Owen Clarke is a freelance outdoor sports writer. He often writes about climbing, but his work also covers motorcycles, long-distance trekking, and environmental conservation. He also authors the dark fantasy series Void Injection and is the founder of the collaborative writing workshop Dead Foot.
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One spring in particular showed traces of several pharmaceuticals, including an antibiotic, an antifungal, an anticonvulsant, an antidepressant, and a diabetic drug. Such contaminants could pose a threat to the canyon’s already fragile ecosystem.
Rescuers battled high winds to reach the sole surviving climber, who spent several harrowing hours on a precarious, rocky ridgeline. After dark and out of options, one simple tool helped responders find her.
A half-mile-long slackline was hung across Telegraph Canyon, a recreational area located about 60 miles east of Phoenix in the Sonoran Desert.
The triathlete went missing while swimming off the coast of California during her weekly swim club meeting. Eyewitnesses report having seen shark splashes in the water shortly before her disappearance.
Several other eruptions have occurred in the past weeks, but all went unseen. Serendipitous timing, however, allowed scientists to record the December 20 ejection from Black Diamond Pool. The area violently exploded in 2024, destroying park infrastructure. It’s been erupting ever since.
At an age when most people are in retirement, the civil rights activist returned to work at 85 to serve as a park ranger in California. For the following 15 years, she continued in the service of public lands, giving historical talks and tours.
If passed, the Utah Republicans’ proposal would have rescinded legislation that protects and maintains the boundaries of national parks as federal lands. Yet Senator Mike Lee told Outside, “selling national parks was never on the table.”
Record rainfall, flooding, and landslides have collapsed major highways, triggered mass evacuations, and left national park gateway communities in Washington and Montana in a state of crisis. Here’s what we know.
As bear attacks hit record highs in Japan, one professional snowboarder filmed himself out-carving a charging black bear.
A 20-acre acquisition connects this desert national park to a nearby preserve, creating a vital wildlife corridor in the heart of the Sonoran Desert.
Cost of living in California near Yosemite National Park is notoriously high. Even so, federal officials are slashing wage rates for blue-collar workers, sparking outrage from the local union.
Utah officials have posted a $3,000 reward for information leading to the capture of a person who reportedly stole a 1,700-year-old skull from an ancient burial ground near the high-desert town of Kanab.
In the past, Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park regularly shot water over 300 feet into the air. But the feature hasn’t erupted in the better part of a year, and scientists aren’t sure when it will again.
A private meeting of Utah officials highlights a growing rift over how to manage crowding at the state’s most popular national park sites
After 175 years of displacement, the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation has reacquired 900 acres south of Yosemite National Park
After thick clouds grounded a rescue helicopter, firefighters performed a risky, high-angle rescue to save a hapless hiker who had scrambled onto a rock fin.
An elderly woman who recently became stranded while mushroom hunting raises an important question: Are foragers, especially those seeking prized fungi, at a higher risk of getting lost than other outdoor enthusiasts?
A recent tragedy in Colorado wasn't an anomaly. From drowning in quarries to stumbling into open pits, hundreds have died in vacant mines across the United States since 2000.
Gabrielle Suver of Clermont, Florida faces a long recovery and an uncertain future in her sport after becoming the victim of a hit-and-run
The 47-year-old Utah woman was sentenced to one year of probation and a hefty payment of fines and restitution
Melting glaciers across the Alps continue to reveal historic artifacts, missing remnants, and even human remains
As the federal government reopens, a new survey shows that most Americans oppose the NPS staff cuts, removal of signs and placards inside parks, and the proposed $1 billion budget reduction to the NPS
Researchers believe that melting ice and snow shifted the true summit of the iconic peak from a frozen ridge to a pile of rocks. The mountain, they say, has also lost elevation.
The incident occurred at Grand Canyon West, a private tourist destination located on the Hualapai Reservation
Each bear sighting in Yellowstone National Park is about as valuable as the average movie ticket in the U.S. When accounting for all sightings, grizzly and black bears generate more than $16 million annually.
Barred owls are known to attack humans and outcompete other endangered owl species. Now, a controversial management strategy would involve culling more than 15,000 annually.
A helicopter attempting to evacuate tourists flipped over while trying to land near the world’s highest summit. Tropical cyclone Montha has brought heavy snowfall into the region, and officials have closed trekking routes around Everest and the surrounding peaks.
More than 30 vehicles were involved in mishaps after a snowstorm tore through the area. Now, park officials have reopened most of the roads that were closed for the last few days of the 2025 season before a full winter closure.
Recent allegations of phony summit images on the world’s highest peaks ignited a debate in the mountaineering community. We asked photography experts how to spot a hoax.
Officials said the hikers were “ill-prepared” for winter weather. New Hampshire is one of the few to levy fines on rescued hikers deemed to have entered the wilderness unprepared. Could they pay?
Arizona is among the states with the highest number of lightning deaths and injuries. Severe weather—including lightning, hail, and heavy rain—can occur unexpectedly and frequently at high elevations, particularly in the northern part of the state.
The endurance athlete’s ill-fated run up and down the Grand occurred on September 2, 2024. He shaved a sliver off the standard 13-mile route, taking an informal trail to circumvent a switchback on the descent. As a result of the cut, Fastest Known Time refused to recognize his record.
