Everything
Outside magazine, April 1996 The Case for Speed By Todd Balf and Paul Kvinta Will mountaineering’s next era be all about linking the premier routes of yesteryear in nonstop climb-a-thons? Marc Twight thinks so. Best known for his ice-climbing prowess and tortured poetry (see…
Outside magazine, April 1996 God, Boston, Country With the devil on his shoulder and Jesus on his shoes, Cosmas Ndeti battles for his fourth straight victory By Joshua Hammer I am staring at Cosmas Ndeti’s legs. I can’t take my eyes…
Outside magazine, April 1996 Redemption on Wheels By Todd Balf and Paul Kvinta While the sight of a longhaired man carrying a cross at Eastertime may be a little disconcerting, don’t worry: The fellow tromping around Madagascar this month with a 12-foot-tall rolling crucifix…
Outside magazine, May 1995 Mountaineering: Isn’t That Sweet By Todd Balf In the increasingly combed-over world of mountaineering, an emerging tradition appears to be the “tandem” ascent. A few years ago, alpinists Jeff Lowe and Catherine Destivelle popularized the pursuit when they successfully climbed…
Outside magazine, April 1996 26.2 Legendary Miles Of Foot-Pounding, Heartbreaking, Endorphin-Inducing Huff America’s oldest, greatest marathon transformed distance running from lonely obsession to the mass promenade of a fitness nation. On the centennial of the grueling Yankee race that helped launch a revolution, a boisterous salute.
 Outside magazine, April 1996 A Good Hair Week in Mongolia After years of government oppression, the country that gave us Genghis Khan, the Attilla the Hun Show, and possibly the first Americans is rolling out the welcome mat. On an archaeological tress-hunt in the land…
Outside magazine, June 1994 Books: Lunar Landscapes By Miles Harvey Clearcut: The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry, edited by Bill Devall (Sierra Club Books/ Earth Island Press, $50). For years, the timber industry has been skilled at concealing the horrific effects of clear-cut…
Outside magazine, June 1994 Mountaineering: New Route, Same Dangers By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard and Eric Hagerman) Because of a well-earned reputation as the world’s most dangerous 8,000-meter peak, K2 doesn’t see a lot of new routes–the old ones are tough enough.
Outside magazine, May 1996 He’s Bad. He’s Windy. He’s a Tourist with an Attitude. Meet Robert Young Pelton, guerrilla guide to the world’s most dangerous places By Jack Hitt Robert Young Pelton is a tough guy. Just ask him. By his own…
Outside magazine, April 1996 Climbing: Little Half Dome on the Prairie Rising from the bean fields, a big wall is born By Kathy Martin Basically I live like a spider,” Chris Schmick says, sounding oddly upbeat. Schmick, 27, and his wife, Pam,…
Outside magazine, April 1996 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn–or Else By Todd Balf and Paul Kvinta “Those guys deal with rapes and murders all day,” says New York City parks official Bradley Tusk of the city’s criminal court judges. “They never took environmental…
Outside magazine, April 1996 Sturdy Boots Without the Burden Lightweight, trailworthy hikers for both fast-moving day hikes and overnight jaunts By Douglas Gantenbein Horrific tales of foot agony in decades past are the best argument for today’s lightweight hiking boots, so here’s…
Outside magazine, May 1996 Next, It’s Time to Power Up Once you’ve laid a solid strength base, says Karch Kiraly, the next step is to work on power. The difference? “Strength is the ability to move really heavy objects,” he explains. “Power is the ability to…
Outside magazine, April 1996 U.S.Å., U.S.Å. By Todd Balf and Paul Kvinta In what may spur twin national crises in Norway and Sweden, two American nordic skiers upstaged the Scandinavians at their national championships. Nina Kemppel of Anchorage, Alaska, who trains and races with…
Outside magazine, April 1996 Ruling the Cs By Todd Balf and Paul Kvinta Sure it’s overshadowed by its more famous sibling, but what the Little America’s Cup sailing race lacks in hoopla it makes up for in flat-out speed. That much was obvious in…
Outside magazine, June 1994 Do Unto Smelt Thumpers The six commandments of fly-fishing humility By Randy Wayne White Fly-fishing, at its best, is a craft and so affords a studied, even serious approach, though that doesn’t mean that those who approach…
Outside magazine, April 1996 Big Water: Will the Real Colorado River Please Rise Up? A $4.5 million experiment unleashes a deluge of habitat-restoring froth By Rob French It will begin with the touch of a human finger. An engineer will press a…
Outside magazine, June 1995 Cruising: Name That Bay Playing pioneer on Canada’s Great Slave Lake By Carolyn Rice If you’re a sailor who secretly wishes you could have been there first–to slap your name on every bay, island, and headland in sight–you’ll…
Outside magazine, June 1995 Evaluation: Acupuncture for Athletes By Meredith Gould By now, any variety of chronic pain or malaise might have led you to an acupuncturist with hopes that some 3,000-year-old needlework would take over where twentieth-century medicine left off. If you walked…
