Water Sports
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Apex of the Tsangpo Gorge We have just finished a two-day paddle down the Po Tsangpo to the confluence and around to the northernmost point of the Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, the apex of the Tsangpo Gorge. Scott Lingdren, Tsangpo River In his element: expedition…
Bayi, Tibet – Today was the first day of movement towards the gorge since arriving in Lhasa. Extreme weather conditions have delayed the arrival of the last and crucial team member, Rob Hind for five days, resulting in us having an interesting seven days exploring the monasteries and narrow…
Tsachu, Po Tsangpo River We have made it to Tsachu, a small village that overlooks the apex of the Great Bend of the Tsangpo, sacred Mount Abu Lashu, and both the Yarlung and Po Tsangpo Rivers. Tsangpo River Willy Kern, Allan Ellard and Scott Lindgren watch the rest of…
Via satellite phone the team reports that scouting the river upstream of the village of Luku is proving extremely challenging as a monstrous flood two years ago scoured the walls of this incredibly steep section of the lower gorge. There are now a number of new rapids that did not…
We have finally made the climb out from the upper gorge—but instead of reaching Payi and heading to the Po Tsangpo confluence, we have descended to the village of Gobden and Luku. This is actually our planed take out point, but we were forced to come here due to the…
Gyala, Tsangpo Gorge—We have been on the river now for four days and many things have happened. For one, we have realized just how small we are. Since reaching the end of the road, we have hired 68 porters that have carried all our equipment from camp to camp.
Kintup Falls, Tsangpo Gorge—We have just completed the Pemakochung bend and made it past Kintup Falls—this was a long day of portages and discovery. It was also the first day on our satellite photo, which was very exciting as we can now see every rapid as we come to…
VIDEO The Foam Zone click here Expedition member Steve Fisher plunges into the Upper Tsangpo Gorge Portage from Hell click here Porters and paddlers trudge 5,000 feet straight up on the epic mountain portage from Upper to Lower Gorge Going Deep click here Ground team member Andrew Sheppard rappels…
Lhasa, Tibet – After three flights we have finally made it to Lhasa, Tibet. We managed to check in 14 kayaks and 26 bags weighing 30 kilograms each all the way through with very few problems. From San Francisco, Cathay Pacific styled us all the way to Chengdu, a huge…
After a decade of failed attempts and fatal rebuffs, an Outside-sponsored expedition runs Tibet's Upper Tsanpgo Gorge—and lives to tell about it.
Team Triumphs on Tsangpo click here Outside contributing editor Peter Heller reports on the historic first descent of Tibet’s Upper Tsangpo River. March 2-March 9 TEXT DISPATCH—March 7, 2002 click here Smiles reach from ear to ear…
Tsachu, Po Tsangpo River Today is a reunion day. We kayakers had been impatiently awaiting a scheduled sat-phone voicemail message from Ken Storm and the crew that trekked to Hidden and Rainbow Falls after the hellish portage. Likely due to the weather and depth of the inner gorge, they…
Pelung, Tibet We have made it to Pelung. Two days of hiking, two cable crossings, and two bridges after leaving Tsachu, we are at a road. There are vehicles, houses, and people. The small shops carry beer, candy, biscuits, and Coke. The guys are sinking beer like it has…
On February 4, a team comprising explorers and kayakers from seven nations began a planned two-month-long expedition through the Tsangpo Gorge in southeastern Tibet. Their goal is to chart some of the still unvisited parts of the gorge and to complete the first-ever whitewater descent of the world’s deepest river…
October, 2001 Santa Fe, New Mexico Scott Lindgren: One of the things that we really wanted to express now that we are doing this with Outside Television and Outside Magazine and GM, is that the story will be told as it is. Granted,…
How exactly do you go about getting 80 people, 14 boats, and several thousand pounds of equipment from one end of the deepest river canyon in the world to the other? You view it like a king-sized, 150-mile-long obstacle course fiendish enough to confound even the most talented river runners,…
It's the cradle of Shangri-la, and one of the deepest river gorges on earth. It's a fortress guarding sacred waterfalls, and a cauldron of savage whitewater and unrunnable rapids. In the chill of the Himalayan winter, seven world-class kayakers led a massive expedition into the shadowy realm of Tibet's Tsangpo River , and launched their boats down its roaring t
I’m planning a nine-day, 24-mile canoeing expedition to the Boundary Waters in early July. As for footwear, would it be better to purchase a pair of hiking boots or a pair of Salomon phibian water shoes? We'll mostly be in the canoe, with about five miles of portaging at most. Which option would be better? Jonathan La Grange, Illinois
Is time traveler Tim Severin the greatest living explorer? Probably—but you'll never get him to admit it.
