We all know the right helmet can save your life. But the world’s most sophisticated lid isn’t much better than an egg carton strapped to your head if it’s past its expiration date. With gravity sports getting steeper, faster, and more intense, a good helmet is essential. But how…

As the Last Cool Place becomes an adventure-travel magnet, the scientists and bureaucrats who run the show are feeling crowded. Is this big, beautiful continent big enough for everybody?

Courtesy of NASA Goddard Photo and Video on Flickr.The Associated Press reports that a Mariner Energy oil platform exploded earlier today off the coast of Louisiana, about 200 miles west of the epicenter of the recent BP spill. All 13 crew members were rescued. a mile-long sheen of oil…

Outside magazine, August 1996 The Book On: Cycling Race-shy no more. Rebecca Twigg should prove her mettle By Alan Cote In the four years since Barcelona, olympic cycling has altered course. In Atlanta, women will finally get their due with five events, nearing equality with the…

March 1996 Features: The Highly Civilized Fat-Tire Primer Front-Suspension Symbiont, Meet Ms. Controlled Abandon Cross-country world champ Alison Sydor demonstrates the essential riding skills. By Andrew Tilin More Bike for the Buck How to buy the right machine in any price range. By…

Performance tires, all-season tires, snow tires: Which should you be using?

Conditions: cold, clear, dry, and deep.For early season weather and snow beta, check the American Avalanche Association to find your local avalanche forcast center.Be careful out there. –Christopher Van Tilburg, MD  …

At least not of the traditional, compulsory, watch-the-clock-until-the-bell-rings kind. As a growing movement of unschoolers believe, a steady diet of standardized testing and indoor inactivity is choking the creativity right out of our kids. The alternative: set 'em free.

Week of December 12-18, 1996 Kayaking the Tatshenshini Guided ascents in the Swiss Alps Last-minute stays in Sun Valley Weather on Mount Whitney in March Sea kayaking in Costa Rica Weather on Mount Whitney in March Question: I want to climb Mount Whitney…

Deep in South Africa's interior sprawls Kruger National Park, the crown jewel of game preserves with 2,500 lions, 2,750 rhinos, 8,500 elephants, 30,000 zebras, 100,000 impalas...and 650 miles of boundary wire keeping animals in and poachers out. Welcome to the postmodern Eden, where everyone behaves—or else.