Adventure
ArchiveOutside 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…
In the evolution of the species known as hockey players, those indoor patches of brine-cooled, milky-white, Zambonied ice have spawned some very good athletes. But the truly great ones arise from the dense, black freeze of the neighborhood skating pond, where weekend duffers and future stars happily collide.
Outside magazine, May 1998 A Lovely Sort of Lower Purpose In praise of doing nothing. To wit: No racing, no exceeding, no catch-and-releasing. Just time-tested fooling around. By Ian Frazier As kids, my friends and I spent a lot…
Outside magazine, May 1999 Expeditions Sledgepuller, P.I. Toting 300 pounds and a love of the arcane, a Canadian explorer attempts to unravel an Arctic mystery When Hans Kr’ger set out to explore a desolate stretch…
Outside magazine, June 1994 Mountain Biking: 150-kph Dreaming By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard and Eric Hagerman) Funny things happen when you try to ride a mountain bike at 150 kph. Ask the new downhill speed record holder, Frenchman Christian Taillefer, who on…
Outside magazine, August 1996 Books: Time and Tide Caught Inside: A Surfer’s Year on the California Coast, by Daniel Duane (North Point Press/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $21). Thoreau did it from the door of his cabin; Darwin, from the deck of the H.M.S. Beagle;…
Vacation Special, August 1997 F L Y – F I S H I N G T H E R O G U E Time Off the Grid In blissful isolation along the Rogue River, where it’s easier to find…
Outside magazine, October 1995 Books: Vengeance and Cactus By Miles Harvey Painted Desert, by Frederick Barthelme (Viking, $22.95). This vibrant novel has fascinating parallels with nature essayist Bill McKibben’s acclaimed 1992 nonfiction work, The Age of Missing Information. In that book, McKibben…
Destinations, November 1998 Ace is the Place A prime-season meander down South Carolina’s Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto Rivers By Parke Puterbaugh If your mental image of coastal South Carolina consists mainly of Myrtle Beach’s six-lane…
Out Front, Fall 1998 Anthropology O.J., B.C. New and disheartening evidence that domestic abuse is prehistory By Cristina Opdahl It wasn’t So Fred Flintstone flirted with waitresses in Rockapulco. And frittered away too much time at the lodge.
Outside magazine, January 1996 The Outside Prognosticator: Don’t Condo Me In Sheep rancher Randy Campbell says he’s been backed against a wall. “All the spring range is being subdivided for golf courses,” sighs Campbell, who works land near Vail, Colorado. Such growth has forced him to…
Outside magazine, January 1996 A Bimonthly Bath, Penguin Porn, and Thou New Year’s greetings from Don and Margie McIntyre, wrapping up 365 long days of Antarctic togetherness By Jack Barth Last January, adventurers Don and Margie McIntyre left the warmth of Sydney,…
Outside magazine, February 1998 W I N T E R O L Y M P I C S P R E V I E W Nagano? Naga-Yes! Sure, this year’s Winter Olympics will have its foibles, including…
Outside magazine, September 1994 When the Whammy Strikes It’s 3 a.m. in a big, foreign city. Do you know where your running shoes are? By Randy Wayne White Maybe through influence, but probably through curse, the Temple of the Giant Jaguar was the shaper…
Outside magazine, April 1996 26.2 Legendary Miles Of Foot-Pounding, Heartbreaking, Endorphin-Inducing Huff America’s oldest, greatest marathon transformed distance running from lonely obsession to the mass promenade of a fitness nation. On the centennial of the grueling Yankee race that helped launch a revolution, a boisterous salute.