Q: Do you know of any great alpine backpacking destinations in Baja? Advice from the Experts For more wisdom from the Adventure Adviser, and the chance to ask your own questions, CLICK HERE.travel questions answered —Cory Whitney, Bar Harbor, Maine Adventure Adviser: A: A four-day backpacking trip up Baja’s…
Travel Guide, Winter 1995-1996 St. Vincent/Grenadines By Jonathan Runge If the British Virgin Islands are the junior college of Caribbean sailing, the Grenadines are graduate school: Relatively long stretches of open water between the 30-odd islands south of St. Vincent make…
Travel Guide, Winter 1995-1996 Islands You’ve Never Heard Of By Jonathan Runge Culebra Just 17 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico, Culebra has been bypassed by the tourists crowding its parent island. This 11-square-mile, wishbone-shaped islet is defined as much by what…
Outside magazine, May 1998 Access & Resources Montserrat, minus the lava By Katie Arnold                                                  Another Day Under the Black Volcano Once you get over the fact that two-thirds of Montserrat is now buried under a thick…
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…
Outside magazine, October 1995 Jamaica By Jonathan Runge From the 7,402-foot Blue Mountain Peak, one of the Caribbean’s loftiest vantage points, you can survey all of Jamaica’s undulating coast. And on a clear day, you’d swear you can just make out…
An innovative platform brings Spanish shipwrech spoils to intrepid divers in the Florida Keys
Outside magazine, October 1995 St. Lucia By Trish Reynales Sure, St. Lucia’s twin peaks make for great postcards. “Pitons soar a half-mile into the sky. Mist dripping from the vines. Parrots mocking me from the palms. Mud up to my knees.
For decades, no one has dared to run the treacherous lengths of the waters that helped launch the modern age of exploration. Civil war, freelance rebels, capricious bandits, irascible hippos, surly crocs, billions of malarial mosquitoes, and scores of rapids so deadly they're rated a suicidal Class VI—all have conspired…
An innovative dive outfitter lays plans to build a futuristic platform resort—right next to the reef
THE FANTASY DIVE-TRIP COCKTAIL...Take 1,190 coral outposts in the Indian Ocean, add one deluxe catamaran, one dive dhoni, a large splash of sapphire-blue water, and stir.
You'll hit more surf than pavement on this 250-mile pleasure drive around the Big Island
World Champion surfer Andy Irons—our May coverboy—has a pre-season workout that proves pro-surfing's not for slackers. See if you can keep up.
Can a monster swell be tracked down and hunted like some great beast? That's the mad mission of the $3 million Billabong Odyssey, surfing's rapid-response quest to find and ride the biggest wave in history?
Good! Let's talk about what our experience of the wilderness has lost now that it's cheap and easy to stay connected—no matter how far out there you go. Ted Kerasote explores the new wired wild.
The dream of a Northwest Passage linking the Atlantic to the riches of Asia has driven explorers and visionary adventurers for centuries. With climate change in the air, Natasha Singer braves the frigid 900-mile journey to find out if the old, mythic dream is becoming an epic new reality.
