Adventure
ArchiveOutside magazine, October 1995 Cycling: A Race to Remember, Sadly By Todd Balf (with John Alderman) Miguel Indurain’s unprecedented fifth straight victory in the the Tour de France last July was indeed impressive, but the race probably won’t be remembered for Big…
 Outside magazine, November 1996 Peruvian Gothic Don Benigno Aazco carved his way 36 years deep into the green heart of the Andean forest, founded 14 settlements, abandoned his wife and many children, married his daughter, slew his son-in-law, fought drug peddlers, tamed…
Outside magazine, November 1997 Chin Up — There’s Always Next Year The latest on a not-so-successful expeditionary season By Andrew Tilin Since explorers typically utter “uncle” about as often as Jackie Chan, one has to wonder what dark cosmic forces…
Dispatches, December 1998 Sport Hey Bob, Can You Tie Me Off to That Pika? Climbing’s uphill battle against a proposed ban on fixed anchors By John Galvin Idaho’s Sawtooth Wilderness is a region of such overwhelming natural grace that…
Dispatches, April 1998 SPORT These Guys May Be on EPO, Does Anyone Care? Despite the promise of an effective new drug test, the USOC drags its heels By Paul Keegan At 53, Allen Murray swims five times a week,…
Fitness ’97, February 1997 Above All Else… Endurance Allen’s long-and-slow approach to endurance training won’t work if you violate its main tenet: Stay below your maximum aerobic heart rate at all times. If you find yourself impatient and compelled to cheat by doing…
Outside magazine, May 1998 Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your stunning achievement (damn you) A few heartwarming tales from the annals of high-minded competition By Florence Williams Did. Did not. Did too. How rich…
Outside magazine, May 1999 Trends How Green Is My Mini-Bar? A reduced, recycled, reused sojourn at America’s most guilt-free upscale hotel Ever since its grand opening in late January, guests have been flocking to…
Outside magazine, June 1994 Mountaineering: Queen of Solo By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard and Eric Hagerman) French sport-climber-turned-mountaineer Catherine Destivelle, who has spent the last several years soloing some of Europe’s most venerated peaks, usually in spectacular fashion, knocked off another in…
Outside magazine, August 1996 Et Tu, Mr. Foreman? “The environmental movement is like a bunch of alpha dogs, always trying to establish dominance,” explains Victor Rozek of the Native Forest Council, an antilogging group based in Eugene, Oregon. “And some just can’t handle it when others…
Vacation Special, August 1997 C O T T A G I N G I N O N T A R I O A Piece of the Shore Skinny-dipping under the stars, and other reasons to go cottaging in Ontario.
Outside magazine, October 1995 Let There Be Light It’s the latest in evening wear, and the world will never be the same By Randy Wayne White I was surprised it wasn’t easier to convince my old friend Elston that if he joined…
Dispatches, November 1998 Environmental A Delta Insurrection A band of renegades struggles to bring back the Mississippi Hood forest By Jonathan Miles More than 45 years ago, when John Price was a Southern boy pursuing squirrels, deer, and ducks…
Out Front, Fall 1998 Virtual Wilderness What outdoor aficionados will be reading, viewing, and downloading this season By Laura Miller and Sarah Horowitz The Road Home, by Jim Harrison, (Atlantic Monthly Press, $25) Old myths of the…
Outside magazine, January 1995 Triathlon: The Man Just Won’t Go Away By Todd Balf (with Barry Lewis and James Raia) Ten miles from the finish on a sun-baked highway on the Big Island of Hawaii, Dave Scott, competing again after a three-year “retirement,” was…
Outside magazine, January 1996 Crimes of Passion A glimpse into the covert world of rare butterfly collecting By Caroline Alexander There were few spectators present in the San Jose, California, courtroom to witness the sentencing of two convicted felons who faced up…
Dispatches, February 1998 TRAGEDY A Pole Too Far Three skydivers die in Antarctica, leaving the world to ask, “Why?” By Susan Enfield ‘There’s no rhyme or reason for doing something like this,” Ray Miller, a 43-year-old Ohio marketing…
Outside magazine, March 1995 Symptoms: Seven Reasons to Stop, Period By Ken McAlpine Active rest may satisfy your compulsions, but there are still times when complete rest is best. “Injury and breakdown are right around the corner from success,” warns trainer Diane Buchta. “Fortunately,…