A single one-mile stretch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has seen an uptick in vehicles colliding with moose, nearly all of which have killed the animal. Now, experts warn there’s an even greater likelihood of car-moose collision as the days get shorter ahead of Daylight Saving Time.
Located on the peak’s North Face, the Hornbein has captivated mountaineers since Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld made its first ascent in 1963. Morrison’s party was only the sixth to ascend the route, and the first since 1991.
Grizzly attacks are most common in the spring, when sows are defending their cubs, and in the fall during hyperfagia, a period of extensive eating to prepare for winter. Although both hikers were hospitalized—one in critical condition—both are expected to recover.
Responders spent six hours rescuing the two, who were stuck on a sheer and rocky couloir deep in the Sierra Nevada
One donor compared visiting a national park with no rangers to visiting Disney World without Mickey Mouse
Although BASE jumping is not allowed in national parks, sources tell Outside the activity is not all that uncommon.
Ultrarunner Olivia Amber recently spent four days climbing California’s highest peaks to set the women’s speed record on a famed route
At an age when most individuals are bouncing grandkids on their knees—if their knees even function—Carlos Soria Fontán returns, time and time again, to the most inhospitable regions on Earth, to test himself
A hiker was just rescued from a Colorado peak after blowing a simple rescue whistle. The lesson? Satellite messengers are great, but low-tech tools have their place in a safety kit, too.
Todd Shoulders, 54, died in the South San Juan Wilderness, just ten miles away from where two other hunters were recently killed by lightning
Officials say that the 26-year-old victim was rappelling from the popular Mount Blue Sky route when she suffered a fatal accident
That’s what a group of former National Park Service employees is urging in light of a looming federal shutdown
Both parties were on the non-technical Clear Creek route. Outside spoke with climbing officials to find out what happened and why.
The iconic American action star hiked Northern California’s 10,457-foot Lassen Peak
The “Save Our Signs” project is attempting to archive as many signs as possible before they are removed, and hopes park visitors will contribute
Thousands of people flock to Illinois' “Snake Road” every year to view the slithering serpent crossing
Several participants were disqualified from this year’s World Stone Skimming Championships in Scotland after being caught cheating
Ultimately, responders said the incident was a preventable waste of time and resources
The 27-year-old broke his ankle after falling into a deep glacial crevasse known as a bergschrund
Tanner Mansell, a Florida diving guide, saw his life turned upside down after he freed captured sharks on a fishing line
Geologists at Yellowstone National Park have already collected more than 300 hats from the park’s hot spring areas this year
Big Bend does not see many visitors, but it has a high relative death rate.
Last year, Sunseri broke the speed record for ascending and descending the 13,775-foot peak. The record was shortly revoked
Five years after Forrest Fenn’s bronze chest was found, a Canadian treasure hunt is reigniting the wild search for riches
Six questions to ask yourself before adventuring into the outdoors, according to the National Park Service.
Hikers in British Columbia and Montana successfully fended off attacking bears in two separate incidents using this compact deterrent.
The area around a popular lake trail is replete with human waste. Park officials may install a permanent toilet.
Hundreds of festivalgoers are injured at Burning Man each year. To some, the medical bills can be astronomical.
Pete Thompson flew 190 miles over western Colorado by harnessing updrafts and wind. It’s believed to be a record-breaking flight.
The newest Outdoor Industry Association participation report says that more than 180 million Americans went outside to recreate in 2024
A new study illustrates how a city’s specific infrastructure contributes to its inhabitants’ overall health and wellbeing
On average, three hikers have died every day throughout the summer in Italy’s high peaks. Experts explain why.
Officials believe at least 200 people may have been exposed to rabies while visiting a hotel in Grand Teton National Park.
Jake Schmitt crawled for 11 hours to get help, with his dog, Buddy, by his side
The extinct creature was eight-inches long, had razor-sharp teeth, and resembled a character from the ‘Alien’ movies
Officials in Italy used a combination of flying drones and AI software to locate the remains of a man who vanished in September
A Statue of a Confederate General Was Toppled in 2020. The National Park Service Is Reinstalling It.
The NPS says that refurbishing and reinstalling the toppled statue “aligns with federal responsibilities under historic preservation law”
A search and rescue team in British Columbia deployed drones, mounted police officers, and volunteers. They found a backcountry crooner.
Laura Dahlmeier, 31, was a world champion biathlete. She died after being struck by rockfall on Laila Peak at 20,000 feet.
On October 26, 60 participants will run laps in a Swedish zinc mine in complete silence, 4,300 feet below Earth's surface
The proposal would allow for the killing of nearly 200 black bears over a three-week period in December
The waters of Lonesome Lake, an alpine lake in the Wind River range, exceed the EPA’s safety threshold for fecal contamination by a staggering 384 times
Located in the Yellowstone’s Porcelain Basin, the new thermal feature is believed to have appeared on Christmas Day
A 31-year-old hiker in Washington State is lucky to be alive after suffering serious injuries in a fall. His screams for help led to a rescue.
The effigy was emblazoned with the words “Make America Wait Again,” and it toured the park on Saturday, July 12
Officials in Arizona and Colorado have closed huge swaths of parkland to visitors after lightning-sparked blazes destroyed thousands of acres and hundreds of structures
More than 300 tremors were recorded below Mount Rainier over the course of three days. Scientists say they were too weak for humans to feel.
Everyone survived, but rescuers and bystanders had to perform CPR on two people who fell into the water and extract a third from a tree above a steep gorge