Outside magazine, August 1999 THE MOUNTAINEERS Line of Ascent On a breeding ground for greatness, wisdom comes one humble step at a time It only takes a few minutes to learn how to strap on…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Ride Like a Pack Mule What you really need before hitting the road By Bob Howells If your bike-touring burden consists of everything in your pockets, it matters little what bike you ride: Your mountain bike will do…
Travel Guide, Winter 1995-1996 The Outside Yenta Says… 1. If you migrated toward (a), you’re a PURIST. Crowds and glitz, say you, are the source of all evil. Take your Birkenstock-wearing, muesli-munching, powder-lusting self to Mount Baker, Washington–Mecca for laid-back thirtysomething free-riders. Please,…
Outside magazine, August 2000 CAMPAIGN 2000: GORE | GORE’S GREEN CORPS BUSH | BIG MAN ON CAMPUS ASSUME THE POSITIONS RALPH NADER All Bulworth, No…
Travel Guide, Winter 1995-1996 Dominica By David Noland Dominica is for people who need sweat and grit in their tropical vacation: The island’s few beaches are mostly of black volcanic sand, and none rates even fair by Caribbean standards. What Dominica…
News from the Field, January 1997 Politics: Voters? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Voters. As the new Congress rolls in, meet the environmental bigwigs who’ll be pulling the strings By Juliet Eilperin Sure, being a member of congress has its perks–but…
Dispatches, March 1997 Expeditions: I Was a Middle-Aged Amelia Earhart Linda Finch’s vintage attempt to finish a legend’s journey By Paul Kvinta For The Record This One’s Mine, Dammit! Denied two years…
Outside magazine, January 1996 Books: The Spirits of Science By Miles Harvey Ship Fever and Other Stories, by Andrea Barrett (W. W. Norton, $21). Barrett, an Outside contributor and noted novelist, has put together a soaring collection of stories about characters, some…
Outside magazine, March 1995 Sport Climbing: Tres Bon, Robyn By Todd Balf (with Jim Kelly, Martin Dugard, and Alison Osius) Robyn Erbesfield has no peer in sport climbing. Period. At the World Cup finale last December in Birmingham, England, she out-jousted France’s Natalie Richer…
Dispatches, April 1999 Sport Spiked Almost Off the Map By Tim Zimmermann Let’s begin with a flashback. Atlanta, Georgia. July 1996. Beach volleyball is making its Olympic debut while serving as party central for a…
Outside magazine, September 1995 Personal Security: And for That Commute to Headquarters… By Jon Gluck Anyone with the corn-fed twang of Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock” lodged in his brain knows that a sport-utility vehicle can handle anything the backcountry can throw at it.
Outside magazine, September 1995 Buying Right: Bodacious Rooftop Boxes By John Lehrer Adding a cargo box to your roof rack is like building a new room on your car. All of the things that crowd your backseat when the trunk overfloweth–backpacks, ski boots, cooking…
Outside magazine, October 2000 21st-Century Blues TOO OFTEN, the media only skim over politicians’ positions, neglecting substance for candidate babble. So I enjoyed “Campaign 2000” (August), Outside‘s package on the environmental records of this year’s candidates. The environment is…
January 1996 Features: The Outside Prognosticator Every time period has its ups and downs, but 1996 will be something else. Are we thrilled to our toes about the Atlanta Olympics? Yes, but we’re cringing about Izzy, the Games’ purple-hided mascot, who will lead a schlock…
Outside magazine, March 1995 Ride with Pride Finding a Bike That Fits Stop straddling that tube and adjust your saddle, road cowboy By Dana Sullivan It Pays to Keep a Level Head How to wear…
Outside magazine, May 1994 Literature: Holy Roll Casting Hooking spirituality in trouting’s deep, deep pools By Donovan Webster Bait fishermen approach water with a simple thought: “Bite, you rascals.” With fly fishermen it’s more like “Ommmm.” We refer to man’s–well, fly-fishing…
Destinations, July 1997 Life on the Far Edge Tromping about on Spain’s unique western shore, where fjords abound and vino is a breakfast staple By Bruce Schoenfeld Carnival in Rias Come for the seafood. Stay for the bagpipes and…
Gone Summering, July 1998 All Hail the Lizard You don’t have to see Colorado’s most famous reptile. Just head out on the trail and trust that he’s there. By Rob Story Altitude with Attitude…
Outside magazine, October 1997 Contributors As this 20-year occasion reminds us, a pleasant consequence of an extended publishing run is the opportunity it affords to see writers develop, change, grow long in tooth and short in hair. Some of the following have been with…
Outside magazine, October 1997 Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot … Together again: the noble, the menacing, the triumphant, the pratfalling, and other unforgettable elements of the outdoor universe Attention: the Editors Have Left the Building Celebrating two…
The Downhill Report, December 1996 Hey, Nice Curves! Those shapely new skis will do the carving. You just have to let them. By Katie Arnold The long afternoons of cursing your skis through quad-burning turns are over. Everyone, let’s welcome the…
 Outside magazine, December 1997 Humbly Goes the Mountain Man A decidedly unheroic trip up Kilimanjaro By Chip Brown Access & Resources From the Savanna to the Snowfields This way to…
