I would have preferred the Alps! in my course work, I said that it was engaged in rock climbing.

Just been out to the Sierra Nevada.   Cheap flights to Granada or Malaga - numerous peaks around the 3,000 - 3,500 level and fairly easy walking in to the tops in summer - quite a lot of snow in winter although on a clear day you can see Africa!

I'm no climber but if you fancy trying a package holiday at altitude then look for a summer holiday at Obergurgl in the Oztal valley in Austria at 1,929m - Inghams do a package. It's not too far from where the man in the ice was found and there's s good mixture of walking and mountaineering close by. We bought a card that gave us guided walks daily and were discovered just how unfit we were compared to local people. It was there that we discovered how useful walking poles are too.

I took three days to aclimatise and the first day there we were both exhaused by the simplest uphill walk. (but my running stamina had improved by the time we got home a week later) There are good walking maps available (Kompass) which can be bought in UK or when you are there and plenty of opportunity to walk higher. One simple route would be to take the bus up to the border with Italy and walk back down to Obergurgl.

Be warned - high altitude has interesting effects on you that nobody tells you. Eg at lower pressure gas expands. Bottom burps therefore are much more frequent for a few days! If you are a naturally 'windy' person this might just be a point to consider. A happier side effect is that the air is good for asthmatics and others - dust mites can't survive this high up. There is little or no pollen in the summer either.

(Yes - I loved Obergurgl and want to go back)

The first picture is looking down on Obergurgl, in winter a ski resort. The second was taken about an hour from the village on the first day's guided walk. Both give a sense of the landscape in the Tirol.