Is there a more invigorating feeling than, after a long ski run or a hike in the mountains, pulling off your frozen hat and warming your damp feet in front of the fireplace? When your adrenalin levels start to drop, the blood returns to your toes, and your face begins to glow, you start to feel more alive than you have all year. The book Below Zero, recently published by Gestalten, illustrates a range of the most beautiful winter adventures and expeditions out there to capture this feeling. The spectrum of excursions range from skating on the frozen canals of Amsterdam and wild motorbike races to skiing in Afghanistan — essentially tumbling down the mountains of the Hindu Kush in rubber boots with self-carved skis affixed. A nicer ode to the winter season and the glacial regions of this world couldn’t be found this Christmas.

Photos: Gestalten