Outside magazine, June 1996 Don’t Shoot, or We’ll Shoot Don’t Shoot, or We’ll Shoot Supporters of a California ballot initiative to manage the state’s growing cougar population through sport hunting not only suffered a crushing defeat in the March referendum–they’ve become targeted game themselves. State…
Outside Magazine, February 1995 Skysurfing: Beware Falling Cameramen By Todd Balf (with Martin Dugard) Question: If a person skysurfs at 13,000 feet and nobody is there to see it, does it happen at all? Well, for all intents and purposes, no. At October’s Freestyle…
Outside magazine, May 1995 Where the Deer and the Presidents Play From the ranger desks at our national parks, spectacular questions posed by a curious citizenry By Debra Shore With summer approaching and our thoughts returning to wide-open spaces, we residents of…
Dispatches, June 1997 Surfing: www.bythepowersvestedinme.com By Sarah Horowitz If there’s anything more romantic than a traditional June wedding, it’s a June wedding alfresco, vows exchanged beside a gurgling stream or beneath a weeping willow. But how best to find that magical spot?…
Outside magazine, July 1999 BOOKS The Perfect Sell Buy this book! Adventure books have gone so mainstream over the last two years…
Outside magazine, September 1996 Goatsucker Sighted, Details to Follow Strange beast plunders Puerto Rico, Florida, Mexico Livestock drained of blood, entrails Citizens ignore authorities’ appeal for calm By Bucky McMahon CANØVANAS, PUERTO RICO–An unwelcome anniversary is being celebrated here, one…
Outside Magazine, November 1994 Broadcasting: Goooood Mooooorning, Ends of the Earth! For an elite corps of ham-radio buffs known as DXpeditioners, making small talk from nowheresville is serious business By Jonathan Weisman Everything about the expedition had been carried out according to…
Outside magazine, December 1995 The Archdruid in Winter By Larry Burke Years ago a developer wisecracked that David Brower worshiped trees and sacrificed human beings, thus tagging him with a nickname he’s carried proudly ever since: the archdruid. A mountaineer and editor who became…
The recovery he helped bring upon the Hudson has been far more personal for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. than the process of simply cleansing a river. It has washed him of his sins, returning his birthright charm and political pedigree to full shiny view — and leaving onlookers wondering what's next.
Two men, a continent, and the mother of all polar duels
Outside magazine, March 1997 While Visions of 2,200-Pound Burritos Dance in His Head Not to mention spinning kayakers, tap-dancing marathoners, and flying haggis. The Keeper of the Records for the Guinness Book explains how to make a run at immortality.
Outside magazine, May 1996 Wildlife: Would you stuff this into your suitcase? Renowned bird-lover Tony Silva’s ugly fall from grace By Gretchen Reynolds “Nature has certain rules you don’t violate,” Tony Silva told a reporter in 1985. Dark-haired, dark-eyed, intense, and at…
 Outside magazine, June 1999 Culture Clash Journalist Philip True hiked into Mexico’s Sierra Madre Occidental seeking meaningful contact with the native Huichol Indians: an exotic trek with a little reporting thrown in, an encounter with an ancient…
 Outside magazine, August 1995 Without a Trace Jeff Wandich learned a hard lesson from his tragedy at sea: Human nature doesn’t allow people to vanish without a trace By Randy Wayne White Late on a windy night, in a hundred feet…
Outside magazine, August 1996 Cycling: Odds That… Rebecca Twigg will win the 3,000-meter pursuit……3-2 Lance Armstrong will ride away with a gold……..5-1 Miguel Indurain will medal…….10-1…
Outside magazine, May 1995 Speed Skating: Bonnie Blair’s Entirely Predictable Farewell Tour By Todd Balf Rarely does an athlete bid farewell to a sport while at the top of his or her game. But at 31, Bonnie Blair has just wrapped up one of…
Brad Pitt's in Tibet. Steven Seagal's flacking his lama creds on Letterman. Dharma's rampant at the local U and Buddha has settled in the East Village. With America sweatily grasping all things Shangri-La, it's a virtual Lamapalooza out there. But will the true cause benefit?
Dispatches, August 1998 Exploration Hello … Anybody Out There? Two climbers get first dibs on an untouched wilderness of peaks By Hampton Sides Dave Briggs got his first aerial glimpse of Greenland’s Sweizerland Mountains from a Bell 210 helicopter…
Kamchatka, east of Siberia. As the curtain rises on the new frontier of adventure outfitting, attendees include your guide (he's the one with the armored vehicle), the local businessman (he's the one with the machine gun), the UN environmentalist (he's the nervous-looking one), and your fellow tourists (they'll be arriving any moment now). Please enjoy the show
Outside magazine, September 1999 TECHNOLOGY Heavy Breathing A device for improving lung capacity has athletes in a lather For years, the quest to gain stamina and speed by developing bigger, stronger lungs has led athletes of all stripes…
Outside magazine, November 1995 Showdown in the West By Larry Burke Nowhere is our national distrust of Washington more extreme than in the West, where ranchers, loggers, and miners lately have been playing brinkmanship with the federal government, whose environmental laws often cramp their…
Family Vacations, Summer 1997 Come Along, Little Doggie All you need to know before bringing your best friend to the backcountry By Ron C. Judd A sk any good trail dog: When slopes get steep and…