Expedition: Surfing the closed coast Team: Ross Garrett, Keith Malloy, Dan Malloy Location: Central California Objective: Surf 40 miles of off-limits coastline Duration: Three days FOR SURFERS, the stretch of empty central California coastline beginning some 40 miles south of San Luis Obispo at Surf…
A wave off Rincón isn't the only wild ride in Puerto Rico. Here's an action primer on the island's untamed side.
After a decade of nursing apartheidÂ’s hangover, South Africa is finally coming into its own as an adventure-travel destination. An influx of outdoorsy Europeans, a good exchange rate, and South AfricansÂ’ growing interest in the outdoor lifestyle have fueled a boom in the past two years. About three times the…
Armed with a revolutionary new tracking device, cave divers map threats to Florida's main water source
Radical Chic PR Lesson #127: Put a bunch of VIPs in a raft. Send them down the Futaleufú. Stop a dam. Sounds fun—and is!
Any suggestions for a good pair of polarized sunglasses to use when fly-fishing? With so many lens colors to choose from, which one would you suggest? Also, to prevent the glasses from falling off if, or rather when I fall, is there a gadget to keep them on my head so a fish doesn't end up wearing them instead? Matt Albuquerque, New Mexico
Why jet to exotic reefs when home waters boast spectacularly diverse diving?
Immerse yourself in these eight close-to-home dive sites, where the water's world-class and your tent's just a splash away
Baja's Isla EspÃritu Santo conjures up endless scuba sites and miles of sand for camping by
You better grab a lifeline and hold on tight when Steve Fossett decides to make another manic bid for glory
Australian photographers Ian and Erick Regnard have followed surfing’s ASP World Tour for the past six years, shooting the planet’s most famous surf personalities on and off their boards. On days when the waves were too low for competition purposes, the Regnard brothers also shot contemporary musicians, models, and others…
There’s a swoosh of heaven that runs from Hawaii through Mexico to Central America and the Caribbean. Don’t let it bask in the sun by itself. Our 43 sweet spots are waiting—surrender and go. TRAILING OFF ON KAUAI By James Glave THE INS & OUTBOARDS OF…
Five years ago, Brad van Liew, a 29-year-old commercial pilot and flight instructor from Southern California, took a bit of a flier by entering the 1998-1999 Around Alone, the single-handed around-the-world yacht race generally considered to be the longest event in sports. Despite a lack of experience and an old…
Going to the beach without the latest sunglasses is like walking when you could fly. You'll have it made in the shade with these six new designs.
A thousand miles from anywhere, the Azores are a natural layover for voyaging sailors and adventurous pilgrims. But beware: the island group's hydrangea-drenched hillsides and mist-shrouded volcanoes may capture your heart forever.
There's nothing like surf school to put parents in their place. At the end of the day, just like your eight-year-old, you may feel as mighty as Laird Hamilton—or like you've survived the spin cycle. We tracked down three top-notch schools that are perfect for parents and kids.
Bahamas Island Out-Adventures (www.bahamasadventures.com; 242-333-3282) arranges trips by the day and includes all transportation, meals, activities, and equipment. One-day adventures cost $99 per person. Overnight trips start at $299 per person for two days, $399 for three days, and $499 for four days. The company can also…
Fresh off an empty island in the tropical Atlantic, our intrepid travel expert gives the inside scoop on the Bahamian adventures you never knew were possible.
Now independent and arms-free, East Timor is emerging as Southeast Asia's new jewel
Two rival British teams launch a tenacious race to find Shackleton's long-lost ship
Women's surfing is riding a new pop-culture tsunami. So why can't the pros make it with a tour of their own?
Where to Surf, Hike, Dive, Fish, Shop, Eat, Drink, Dance, Sleep, and Kick Back
In the dark of winter, monsters lurk near the glow of Seattle. And man, that's when the jigging's good.
In the company of coral: a diver fins past a school of grunts off Florida’s Tavernier Key Q: I’m a bloated son-of-a-gun with a physique like a manatee who’d like to try scuba diving. I have no experience at all outside of watching Sea Hunt and a…