Everything
In this weekly roundup, we scour the Web for our favorite long-form magazine and newspaper articles, collecting them here and on Longreads and Twitter. This installment focuses on poaching, the science of processed food, and the history of environmentalism.
Noah Davis takes a look at Wade Barrett's transition from professional soccer player to semi-serious ultramarathoner
Kickstarter has been the source of many outdoor gadgets and gizmos. We've written about several here on The Gear Shed, from seatpost bottle openers to sidecountry ski carriers to 360-degree video cameras and cases that convert your iPhone into a helmet cam.
Photo: Egan Snow/Flickr As summer wanes and garden harvests start to dwindle, this news lands with a thud: a recent study performed at Stanford University indicated that eating organic produce doesn’t necessarily mean eating more nutritious produce. If you figured this would…
Gould at the 2012 World Cup in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Photo: Colin Meagher When Georgia Gould, 32, won bronze in mountain biking at the London Olympics…
Climber hanging. Photo: Rudall30/Shutterstock Scientist Daniel Lack used experience as a motivator for his study on climbing rescues, deaths, and accidents in Boulder County, Colorado. Lack started climbing at 24 at the Kangaroo Point…
It's the second week in a row I've posted a surf short by director Chris McLean as the Adventure Video of the Week. Normally, I try to avoid such repetition, but I picked Uncommon Ideals because it won…
Normally, Kilian Martin's skateboarding videos feature tightly edited footage of spins, headstands, and ollies set to lilting or brooding music. The 25-year-old Spaniard's choreographed freestyle moves play like a ballet, with his board flying gracefully over concrete, off brick walls, and down metal rails. In…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=nV4XcnNBPm8 Once again, Russian President Vladimir Putin has thrown himself into an obscure outdoor adventure. This time he donned a white suit and goggles before taking off in an ultralight to guide six endangered Siberian Cranes through the air. Andrew E. Kramer's…
It's a lot easier to imagine you're a colonial settler when you're not 25, Katie Heaney learns
The story behind the otter-exclusion zone, a stretch of water on the California coast from Point Conception to the Mexican border where otters are barred by Congress from swimming
Readers voted Richmond, Virginia, the nation's most livable river town. (No joke!) To find out why, Jon Billman paddles, runs, and snorkels for crabs in the former Confederate capital. Plus: the lowdown on nine other great river towns.
Some of the graphics on skis and snowboards are really spectacular. Who draws this stuff?
Nothing says autumn like campfire s'mores. There is a certain delight in getting little bits of bark in your mouth from the stick you jammed your marshmallow on, and in the sticky fingers that come from smooshing your marshmallow, chocolate and graham crackers together. Unless, that is, you are camping…
Trail running is one of the few sports where the top women can compete with elite men, and often beat them—a phenomenon affectionately known among runners as “getting chicked.” Likewise, it's also one of the few sports that typically favors seasoned competitors, with many ultra trail runners not peaking until…
Grizzly print, and a notebook. Photo: Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation Rachel Carson earned a master's degree in zoology from John Hopkins University and spent most of her career working as a marine biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife…
Vaughters names Vande Velde, Zabriskie, and Danielson
Finishing 12th overall, Damiano Caruso was Liquigas-Cannondale's top finisher. Photo: Liquigas A quick look at the final standings of the 2012 USA Pro Cycling Challenge reveal a race that was largely dominated by American racers. Though half of the 16 teams in the race were…
Irish Paralympic sprinter Jason Smyth is aiming to achieve the same feat accomplished by Usain Bolt in the Olympics. If the 25-year-old wins the 200m final on Friday night at the Paralympics in London he will have taken gold medals in both the 100m…
Combine guerilla filmmaking with rails, concrete, and skis and you have Stept Productions new movie The Eighty Six. It's not all about pushing boundaries in the city. The crew visits pipes and mountains too. Still, the trailer makes it clear that the thrill comes from notching new, restricted ski spots…
With stand-up paddleboarding more popular than ever, surfers—legendary for their sectarianism—have new fuel for their ire
There can be only one super-specific, outdoor sport
With the release of his new tell-all about the doping culture of professional cycling, The Secret Race, Tyler Hamilton has been blamed for cashing in on the celebrity of one-time teammate and brother-like figure Lance Armstrong. But what he's really saying—to Armstrong and everyone else—is this: Come clean with me. You'll feel better, and it's not too la
Climber Alex Honnold and filmmaker Peter Mortimer talk about their new collaboration and the pressures of fame
I watched Jen Kessy smack gum throughout her Olympic beach volleyball matches. Can gum help performance, or does Kessy just have really bad breath?
I’m saving up for my dream trip to Machu Picchu. What tips would you give to a first-time visitor?
The last profile in the Of Souls + Water series is of Colorado River guide Rob Elliott, who has led more than 200 trips down the Grand Canyon. If nothing else, it will leave you wanting to join one of his expeditions. That's probably enough. For more Of Souls +…
Most of us have ditched our point-and-shoot cameras and we're taking photos with our phones. iPhone cameras are pretty darn good, and by using a phone as your camera, you carry one device and you can…
A group of six surfers sponsored by Patagonia set off on August 31 for an exploratory surf and fly-fishing trip to the volcano-dotted coast and salmon-stocked rivers of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. The crew includes photographer Chris Burkard, surf ambassador Keith Malloy, and Foster Huntington, who will be posting…
How to pronounce Nau, Teva, Mammut and 14 other commonly butchered outdoor company and brand names
Fitness magnate Bahram Akradi is buying up some of the most beloved endurance events in the country—and he has plans to improve them. So what's everybody afraid of?
