Adventure
Archive
Every year, we receive hundreds of submissions from our readers. Some make us laugh. Some make us wince. Some make it into the magazine. (So don’t give up.) Recently, we dove into a teetering pile of stories and found a few moments in which our readers’ gusto and/or narrative prowess…
I will be going up to 23,000 feet and need to do a documentary film there. Which camera and battery set do you recommend for HD shooting. Huma Beg Islamabad
Having constructed the greatest flotation device mankind has ever known, our fearless writer embarks on an ill-conceived, possibly insane crossing of alligator-infested North Florida via a string of seriously imperiled and incredibly beautiful rivers. (Yeah, it's a tube.)
India's Shark's Fin is a 6,500-foot rock route that's twice as long and just as steep as anything on El Capitan, and once left me defeated. When I took it on for the second time, at 45, a blizzard promptly pinned our team to the wall like insects. Which made me wonder: was the mountain telling me something?
I want to take up cross-country skiing again after a 20-year layoff. What's the latest in gear, not necessarily top of the line but not entry level, that will get me back there again? I'm a classic skier with a passing interest in skate skiing. Can both be done with two sets of skis and the se boots and poles? I remember waxing as something tedious to be avoided at all costs but the waxless skis back then were useless in some conditions—have they improved? Mike Wheaton, IL
If a shark doesn't kill you, shallow-water blackout or a giant propeller might. But the spearfishermen freediving the oil rigs off Louisiana's coast don't let that get in the way of the hunt for fresh tuna.
It was supposed to be a dream trip: a week along one of Europe's last empty coastlines, riding waves, drinking wine, and sleeping on the beach. And it (mostly) was.
They say you can't go home again—to the strange, remote, threatened South American jungle where your larger-than-life, field-scientist dad discovered an extremely rare, weird-looking species called Lophostoma schulzi. They're probably right. But we did it anyway.
Times are tough, but growing and killing your own food isn't the answer.
Contrary to what the recycled-sandal wing of the environmental movement might think, greening the world takes sacrifice, hard work, and a lot of cash. At least that’s the impression you get from reading Edward Humes’s Eco Barons: The Dreamers, Schemers, and Millionaires Who Are Saving Our Planet ($26, Ecco). Humes,…
With its SoCal sun and NoCal sensibility, Santa Barbara is about the best place in the lower 48 for an early-spring mix of surfing and cycling—and for anyone in pursuit of a good glass of wine. While last November's fires scoured 1,940 acres in Santa Barbara County, the flames spared the city center and the majority of the recreational trails surroundi
Each winter, more than 2,500 teams from across Japan compete for one of 155 coveted slots in the annual Showa-Shinzan International Yukigassen, the world's de facto snowball Super Bowl. The February 21–22 tournament, on the northern island of Hokkaido, is also open to international teams, but don't think you can just round up some softball buddies
I searching for a light, packable garment to be layered under a shell when I take a break from high-output winter sport like cross-country skiing or snowshoeing. I planning a hut-to-hut ski in Quebec’s Gaspesie and would like to have some "warmth insurance" in case it's necessary (e.g. accident, lunch break, etc.). I considering a light-weight down or synthetic jacket instead of more fleece. David Wesmount, Quebec
Ray Zahab and Kevin Vallely talk about the importance of butter, bacon, and iPods on their record-setting South Pole expedition.
He snuck a parachute up the Empire State Building under a fat suit. He says he knows how to fly. Crazy? Maybe. But Jeb Corliss is sure fun to watch.
...makes you stronger, smarter, healthier, and—let's face it—more interesting. Just ask research editor Ryan Krogh, who volunteered for a cage fight.
I spent last Saturday at REI looking at ski gear and got a bit overwhelmed. I was told until I really want to invest in all the "stuff" for skiing, that all I should buy right now is a good hat, gloves and ski pants. What are your thoughts? Joan Redmond, WA
The Phoenix Suns star takes a break from running the point, filmmaking, building green gyms, and charity work to talk to WILL PALMER.
He's got seven yellow jerseys. He's not getting paid. He's 37 years old. So why is Lance Armstrong racing again? Because he still has something to prove—and nothing else hurts so good.
It sure sounds like another shameless reality-TV formula: Inspire people to slim down by offering them cash, then film their struggles with health food and sit-ups. But personal trainer Bob Harper, 43, of NBC’s The Biggest Loser, feels no shame at all. The show lets him introduce his holistic fitness…
British Columbia has tried to secure the Winter Olympics no fewer than six times. In fact, the town of Whistler was built for this very purpose: In 1960, four Vancouver businessmen began developing the ski resort 75 miles to the north, hoping to win the 1968 event. They failed. Four…
A veteran ice-boater takes a shot at the world record for wind-powered speed
For 25 years, Shaun Palmer has dominated everything from the snowboard halfpipe to mountain-bike downhills—and earned his reputation as action sports' foul-mouthed bad boy. Now 40, he's cleaned up his act for a run at Olympic gold. Will he find redemption, or die trying?
