger all at once.

Expeditions run during the Southern Hemisphere summer, from approximately November to April. The experience can be life changing, said sales manager Florian Piper.

"Our passengers experience and learn about the fragile nature of the polar regions. They become ambassadors for life."