August is the oppressor month. Heat and humidity combine to create that muggy stickiness that weighs on you like a blanket, soaking clothes in the few seconds it takes to walk from house to car. You ache right down to your skin for that feel of cool. Not the dank cryogenics of air conditioning, but the crisp relief nature brings, raising goose flesh on the arm or crinkling the lining in the nose. You know somewhere on the globe there's atmosphere like that in August. Just as Isaac Newton found for every action, there is a reaction, you're sure that for every hot place, there is a cool one. Here, like an angel of mercy, 'Outsid'e magazine travel editor Leslie Weeden offers 10 great places to chill and what to do once you get there.

As Bing Crosby et al. say in White Christmas: "Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow." If we're suffocating up north, they must be schussing Down Under. "Think snowballs, powder-white Kiwi ski slopes," Weeden says. Even the mountain range famous for its downhill has the perfect name for those of us sweating in August: the Remarkables. They're just 15 miles outside Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island.

The steamer Hurtigruten is the mode of transportation as you knit your way north from Bergen and Kirkenes to the Lofoten Islands, north of the Arctic Circle. The ship plies through those grand canyons that slip directly into the sea. "You go up the coast and go into these glassy fiords, and you have the mountains. They're really refreshing."

Imagine being eyeball-to-eyeball with an iceberg. Who blinks? Who cares? In Greenland, there's a delicious chill and not an air conditioner in sight. This may not be best for the kayaking beginner, but for those who have done it a time or two, it's a splendid summer getaway, Weeden says. "In a sea kayak, you'll be right at iceberg level, a good vantage point for communing with harp seals and exploring massive tidewater glaciers."

With the invigorating contrast of warm days, cool nights north of the border, you might try your hand at mountain hiking made easy -- or, at least, easier. It's called heli-hiking. The whirlybird does all the heavy lifting. "You simply bypass all the sweat normally associated with high-altitude hiking. The helicopters of Canadian Mountain Holidays start you out among spectacular ridges, glaciers and tarns and slowly descend to warmer ground." The helicopter allows you to cover terrain that otherwise might take a lengthy expedition.

Die-hard swimmers will get a jolt diving into Iceberg Lake in Montana. The name says it all. (Photo by Alaska Wilderness Adventures)

"Get off the RV ant trail on the (park's) Going-to-the-Sun Road and head past a waterfall to aqua-blue Iceberg Lake, where you can take a dip among the ice chunks." Or maybe just look at them. This is a perfect cool weather getaway. From the end of Many Glacier Road, the hike is about 5 miles along Iceberg Lake Trail.

Another family escape is to become an instant part of a windjammer crew off the coast of Maine. A good bet is the 105-foot schooner Isaac H. Evans, built in 1886, sailing out of Rockland, Maine. "Climb a ways up the rigging for a blast of salt spray while keeping an eye out for seals, porpoises, eagles and whales."

These remote and wild rivers offer that all-essential chill in August. One river leads to another for a 150-mile trip from the Yukon through the St. Elias Range to Dry Bay, Alaska. You'll wind through iceberg-filled lakes, past glaciers and grizzlies. The whitewater is only a Class 3, but the experience is a Class 5. Weeden calls it "a fantastic trip."

Where better to tell people you are going to escape the heat? Try experiencing Iceland on a bicycle. "Starting south of Reykjavik on Iceland's Ring Road, pedal your way through farmland and heath on a four-day, 146-mile road. The route takes you over a mountain pass, north along the Thjorsa River and on to Gullfoss, one of the largest waterfalls in Europe."

This is a heat-to-heaven escape that is all in a matter of minutes. Despite the sun and tropics of the Pacific on the Big Island, you will need to pack a parka for the volcano. "It's amazing," Weeden says. The trip to the 13,796-foot summit of Mauna Kea is along the Mauna Kea Road, 13 miles of winding, fast-rising highway. The temperature and climate changes are dramatic. Don't forget your gloves.

This place is on Lake Skilak in the heart of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The lodging is either tent or log cabin, and the neighbors are moose, bears and bald eagles. To make sure you're comfortable, the lodge provides heaters and quilts in August. "Definitely seems like it's going to be cold," Weeden says.