Elevating Arizona

The Super Bowl is without fail the most anticlimactic sporting event of the year. If you have tickets to the 2008 game, this February 3 in Glendale, Arizona, raise the stakes by arriving a week or two early. Park yourself 15 miles from the University of Phoenix Stadium at Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, an award-winning adventure-and-wellness lodge set in the hills above Paradise Valley. Go for a combo bike ride and hike up 2,704-foot Camelback, then have the wellness experts at the tranquil Asian-flavored spa test your cardio fitness, muscular endurance, and percentage of body fat—before you flip the tailgate. Doubles from $520; sanctuaryoncamelback.com

Kickboxer

Muay Thai is to Thailand what hockey is to Canada. Go Van Damme with a six-week Thai-boxing training program on Koh Tao, an island off Thailand’s southern coast. After sparring with other vacationers for six hours each day, collapse in a guesthouse near the beach. $3,385; i-to-i.com

Superferry vs. Silver Surfers

We love mass transit almost as much as we love surfers who fight for their turf. The last time Hawaii Superferry tried to run island-to-island service between Oahu and Kauai, 65 surfers, canoeists, and kayakers took to the water to protest the ferry’s environmental impact. The human blockade turned the 866-passenger ship back—and landed 11 protesters in jail. An ensuing lawsuit slowed the Superferry down, but with $300 million invested, the company isn’t giving up. In December, the Superferry started shuttling passengers between Oahu and Maui. One-way tickets, and the chance to sit front and center for the next round of protests, $29; hawaiisuperferry.com

Free Agent

Scott Newsome, the first snowboarder to pass the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides’ notoriously tough certification program, is ready for hire this winter at Nelson, British Columbia–based Snowwater Heli-Skiing. Sign up for the Kootenay Sampler, a new six-day heli-and-resort combo trip that starts at Red Mountain Resort, in Rossland, and ends at Snowwater’s timber-frame lodge, where 150,000 heli-accessible acres await. $3,708; snowwater.com