Adventure
Archive
July 12, 2002 April McKeen had a lot of questions. Should she ski first and then kayak, or maybe hit the bike track and then cool off in the scuba pool? When did the ski jump exhibition start and where was the climbing wall? Could she do it all…
The Jeep World Outside Festival visits the rain-soaked grounds of Winter Park
World-class athletes are forced to get inventive to stay in shape as the Jeep World Outside Festival rocks on to Seattle
Nothing comes easy for the riders of the TOUR DU FASO, West Africa's tortuous answer to the Tour de France. Their bikes are beaters, the heat is infernal, la dysenterie is inevitable, and every year the locals get shown up by European interlopers looking to find an exotic thrill. But for Jérémie Ouedraogo and his teammates—proud citizens of the fourth-
He's no Lance (yet), but former U.S. Postal rider Levi Leipheimer has won the right to lead Rabobank, one of Europe's fastest squads
Illustration by Dan Winters and Gary Tanhauser Illustration by Dan Winters and Gary Tanhauser The thrill of adventure is worth a few calculated risks. But sometimes whitewater rafts flip, bike frames snap, and wilderness guides lose the map. In a society where people are increasingly aggressive about putting…
Aiming to ditch those pesky antiglobalists, the G8 elite huddle in backwoods Alberta
Hey, brah—at the Camp, Southern California's new outdoor-retail supermall, you can catch big air and fill big bags
Scientists never bought his theories, but Thor Heyerdahl's prove-it-yourself adventures captivated the world
#1 You must merge with the living energy of the mountain. #2 That nagging headache may be the result of an avalanche that has just crushed your tent. #3 In order to endure the most dire physical suffering at 25,000 feet, you must inhabit other dimensions free from pain. (Note: Pain returns upon reentry into the body.) #4 You will be compelled to ascend the most harrowing face in the Himalayas, alone. #5 Go home, break both of your legs, and start all over again.
Speed hiker Ted "Cave Dog" Keizer has a blistering dream: to climb 140,000 vertical feet in the Adirondacks—in five days
He's No Lance (Yet), but Former U.S. Postal Rider Levi Leipheimer Has Won the Right to Lead Rabobank, One of Europe's Fastest Squads
George W. Bush’s Secretary of the Interior keeps a low profile, keeps her mouth shut, and never picks a fight. Don’t mistake her for a stiff, though. As the steward of 507 million public acres, she has deftly combined an aggressive, pro-extraction agenda and the Bush administration’s wartime clout…
After 34 years of blazing trails, Colin Fletcher anoints a footloose, gear-crazed successor
In her new autobiography, Lynn Hill looks back on three decades of big climbs, big falls, and bigger egos
Chris Swain intends to swim the Columbia from source to sea. His goal? Save the river, then sell the rights.
IT WAS JUST ANOTHER QUIET BRAZILIAN EVENING, IN JUST ANOTHER PORT. THE BOAT WAS JUST ONE MORE SLEEK YACHT, bristling with electronics and expensive gear. The pirates were just another band of small-time water rats. And after the shoot-out, there was just one man dead on board the Seamaster. But…
WILL GADD is a world-class adventurer who wants his exploits to pay off. He tackles breakthrough climbs all over the planet (sounds good), makes so-so money doing it (less good), and could easily get killed every time he goes to work (sounds bad). Is this any way to make a living?
How does a caffeine-loaded energy drink become a billion-dollar brand? RED BULL's creators inject their product with the adrenaline-by-association of extreme sports, and they never stop in the quest for buzz.
Joe’s hand began to tingle, and he called the group together. The toxins would leave his system in 48 hours, he said. He’d be conscious the whole time.
To make his mark in Europe's toughest races, George Hincapie needs more than guts. He needs an old friend.
HAVING LONG HELD A PLACE America’s heart for its endearing 1950s nerdiness (you gotta love those hats), the National Park Service will select a group of its rangers to look a tad dorkier this April when they start tooling around on Segway Human Transporters—those much-hyped self-balancing scooters, also known as…
UPDATE On April 7, 2002, at 3:13 P.M., British explorers Steve Brooks and Graham Stratford triumphantly drove Snowbird 6 across the International Date Line in the frozen Bering Strait and into Russia. Ice Challenger Coverage PREVIEW: Strapped behind the wheel of an amphibious snowcat, two lunatic Brits try to…
The respect of the men can be a cruel mistress and a harlot. But at other times it can be a nice mistress and a happy slut. You can't think about it too much.
Murdered by pirates at 53, a champion long-haul sailor leaves behind a legacy of inspiration
The marines' mountain warfare training center is the ultimate test for some of the world's toughest troops: a make-it-or-leave regimen of backcountry ski combat, torturous night maneuvers, and deadly cold. Any volunteers?
What's that smell? It's a teeming avian sanctuary—and a sump of troubled waters. It's a mess that we created—and a puzzle we can't solve. It's California's Salton Sea, a hypersaline lake that kills the very life it shelters.
Two decades ago in Sarajevo, Bill Johnson won America's first Olympic gold medal in the downhill with an astonishing kamikaze performance. Now, in the wake of a comeback attempt that almost killed him, skiing's crash-course survivor struggles with the consequences of a life lived too fast.