These days, top kitesurfers blow away the fastest sailboats, maxing out at more than 60 miles per hour. Dangerous? Yep. Especially when the world's best converge on storm-raked Martha's Vineyard to duke it out.
What does the popularity of a zombie-themed obstacle race say about American society?
In the Napa Valley, Clif Bar CEOs Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford have built a wine-tasting room that doubles a a refuge for cyclists. To really understand the concept, I figured I had to join Erickson for a ride. I should have known better.
Like many fanatical sports, ultrarunning comes with its own set of vocabulary. Though it's nothing compared to baseball, here are a few words and phrases from the ultrarunner's lexicon.
The holy grail of backpacking is a suspension system that makes your pack carry as if you have nothing on at all. It's an admirable goal, and pack designers are making progress toward it. Black Diamond made solid inroads with its reACTIV…
Tejay Van Garderen takes time out for the next generation of youth cyclists. Photo: Jen Charrette By Jennifer Charrette When the USA Pro Cycling Challenge wrapped up in Colorado, one million spectators had lined the streets from Durango to Denver. It went down…
Image: DDB Group China Car sales in China are a wee bit flat right now, but it’s still one of the world’s largest car markets. Congestion in cities is so bad that local governments have begun restricting how many people can drive each day. Despite that,…
https://www.youtube.com/embed/D7TB8b2t3QEJ.T. Holmes delivers Google's Glass to Sergey Brin. In case you missed it, J.T. Holmes is having kind of a big year. He ski-BASE jumped off a 260-foot cliff with…
During Monday’s 200m sprint in the Paralympics, South African favorite Oscar Pistorius lost. The three-time gold medal winner in Beijing and the feel-good story of the 2012 London Olympics blew out of the blocks but was passed in dramatic fashion after the turn.
“Every night we went to bed patching all the holes, doublechecking all the lines, and every morning we woke reminded of the Schwarzenegger strength of Murphy’s Law in these parts. For nearly two weeks, anything and everything was just going to shit.” —On the Road: Termas There's…
The final episode of Forge Motion Pictures and NRS’s summer series on icons of the water is about 68-year-old Grand Canyon guide Rob Elliott.
Is it safe to participate in my triathlon club’s ocean swims while I’m menstruating, am I more likely to get attacked by a shark?
As more blazes rage across the West this summer and government policy shifts toward aggressive wildfire suppression, firefighters’ lives are increasingly placed at risk
ext_script = "//player.ooyala.com/player.js?video_pcode=1jZG06vQqWlGOe2jr1WK6VaYFHtK&height=360&width=640&embedCode=BndzhyNTralMV4IeHBWlpG2T2nNh9zHv&deepLinkEmbedCode=BndzhyNTralMV4IeHBWlpG2T2nNh9zHv" The best articles, photos, and videos of the past week that I didn't post—until now. ADVENTURE That Associated Press article on Tyler Hamilton's new book missed the mark. Read this. Outside A former personal assistant to Lance Armstrong…
When it comes to the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, one of the world's most grueling footraces, they say you should always expect the unexpected. And, this year, that couldn't have been more true.
Meaghen Brown, on the ground in Chamonix, France, for one of the world's most grueling footraces, looks at some of this year's top contenders
Lance Armstrong has always denied Mike Anderson’s claim that he broke his word on a business deal, and that Anderson saw and heard evidence indicating that Armstrong was using performance-enhancing drugs. His lawyer, Mark Fabiani, sent this response to Anderson's allegations.
The news leaks about The Secret Race have vastly undersold its importance. Tyler Hamilton’s book is a historic, definitive indictment of cycling’s culture of doping during the Armstrong era.
Tyler Hamilton’s new book, The Secret Race, makes it impossible to believe Lance’s story anymore
I was Lance’s personal assistant for two years, during the height of his racing career. Do I think he cheated? Yep. But my real problem is something that diehard fans seem unable to grasp: the vengeful tactics he uses against people who tell the truth about him, on and off the bike.
Our best writing on doping in sports, USADA, and Lance Armstrong's battle against his accusers
In this weekly roundup, we scour the Web for our favorite long-form magazine and newspaper articles, collecting them here and on Longreads and Twitter. This installment focuses on arctic endeavors, the money behind sports, and recess.
When Jimmy Chin calls out a new adventure film, it's worth paying attention. “This is gonna be epic … RT @Outside_TV: New trailer @absinthefilms #Resonance is up on our FB page! Looks Unreal! #snowboarding…
Photo: Peter Morning/Mammoth Mountain Before Southern California downhiller Aaron Gwin won the World Cup Overall last year, no American mountain biker had ever earned that title. Then 23 and racing in only his third season…
Fly-by drinking. Photo: Ofer Levy/Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2012 With a wing span of up to five feet, the grey-headed flying fox is the largest bat…
Meaghen Brown is in France, reporting from one of the world's most grueling footraces
A collection of facts and figures about what is widely considered to be one of the toughest footraces in the world
Rigging the raft for hands-free floating is key. Photo: Katie Arnold You know how sometimes you ask other parents, including your own, for advice or insight about kid-related quandaries, and so often people scratch their heads and mumble, “Uh, I can’t remember?” And you find this…
Sunday's downtown Denver time trial saw George Hincapie race his bike for the final time as a professional cyclist. And judging by the warm reception he received throughout the Colorado tour, with his name scrawled on the pavement all across the state and some of the biggest…
Delicate Arch, Arches National Park. Photo: Ryan Dearth Last year, as part of his Call to Action plan to revise and improve the way our national parks are managed, National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis asked a committee of…
In early March of 2012, 50-foot slabs of water rose up at Mullaghmore Head, a break off the northwestern coast of Ireland in County Sligo. Some of the biggest waves at that location in 15 years had been pushed east by the…