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, 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, 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, December 1992 Triathlon: Ask Mr. Ironman By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard and Alison Osius and Terry Rutlin) If you placed bets on last year’s triathlon season, Andy Carlson was the ultimate preseason gamble. In 1990 he was Triathlete magazine’s Rookie of the…
Outside magazine, December 1995 In This Corner… By Todd Balf and Paul Kvinta Score one for the mighty green and golden bell frog. Since 1993, Australian officials have tried to relocate the endangered thimble-size creatures from a trash-filled brick quarry that’s slated to become…
 Outside magazine, February 1998 Yes, it is a Lovely Morning. Now Why Don’t You Just Go to Hell. Drop 28 virtual strangers at the South Pole. Blend in eight months of mind-numbing darkness. Fold into extremely close quarters. Add a pinch of…
Outside magazine, April 1996 Environment: Lock and Load! Industry Goon at 12 o’clock! Meet Rick Valois, commander-in-chief of the first eco-militia By Bill Donahue He’s probably the only environmentalist in the United States with camo-clad, gun-toting foot soldiers at his command, and…
Outside magazine, March 1995 Ride With Pride: Practice Rolling Acts of Kindness Harmonious trail riding in five friendly steps By Sara Corbett As anyone with a set of knobbies knows, there can be trouble out in the hills, as mountain bikers are…
Outside magazine, March 1995 Running: Hey! You! Get offa my singlet! By Todd Balf (with Jim Kelly, Martin Dugard, and Alison Osius) As the unusually large five-man pack jockeyed for the final sprint at the 10,000-meter U.S. cross-country national championships last December in Portland,…
Outside magazine, April 1997 Another Herbal Wrap, O Immortal One? Should fortune, fame, and flabby acolytes be your heart’s desire, the first American sumo champion suggests thinking really, really big By Brad Wetzler When he…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Paddling: Mission Uncomfortable Mark Robbin’s lonely quest for the other side of the continent By Bill Donahue The setting is bleak–a Motel 6 in the middle of nowhere–and Mark Robbins is weary. “This isn’t fun,” he laments, sprawled…
Outside magazine, October 1996 Sport: From Wurst to First Propelled by Eastern Bloc training methods and a zest for junk food, a trio of Germans looks to sweep the Ironman By Lolly Merrell It’s midnight in Worms, Germany, and European Ironman champion…
Outside magazine, May 1995 Little Rascal A harmless pleasure cruise this was not By Randy Wayne White When my friend G.M. asked me to crew from Colombia to Panama and through the canal aboard his 35-foot Morgan sloop, I grudgingly consented–though I…
Outside magazine, March 1995 Movies: Legends of the Fall By Michael Paterniti As a minor literary movement unto himself, writer Jim Harrison has invented a cult of brazen heroes who live for the roar of fanged animals in wild places. To date, film versions…
Outside magazine, May 1995 Ballooning: The Legend of Steve the Adventurer By Todd Balf On the surrealness scale, it was off the charts: a 50-year-old Chicago securities dealer in the gondola of a hot-air balloon that he’d flown only once before, readying for takeoff…
Outside magazine, June 1996 Politics: Do Unto Endangered Species… With the environment up for grabs, God send in a green army By Bill Donahue And on the eighth day, after he had created Gingrich, Dole, and other democratically elected foes of the…
Dispatches, July 1997 S P O R T Where No One Has Gone Before? Mehgan Heaney-Grier’s precocious quest to become the world’s deepest free diver By Paul Kvinta The most peaceful part of Mehgan Heaney-Grier’s life begins at 40…
Dyn-O-Mite!, October 1997 The Illustrated History of Hat Head By Andrew Tilin and Mike Grudowski Who could have guessed, way back at that family reunion when your cousin Larry snuffled down one Schlitz too many and ended up with a Styrofoam cooler…
Outside Magazine, October 1998 Inspriation Enlighten My Load Sometimes you find yourself in the most predictable places By Pico Iyer I am sitting on a high hill above the dusty passageways of Ganden Monastery in Tibet. The sky…
News from the Field, December 1996 Sport: Why Is This Kid Grinning? Because 15-year-old Chris Sharma is the future of American sport climbing By Todd Balf “I think most people are past the age thing,” says Chris Sharma, 15, after another…