Outside magazine, July 1995 Cycling: The VistaLite VL530 By Hal Walter Most bike lights are sentenced to life on your handlebars. That’s OK when you’re staring straight ahead at single-track, but beyond the periphery of your bar-ends your prospects remain dim. A permanently mounted…
Outside magazine, July 1995 Approach Shoes Backcountry footwear that’s part hiker, part running shoe, part Reinhold Messner By Bob Howells The indefatigable mountaineer is certainly familiar with the term “approach shoe”: It’s what he wears over trail and talus slope to the…
Outside magazine, June 1995 One-Stop Sporting Resorts The gear, the guides, the mountains, the rivers–step out of your room and it’s all there By Bob Howells You may be imagining a plaid-shorts paradise with pastel-hued beverages served poolside, but we have something…
Outside magazine, June 1995 What Happened Out Here? A death in the wilderness raises disturbing questions about boot camps for troubled teens By Christopher Smith When a Utah judge raps his gavel on May 22 to begin a preliminary criminal hearing into…
Outside magazine, July 1995 Then Again, Big Mig Could Eat Some Bad Gazpacho… A bettor’s guide to the chase pack By Alan Cote Should some stroke of divine intervention stop Miguel Indurain from riding into Paris on July 23 wearing his favorite…
Outside magazine, June 1995 As the World Tilts By Larry Burke With an imperceptible heave of the axis, the season of sunscreen and bug juice is upon us once again, and suddenly the world is thrumming. This time of year, the only thing people…
Outside magazine, June 1995 Strategies: Learning to Exceed Your Reach By Ken McAlpine The games of summer demand reach, the supple, powerful upper-body extension that enables you to charge a rapid, clean a 5.10 pitch, or spike a volleyball. And acquiring a good reach…
Outside magazine, June 1995 Cuisine: Hit-and-Run of the Day By Sara Corbett “You can pan-fry it, grill it, or put it in chili,” reports Elizabeth Hatch of West Danville, Vermont. “And it makes the best lasagne you ever ate.” At the Elks Lodge in…
Outside magazine, June 1995 Cycling: Lance, the Return By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard and Alison Osius) With team expectations escalating and his own patience wearing thin, American cyclist Lance Armstrong finally broke through last March with his first European victory in 18 months.
Outside magazine, July 1995 Madison, Wisconsin A town where you can have a real job, a real life, and still get to move in with the scenery. Several reasons to split the city and head for the Big Outdoors. By Mike Steere…
Outside magazine, June 1995 Prescriptions: How to Heal Creature Discomforts By Kiki Yablon In the world of wilderness first aid, Bill “Doc” Forgey wrote the book. In fact, the Merrillville, Indiana-based physician has penned or contributed to a daypack-load of them, most recently the…
Outside magazine, July 1995 Idaho Falls, Idaho A town where you can have a real job, a real life, and still get to move in with the scenery. Several reasons to split the city and head for the Big Outdoors. By Mike…
Outside magazine, June 1995 Climbing: Race You, Pops By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard and Alison Osius) This month, U.S.-based mountain guide Thor Kieser hopes to lead the youngest and oldest person to the top of Mount Everest. While Kieser admits that the prospects…
Outside magazine, July 1995 San Luis Obispo, California A town where you can have a real job, a real life, and still get to move in with the scenery. Several reasons to split the city and head for the Big Outdoors. By…
Outside magazine, June 1995 Bodyboarding: Just One of the Girls By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard and Alison Osius) After Brazil’s Mariana Nogueira darted around Hawaii’s famed Banzai Pipeline to win the World Championships of Women’s Bodyboarding last February, most of her rivals and…
Outside magazine, June 1995 Keeping in Step with Summer Preparation for these sunny times shouldn’t stop at the quads or biceps. Your feet need a hand, too. By Sara Corbett Summertime–when we trot up and down mountains, sashay through 10k races, leap…
Outside magazine, July 1995 Spokane, Washington A town where you can have a real job, a real life, and still get to move in with the scenery. Several reasons to split the city and head for the Big Outdoors. By Mike Steere…
Outside magazine, June 1995 Regimens: Getting a Foot Up on Overuse Injuries By Sara Corbett Modern athletic shoes may have given us too much of a good thing. “They’ve allowed the muscles that naturally stabilize our feet to weaken,” says Tom McPoil, an associate…
Outside magazine, June 1995 Mountain Biking: Pedaling Toward Atlanta By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard and Alison Osius) When Alison Sydor was awarded her gold medal last March for winning the inaugural 39.5-kilometer cross-country race in the Pan American Games, the Canadian rider looked…
