The Kurdish region of Iraq is home to spectacular peaks, wild rivers, and fiercely hospitable people, and it could be the Middle East’s next big adventure tourism destination. But there’s one small catch: it’s still dangerous as hell.
As America wrestles with high rates of suicide among military personnel and veterans, outdoor programs have been offered up as a promising treatment. Dan Sidles seemed like the ideal candidate: an Iraq War vet who suffered from PTSD, he tried to find a renewed sense of purpose through climbing and mountaineering. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough. Brian Mockenhaupt explores the final years of a tortured friend.
The terrorist group typically ramps up attacks during the country's stormy winter
The guys at Combat Flip Flops think so and they've maxed out their credit cards to prove it
Syria is an enthusiastic state sponsor of terrorism and a fiendish fan of torture and oppression. But have you tried the stuffed grape leaves? Patrick Symmes invades before the coalition of the willing can.
He was a proud Marine who survived three brutal tours in Iraq and had plans to redeploy with the national guard. But when 30-year-old Noah Pippin vanished inside Montana’s remote Bob Marshall Wilderness, he left behind a trail of haunting secrets—and a mystery that may never be solved.
After Marine Corps Veteran Ronnie Simpson survived an explosion in Iraq in 2004, he threw himself at an audacious goal: to sail around the world. It almost killed him.
The lush peaks of Iraqi Kurdistan are irresistible to a certain breed of bold backpacker: They're exotic, beautiful, and way off the beaten track. But when three young Americans were arrested by Iranian border guards in July 2009 after straying too far down a waterfall trail, the costs of adventure travel got a lot higher. As the hikers languished in their cell
Overlooked mountain ranges, river beer, running album, gear of all time, and 47 other big ideas, accidental winners, and awesome things about the world outside we've come to love over the past 33 years. Introducing our first annual Editors' Choice Awards...
Attention, all cynics: You can change the world. But don't take our word for it. Here are people combining big ideas and bold adventures, including our first-ever Reader of the Year.