Outside magazine, December 1997 Enterprise: Eureka? Above the din of doubters, a prospector swears a filthy Canadian river will make him filthy rich By Trevor Curwin ‘Oh, it’s down there, all right. that gold is definitely there, as we speak,”…
Outside magazine, June 1996 Wildlife: Marty Stouffer’s Apocryphal America After a raft of allegations, his peers ask: Has the popular PBS filmmaker gone too far? By John Tayman When 50 filmmakers settled into missoula, Montana, last March for the 19th annual International…
Outside magazine, March 1996 Communications: Talk Alien to Me An Everyman’s plan to mingle with the stars By Paul Kvinta “If that call comes and you don’t answer, you’ll regret it,” trumpets astronomer Paul Shuch, in a wobbly impression of Humphrey Bogart…
Outside magazine, May 1995 Night Calls It was the last of its kind. When the red-crested heron vanished deep in Africa’s outback, a girl and her father traced the lonely rise and fall of their lives by its fading song. By Lisa…
Dispatches, June 1997 Jurisprudence: Hey, Get Your Ropes Off My Cathedral! A Wyoming judge is left to answer a thorny question: To whom does Devils Tower belong? By Bill Donahue For The Record…
Outside magazine, July 1999 BUSINESS Wall-to-Walls Climbing gyms go high-tech, top-dollar, and mainstream I’ll Stick with the Miso Soup It sounds like a Zen riddle: When is a sumo wrestler too fat? Recently, sumotori who…
Outside magazine, September 1996 Books: A Lyrical Turn to the Epic By Miles Harvey Accordion Crimes, by E. Annie Proulx (Scribner, $25). From Homer’s Odyssey to Dante’s Divine Comedy, perhaps the purest genre of literature is the travel…
October 1999 F E A T U R E S Adventure at the End of the Century The sight of George Leigh Mallory’s well-preserved body on Everest confirms that adventure, like life, is not always pretty. It means risking all on a mountain—as…
Outside magazine, April 2000 Snows of Yesteryear Mckay Jenkins’s article about the avalanche tragedy that struck Mount Cleveland 30 years ago (“And None Came Back,” February) was spare, elegant, and riveting—so much so that I told my…
For years, virtually no one could beat Lynn Hill to the top of a climbing wall. Then along came Isabelle Patissier, and beyond a shadow of a doubt things are changing.
Cycling Special, March 1997 Surviving the Mean Streets You can’t outrun all the obstacles you encounter in the city. You have to outsmart them. By Alan Coté Your Tutor: Mike Downey, 29, commutes three miles six days…
Outside magazine, March 1998 Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. And Then, By Golly, Up Again. Why fuss with this “Climb Every Mountain” crap when you can simply climb one mountain, every day, 2,000-plus days straight, almost six years, rain and…
Outside magazine, May 1996 Earth to Jenny: Come in, Jenny “Not to be rude,” said third-place finisher Anne Marie Lauck after she and the rest of a strong field were trounced by a mysterious number 61 at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Columbia, South…
Outside magazine, June 1999 Birch Bark in Excelsis! Looking for someplace a little out of touch with the times? Hang a left at the Adirondacks. My Delta, Myself | A…
Outside magazine, August 1995 The Marvelous, Manic Drive of Juli Furtado What fuels the world’s most dominant mountain-bike racer? Doom and gloom and a steady flow of French roast. By Sara Corbett “Oh my god,” Juli Furtado…
Outside magazine, August 1996 The Book On: Beach Volleyball Can McPeak and Reno bury the hatchet for gold’s sake? By Mark Jannot Until April, the olympic debut of women’s beach volleyball seemed fairly easy to handicap: A few top international teams,…
Outside magazine, March 1995 Big Weather: The Ice Storm Trees crash through your windows like dead uncles, whole forests go into an exploding collapse. You’ve got your comeuppance. By Barry Hannah Here in Oxford, Mississippi, most of the leaves are fallen and…
Outside magazine, November 1995 Matches Made in the Heavens No matter what your alpine aptitude, a guide to finding that resort of your dreams By Ron C. Judd Fellow skiers, it’s time to take stock. Park yourself in a chair, rub that…
Out Front, October 1997 Attention: the Editors Have Left the Building Celebrating two decades of accuracy, prescience, and gentility. Or something like that. By Adam Horowitz If only we could attribute it to a newborn keeping us up all night.