 Outside magazine, July 1995 The Zen of Apnea, the Ennui of Chub Breathlessly beside myself at the world spearfishing championships By Tim Cahill “Two,” the announcer said in Spanish, “four, six, eight, ten…” In front of him, under the bright spotlights…
Outside magazine, June 1995 The Family Plan By Bob Howells Bring on the small fry: kids are kept happily busy at most of these resorts. At Lone Mountain Ranch, daily hikes, trail rides, animal tracking, pond fishing, campouts, and a weekly Kids’ Rodeo…
Outside magazine, July 1995 Books: In Search of the Monster Slayer By Andrea Barrett Talking to the Ground: One Family’s Journey on Horseback Across the Sacred Land of the Navajo, by Douglas Preston (Simon & Schuster, $24). Preston’s long-standing interest in the…
Outside magazine, June 1995 Smart Traveler: The Canine Question A backcountry primer for a coyote-eat-dog world By Debra Shore In theory it sounds great: a summer camping trip for all, including the four-legged among you. But before you get too attached to…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Riding Less to Achieve More By Alan Cote “It’ s kind of trite, but it’s true: getting in shape is more about quality than quantity,” says mountain-biking legend Ned Overend. Maximizing the quality of training time is something he…
Outside magazine, July 1996 The Route Stuff Five tours, seven states, two provinces, and who knows how many byways and back roads for velo cruising By Bob Howells A bicycle tour magnifies every sensation–that’s what creates both the allure and the…
Outside magazine, August 1999 Going to the Source Guides. Mentors. Teachers. The dedicated ones who showed us the way, who showed us how, who did it right, and who shared their passionate devotion to the wild world.
Outside magazine, July 1996 Surviving the Drive Through By Lisa Twyman Bessone Ever notice how a long road trip brings out the James Dean in us all? We act rebellious, even a little dangerous-driving fast, howling along with the tunes blaring, wolfing Big…
Outside magazine, August 1999 THE MOUNTAINEERS Line of Ascent On a breeding ground for greatness, wisdom comes one humble step at a time It only takes a few minutes to learn how to strap on…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Medicine: Pills for Pain–Not Performance By Gretchen Reynolds “Vitamin I, vitamin K, vitamin N: that’s ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen. They all have little pet names,” says Jenny Stone, a certified athletic trainer in charge of clinical programs for sports medicine at…
Outside magazine, July 1996 The Lightning Stalker Strikes Again As an amp-anxious world cowers, David Stillings goes to work By Randy Wayne White Because we’re standing in an open field near Orlando, Florida, because thunderheads are boiling toward us, because the…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Innovation Within Reason Seattle legend-in-the-making Monque Barbeau looks to expand the boundaries of trailworthy cuisine Seattle legend-in-the-making Monique Barbeau looks to expand the boundaries of trailworthy cuisine One of the reigning queens of the current Northwestern culinary scene is Monique…
Outside magazine, July 1996 A Five-Ring Tune-Up At least reigning C1 world champion David Hearn can joke about Michal Martikan, the Slovakian whiz kid who won the final Olympic-preview race last April on Tennessee’s Ocoee River. “You mean he’s still 16?” asked the incredulous fourth-place finisher,…
Outside Magazine, August 1999 The Big Sweep Beyond L.A.’s tangle of freeways, you can pedal, snorkel, and kayak your way to a truly great outdoors weekend. Honest. By Mike Steere Everybody’s going surfing: A…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Cycling: Will the Next Tour de France Champ Please Rise Up? Indurian goes for his sixth, but it won’t be a gimme. A bettor’s guide to the Big One Yawning observers insist the 1996 Tour de France is no race…
Outside magazine, August 1999 True Crimes While I bemoan changes in the Huichol Indians’ traditional way of life, I do not believe the murder of journalist Philip True last spring can be justified by the fact…
Outside magazine, August 1999 Hey (Hey!) You (You!), Get Off of My Trail! Can’t we all just get along? Apparently not. By Jill Danz Temporary détente at New Jersey’s Tourne County Park…
Outside Magazine, August 1999 TRAIL TOOLS Backcountry 3-D Glasses Sold Separately Skip McWilliams, a veteran guide and lodge owner in Mexico’s Copper Canyon, doesn’t like topographic maps: “They’re geographical pornography, reducing a…
Outside magazine, August 1999 HOW-TO In Case of Tsunami, See Page 54 Gearing up for your worst nightmare? Buy this book. Brie: Don’t Leave Home Without It Do you ever lie awake at night wondering…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Review: Hardware and Software Pack Up, Head Out, Zoom In Camcorders, CD players, even boom boxes built for the wilds Review by Andrew Tillin Buying Right: Withstanding the…
Outside magazine, July 1996 The Dotted Yellow Line to Happiness The best of the big-group rides By Stephanie Pearson The freewheeling days of summer are at hand, and there’s no better way to celebrate than taking a freewheeling ride on America’s scenic…