They've got a slight animal-control problem in Delhi, India: Thousands of wild rhesus monkeys, addled by the sprawl that's taking over their habitat, are dropping out of trees to steal food, chug booze, and murder prominent citizens. Did we mention that many of the victims believe these creatures are gods?
Two of the world's best spearfishermen hunt for fish the size of offensive linemen.
You could mope about the economy. Or you could go play in the snow, and then thaw out in comfort. Our guide to the best winter adventure lodges in North America. Nita Lake Lodge Nita Lake Lodge Nordic Pine Flagstaff Lake Hut, Carrabassett Valley, Maine Winter…
An X Gamer tries to make it in ski racing. But as a two-sport athlete, will Jon Olsson end up more Deion Sanders or Jeremy Bloom?
Every hour of every day, behemoth container ships cruise the highways of ocean commerce, loaded with stereos and lobster and plastic air fresheners. And during the winter storm season, massive waves from out of nowhere can wreck these arks of global trade.
MIT's Daniel Nocera has a recipe for taking solar power mainstream. It all starts with a tall glass of water
A seven-day trip aboard a U.S. icebreaker proves at least one thing about global warming: Things are getting very strange in the great white North.
The seven-time Tour de France champ on his favorite work-out music and the possibility of competing in an Ironman.
Cheaper Gore-Tex, cleaner diesel, and five other things George W. Bush got right.
Ski and climbing guide Michael Silitch is the only American working for the Compagniedes Guides de Chamonix, the exclusive, secretive outfit that runs the show in France's most extreme winter-sports town. It's a good life, but like any outsider, he knows that no matter how hard he works, he may never make it all the way in.
The king of big air talks about overcoming fear, setting records, and his ideal ski partner.
I'm going skiing this month, and with all of the advancements in ski apparel, I need suggestions for the best mid-layer jacket or fleece. Do you have a recommendation? Jeff Rogers, Arkansas
Outside's Micah Cratty show you how to pop the top off a champagne bottle.
Outside's Micah Cratty show you how to instantly freeze a beer.
At only 24, Seattle's Colin Haley has turned heads around the world with career-making alpine climbs, including an unprecedented team traverse of Patagonia's torre massif. He's driven to be the best-risky business in an era when the cutting edge leaves no margin for error.
If I go off the beaten path at a ski resort and get lost, what should I do? The Editors Santa Fe, New Mexico
Lance Armstrong announced his comeback. China staked claim to the future. Dara Torres gave us all hope for our older selves. The White House cleared the way for new occupants. Oh, and some kid from Baltimore won eight gold medals. If the past is prelude, we're in for an epic 2009.
Nice job in China, guy. Now could you turn your attention to saving swimming?
Tommy Caldwell needed a challenge, so he decided to hoist his clanking gear rack and free-climb one of Yosemite's hardest routes—a punishing 5.14 called Magic Mushroom—in 24 hours or less. Matt Samet was there from start to finish to watch the planning, training, and performance of a superhuman athlete at the top of his game.
“Sometimes, sitting around, I’ll realize that I’ve been silently mouthing the words ‘nomadic hunter’ over and over again to myself,” confesses correspondent Steven Rinella in American Buffalo (Spiegel & Grau, $25). An expansion on his 2006 Outside story “Come Herd or High Water,” the book is a sleep-with-your-safety-off narrative of…
Welcome to the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships, where the game is pure, the ice is dangerously uneven, and the beer is very, very cold
I’m attempting to summit Aconcagua, over 22,000 feet and known to be very cold and windy. Which ccorder can I safely use at this altitude? Brendan Chicago, Illinois
Larry Ellison's new yacht might prove the fastest (and most dangerous) sailboat ever—if a judge doesn't keep it from racing
Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, 80, made a fortune for himself with risky investments and corporate raids. But the outspoken Republican's latest scheme, the Pickens Plan—a trillion-dollar blueprint for reducing oil dependency by increasing wind energy and switching to natural gas for transportation fuel—may be his biggest gamble yet.
Is the Mountain Hardwear Sub Zero SL Parka good for Denali? Eduard Burleson, Texas
Drop into the coral reef at Pipeline and you'll probably get hurt. Drop in on a member of Hawaii's locals-only Wolf Pack and you're just asking for trouble. Here, Kala Alexander—surfer, actor, businessman, and the North Shore's most notorious enforcer—opens up about localism in the lineup, how to earn his respect, and his hopes for a m
