Twice a year, all the companies that make camping, climbing, hiking, paddling gear, clothes, shoes, and gadgets get together in one cement bunker in Salt Lake City to hock their wares. It's called the Outdoor Retailer Show, and it's the biggest gearapalooza in the land. Mostly the show allows shop…

The hottest transgender talent in professional sports is making the competition see pink

Andean Adventure Refuge in The King’s Palace September 17, 1997 “Por favor, senor,” the porter said, reaching for my pack. It was obviously not the custom for guests to carry their own bags. He hefted my dusty pack onto his shoulder, my climbing helmet swinging dangerously close…

Flush with tech-boom cash and answering to no one, 'Alpinist' chronicles the exploits of a loosely aligned group of climbers known as the Brotherhood, who devote themselves to difficult routes, minimal gear, and big-time pain and suffering. Are these guys just a holier-than-thou elite—or the salvation of mountaineering?

Five-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong won his first stage of the 2004 Tour Saturday, edging out CSC’s Ivan Basso on the 128-mile mountain course from Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille. Although Armstrong put considerable time between himself and his main rivals he still wasn’t able to wrest the yellow jersey…

We've landed in Salt Lake City, and today we're headed to the Outdoor Retailer on-water demo, where we'll get our first glimpse of kayakas, SUPs, and all the goodies and gadgets that go with them.  Then the show officially kicks off tomorrow, and here are a few cool new…

I plan to buy a bike for my wife, a long-overdue birthday present, to be used mostly on backcountry roads (gravel, dirt, or tarmac) but not on trails. I'm looking for something that is good quality and will be comfortable for a 30-mile ride. A racing bike seems too fragile, while the ubiquitous mountain bike seems like overkill. Is a hybrid (whatever that is!) the way to go? I really require your guidance, as this gift is somewhat late. Steven Westmount, Quebec

Twenty years after wolves were reintroduced in the Northern Rockies, many politicians would still love to see them eradicated, and hunters and ranchers are allowed to kill them by the hundreds. But the animals are not only surviving—they're expanding their range at a steady clip. For the people who live on the wild edges of wolf country, their presence can be magical and maddening at once.

photo by hermanusbackpackers; used under CC license A great white shark near New Zealand has set the world record for deepest known dive for a shark, according to Voxy. The shark, known as “Shack” by scientists in the country, dove to approximately 1,200 meters, or about 3,900 feet. Malcolm Francis,…

Outside magazine, April 2001   Pure as the Driven Snow I THINK IT’S GREAT that Rob Story profiled Tom Burt, a true backcountry patriot and die-hard snowboarder (“Legend of the Fall Line,” February). Burt has amazing style, not to mention physical strength. I, and surely many others,…