Outside magazine, August 1999 BOOKS Winging It Buy this book! Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds, by…
Outside magazine, August 1999 EXTREMES Now Entering the Drop Zone Kayaking’s radical underground is about to hit it big The Latest Buzz “You can easily train bees,”…
Outside magazine, July 1996 The Little Freshman Who Could Living up to preseason predictions declaring her American sport climbing’s next great hope, 15-year-old Katie Brown won the season-opening U.S. competition last March in Tucson, Arizona. Brown’s victory, her first in adult competition, was impressive, particularly since…
Outside magazine, August 1999 ERADICATION The Cat Is His Hat One man’s crusade to kill feral felines. And get rich in the process. The Passing of the Jumar While scaling the legendary 5.14a route…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Thou Shalt Not Chum Jon Cappella’s dream of making a fortune by lowering thrill-seeking scuba divers into sharky waters is about to be thwarted for good. Next month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will likely approve regulations that would prohibit chumming…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Sand, Sun, and Acrimony At the Jose Cuervo Gold Crown event last April in Clearwater, Florida, all was right with beach volleyball. The world’s best players were all there, with Karch Kiraly (below) and Kent Steffes taking their eighth-straight tournament. Which…
Outside magazine, August 1999 Thicker Than Blood It takes some good old boys to show you the primo secret woods By Larry Brown Two years before my father died, when I was 14, my…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Calculations Sports by Calories By Katie Arnold Counting calories, we admit, is really Jenny Craig’s gig. But outdoor athletes might take note–to make sure they’re getting enough fuel for their pursuits. “You shouldn’t get hung up on numbers,”…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Ride Like a Pack Mule What you really need before hitting the road By Bob Howells If your bike-touring burden consists of everything in your pockets, it matters little what bike you ride: Your mountain bike will do…
Travel Guide, Winter 1995-1996 Dominica By David Noland Dominica is for people who need sweat and grit in their tropical vacation: The island’s few beaches are mostly of black volcanic sand, and none rates even fair by Caribbean standards. What Dominica…
Travel Guide, Winter 1995-1996 Cayman Islands By Tom Morrisey, Jean Pierce For bubble-blowing novice divers, the multithousand-foot vertical walls and fish-crowded reefs of Grand Cayman might seem like a little piece of scuba heaven, but many cognoscenti now view the 76-square-mile…
Outside magazine, September 1994 Mining: Big Gulp Some call it fun. Some call it a huge, rubbly mess. News from the prospecting frontier. By Jonathan Weisman Glistening in a wetsuit and diving gear, 56-year-old Chuck Tabbert splashes to the surface in a section of…
Outside magazine, September 1994 Mountaineering: Move Over, Neighbor By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard and John Alderman) When two high-profile teams announced plans to climb new, ambitious routes on the famed 5,000-foot North Wall of Alaska’s Mount Hunter last spring, some imagined a battle royale–“Something like…
Outside magazine, September 1994 Milestones: Xaver Bongard, 1964-1994 By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard and John Alderman) Xaver Bongard, one of climbing’s most colorful of big-wall specialists, died on April 15 when both his parachutes failed to deploy during a BASE jump near Interlaken, Switzerland. The…
Outside magazine, August 1999 Easy Strider Finding the perfect-fitting running shoe is a simple matter of one, two, or three By Andrew Tilin CUSHIONING | STABILITY…
Outside magazine, August 1999 BUYING RIGHT Big Beats Writ Small CYBERTUNES Maybe you’re into filipino folk, or Chicago blues, or both. You can find it in cyberspace…
Outside magazine, October 1995 Travel Essentials For the Discerning Vagabond Just when you think you’ve thought of everything, you discover an ingenious solution to a travel problem you’d decided to live with. A few revelations. By Bob Howells Sangean ATS606P World…
Outside magazine, September 1994 Hang Gliding: Holier Than Thou By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard and John Alderman) Over the years, top-ranked American pilot Tony Barton has collided with mountains, tangled in trees, and splatted on hardpan, but until the second day of last June’s Sandia…
Outside magazine, September 1994 Inns & Lodges: Nereledge Inn, New Hampshire By Michael Lanza After a long day of feeling the burn on the Classic Rock of New Hampshire’s Cathedral Ledge, sometimes the last thing you’re in the mood for is sleeping on the ground. Fortunately,…
Outside magazine, September 1994 The Gargantua File By Byron Ricks Every region has oddities that befuddle even the locals. In the Pacific Northwest, the flora and fauna follow the example of the region’s geologic features, often growing to eccentric proportions. We asked Ann Saling, author of…