The Intrepid Travels and Incredible Tales of Col. John Blashford-Snell, Explorer
An ardent defender of wilderness reflected on the solace of the mountains and nature in difficult times. He wrote this after 9/11, but the sentiment applies now, too, as we watch the world changing around us.
He is the undisputed king of an immensely grueling sport. So why must Reid Sabin shovel dirt just to get by?
Going deep in Poland's Tatra Mountains, where the forests are soulful, the slopes steep, and the trails most holy
In the first weeks of January, a team of Cavex explorers will plunge into Slovenia’s Skaljarevo Brezno Cave in the Julian Alps. After a couple days of rappelling their way downward through limestone shafts they will arrive at a critical crux at 900 meters, where a boulder choke blocks further…
Meet paleontology's wonder boys—the hard-shoveling, hard-drinking fossil hunters of the Bahariya Dinosaur Project
A world-class mountain biking, surfing, and boardsailing hideout awaits in Baja. All you have to do is find it.
Armed with audiovisual firepower, a squadron of bird geeks chases the one that got away
With his radical flying sailboat L'Hydroptère, a French skipper aims to snatch Steve Fossett's brand-new Atlantic speed record
Feeling blue: a diver descends onto the reef off Belize Q: My two friends and I are trying to find the cheapest way possible to make it down to Belize to do some scuba diving. We will sleep on the beach if necessary. Can you give us…
Past and Future Collide on the Class V Rapids of the Philippines' Chico River
Milky skies marked our February arrival in Alaska as we bounced along the tarmac in Anchorage. Soon we were winding south on the Seward Highway toward Girdwood and our palatial base camp, the Alyeska Prince Hotel, while Celeste, our driver, pointed out the paths of hulking avalanches that pummel the…
And deliver us pronto to these 44 island Edens—if they were any more perfect we'd be in heaven
Tim Cahill’s incredible travels have given rise to seven books and countless Outside Magazine articles over the past twenty-plus years, most recently “Everybody Loves the Assassin”, about his mission in Iran to visit the ancient castles of the assassins. We caught up with him last fall at home in…
North American resorts have expanded boundaries, opened gates, and liberated skiers to revel in ungroomed wildness. Our guide to the great stuff you won't find on the trail map.
Calling all climbers: beckoning walls in Italy’s mighty Dolomites Q: I’m planning a trip to the Dolomites and am after suggestions of must-see places since there is so much to see and not enough days to see it all in. Is it worth bringing climbing gear for…
Exploring the beaches and islets of the forgotten Jumento Cays, where sharks, drug runners, and fishermen rule the waters—and not even the captain knows where he's going.
The local gang: a tourist-free look under Biscayne National Park Q: We are looking for a four-day winter getaway on a beach in the southeastern United States. We have a limited amount of money. We would like to go sometime in December of this year. Any ideas?…
From the altiplano to the jungle, a soggy saga of Class V rapids, sandal-sucking mud, and a forestful of hoots, groans, and screams
A slice of Himalayan heaven: a temple sits amid the rock and ice of Nepal’s upper elevations Q: I was planning a river-rafting trip to Nepal, but I wonder if it makes sense to go, considering the recent terrorist attacks and likely U.S. retaliation. Would it be…
Dive the undived, paddle the unvisited, and otherwise indulge your Pacific island fantasies
A prime-season meander down South Carolina's Ashepoo Combahee and Edisto Rivers
You could traverse Europe by motorcoach and Eurail, but the sightseeing's better by board, bike, and boots.
In the seas off South Africa's Dyer Island, shark mania and risk adventure have combined with a vengeance. For a few bucks, one of a gang of ill-qualified, ill-equipped dive operators will drop you into the most dangerous water on earth. Problem is, no one's promising to get you safely back.
Back to school: Pescadero Surf Camp’s Playa Los Cerritos Q: I’m looking for high-quality surf camps in Central America or Mexico for next month and can’t find any. Any suggestions? — Andrew Brenner, New York, New York Adventure Advisor: A:…
Casting for nada y nada in the footsteps of Hemingway, on the rivers of northern Spain.
Fishing, biking, horseback riding, and soaking, Montana style
If your idea of good H2O involves head-high surf and barracuda-infested reefs, you'll find no better place to hang your hammock
Pacific Mexico is a thatch roof overhead, fresh snapper daily, and 660 miles of nada between timeshares.
One down, two to go: kayaking the day away off Vancouver Island Q: I’m working on a combination sea kayak, SCUBA diving, and fly-fishing adventure on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. I’ve heard the Port Hardy and north tip waters offer much better diving conditions. Any thoughts…
Beyond ouzo and the Acropolis, five islands for waves and wandering in the playground of Zeus
The Costa Rica of legend still exists. But you have to crash through breakers and fight off pigs to find it.
On the other side of the world are other worldly sights-Tasmanian Devils, spirit houses, and the greatest reef of them all.
Want some sound business advice? Go climb a mountain. Hey, it's what all the savvy capitalists are doing these days.
Forget the Yosemite circus. Head north to Bugaboo Provincial Park, a fortress of world-class granite in a quiet corner of British Columbia.
We don’t need no stinkin’ chair lifts: skiers and their ride above Lake Wanaka Q: I will be on New Zealand’s South Island the last week in August and am looking for information on the best ski areas, heli-skiing trips, and lodging. I am having difficulty deciding…
Summertime adventuring, Canadian style, on the continent's finest spot for cooling your heels