 Outside magazine, August 1998 The First Law of Gravity Namely, that that which rises must eventually fall. A law that even the king of the Alaskan bush pilots probably can’t ignore forever. By Daniel Coyle Early morning at Ultima…
Deep beneath Moscow a crew of urban spelunkers frolics, hunting Stalin's secret hideaway, Ivan the Terrible's torture chamber, bootleg nuclear weapons, and a little fame and fortune
Outside magazine, September 1999 SPORT Out of This World Can a daring French rider called “the Alien” keep pace with downhill mountain biking’s wild, wild ride? “This is what I like,” says French downhill mountain-bike racing phenom Nicolas Vouilloz,…
Outside magazine, September 1999 POLITICS The New Wilderness Land Grab Armed with serious money, a young cadre of green activists is about to put naked nature back on the national agenda By Elizabeth Arnold…
Horse Sense I Wanna Be a Cowboy The Hysterical Parent The horse will buck or run off Wranglers look for horses to put in their lines that are “bomb-proof” (their description, not ours) because they don’t underestimate their clients’…
Outside magazine, October 1994 Books: Cactus Ed’s Apotheosis By Miles Harvey Earth Apples: The Poetry of Edward Abbey, edited by David Petersen (St. Martin’s Press, $14.95); Confessions of a Barbarian: Selections from the Journals of Edward Abbey, edited by David Petersen (Little, Brown and…
Outside magazine, November 1996 Election Preview ’96 He’s Back And He’s Tanned, Rested, and Ready Forget Colin, Pat, and Jesse. The big-time endorsement every politician covets this year is that of television commercial icon Iron Eyes Cody, beloved symbol of…
Outside magazine, February 1996 No Comprendo! Yo Soy un Gringo Estupido! For the linguistically impaired, a south-of-the-border survival guide By Randy Wayne White Recently, I attended a two-week Spanish course at Conversa, an intensive language school located a few miles outside San…
Outside magazine, March 1999 Books: The Real Deal By James Zug ELECTRONICS | BUYING RIGHT | THE OTHER STUFF | BOOKS…
Outside Magazine, November 1994 Cycling: The Curse Strikes Again By Todd Balf (with Jim Hage) Before the start of the season, Motorola star Lance Armstrong reasoned that the world champion’s curse, a malady coined by the European tabloids after a succession of recent winners…
Outside magazine, July 1994 You Know How I Don’t Like Pesticides Sure, it’s a kinder crop. But is organic food really better for your body? By Ken McAlpine There are people who can resist strawberries. In fact, they bristle at eating strawberries–plain, or on…
Outside magazine, August 1996 Men’s Sprints: Odds That Michael Johnson will win both the 200 and 400…….1-1 Donovan Baileywill win gold in the 100………10-1 Carl Lewiswill medal in the 100……….15-1…
 Outside magazine, Family Vacation Guide Unsung Heroes Ten top-ranking parks you might not have heard of — but then, no one else has either TODDLERS…
Dispatches, May 1997 Treasure Hunting: Thank You, Fidel, May I Have Another Gold Ingot By Miro Cernetig “There could be billions in gold down there,” says Glenn Costello, practically chuckling as he thumbs through slides of sparkling silver coins and other booty…
Outside magazine, August 1996 Mountain Biking: Odds That… Alison Sydor will capture the gold medal……3-2 Tinker Juarez will medal……..3-1 Thomas Frischknecht will break something…….8-1…
Outside magazine, August 1996 Field Notes: The Last Wilderness Few places are left like British Columbia’s rainforest. But for how long? By Doug Peacock Early July on the central coast of British Columbia was cold and wet. Clouds hovered over indistinct shorelines.
Outside magazine, October 1994 Sailing: Incoming! By Todd Balf (with Greg Child and Dan Dickison) Last July, 24 hours after a surprise opening-day drubbing by millionaire skipper and fellow trash-talker Bill Koch, Dennis Conner did what he does best: He got even. When officials at the…
Outside magazine, November 1995 My Gelding, Myself How passion crosses the line into not-quite-respectable obsession: The complicated joys of horse ownership By Jane Smiley THE WORK Last weekend, when I went away for a two-night horse trials with my elderly…
Features: Election Preview ’96, November 1996 The Nature of the Beast In defense of the dandelion-pickin’, tree-lovin’ side of that environmental bogeyman, Bob Dole By Brad Wetzler Little-known fact: Bob Dole was once a demon on roller skates –the steel-wheeled, strap-on,…
 Outside magazine, November 1997 The Victim’s Wake When the body of a local man surfaced in the Grenadines, the wave of accusations that followed not only swept up the wealthy American couple suspected of his murder — it also exposed anew the uneasy symbiosis…
T H E H O L I D A Y G I F T G U I D E Shop for THE JOCK Shop for THE WANDERER Shop for…
 Outside magazine, April 1998 You Gotta Have Friends. Which is Damned Unfortunate. Tackling the Appalachian Trail on a whim would require a few essentials. I realized, foremost among them a boon companion. What I got was Katz. By Bill Bryson…