Rob Story

These days, cutting-edge expeditions often happen because gear companies believe there's promotional gold in the combination of top outdoor athletes, dream adventures (like skiing first descents in the mountains of Antarctica), and cool Web images from the bottom of the world. Does it work? Heck if I know. But it sure was fun being a content provider.

Ski tourists flock to the Haute Route of France and Switzerland. But ROB STORY and his buddies wanted more, so they skinned, pisted, off-pisted, and got pissed all the way across the westernmost Alps—with a little help from 59 lifts and Hunter S. Thompson.

At least that's what veteran action photographer Tony Harrington told us. So when he assembled a team of world-class athletes and brought them to a secret spot in New Zealand where you can ski and surf in the same day, we agreed to send a writer. Too bad he never mentioned the midgies.

It goes like this: Chuck your reputation as America's greatest downhill skier, shred big lines in Alaska, tear through the X Games, then weigh a return to the Olympics in a wild new event.

Who rules the freeskiing world of big air and deadly steeps—The technical European perfectionists or the up-all-night American hot-doggers? We brought Micah Black and Dominique Perret, the stars of each continent, to British Columbia for some head-to-head competition. No excuses. No exceptions. No slowing down. And the winner is...

The New Alps

Here's why ten Winter Olympics have been staged high in the Alps: James Bond glamour, beautiful slopes, and raging après—ski that lasts till 3 a.m.

From Italy's classic Sella Ronda to a new peak in the French Pyrenees, here's a primo selection of the best skiing on the continent

The highest points in heartland states like Kansas and Iowa aren't much to look at, but when you knock off seven of them in a four-day, 3,000-mile blitz . . . well, let's just say the little bastards have a way of kicking back.

Here's the Beef

Get a fresh perspective on the Old Country: pedal, paddle, skate, and hike in these eight ruggedly charming European outposts

Ten lodges where you can take it all in, and then launch an expedition out the back door

SAR tales from veterans who were there.

How to pull off a bike tour on your own two wheels.

How did a mellow, mop-haired, lackadaisically unfashionable snowboarder achieve freeride immortality? First he lifted his carve to a fine art. Then he linked turns down impossibly steep terrain on some of the planet's highest peaks. Now he bucks industry trends, eschews money, and foreswears fame. But most important, he just rides.