Mountaineering
Archive
David Sharp's lonely death on Mount Everest revived the old, raging debates about personal ethics and the wisdom of commercially guided climbing. But whatever went right and wrong in 2006, the bottom line remains: You challenge this peak at your own risk, because its punishments are swift, terrible, and blind.
You need to learn your lesson! So listen up to Mike Roberto, a fast-talking consultant who uses the '96 saga as a teaching tool for students, lawyers, and businessmen.
It's time to take a fresh look at how to make the most of your 48 hours of weekend freedom. From high-adrenaline blasts to ultimate Zen sessions, we've created 37 custom plans to match every mood. Start packing—your adventure starts Friday.
What would you do after you'd been trapped in the wilderness and forced to cut off your own arm? You probably wouldn't try to become the first person to climb all 59 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks in winter—and alone.
Naysayers claim the age of adventure is over. On an unclimbed peak in Tibet, our man declares that it has just begun.
WHEN AMERICAN CLIMBER Greg Mortenson stumbled into the Pakistani village of Korphe in 1993—lost, starving, and separated from his expedition mates after an unsuccessful attempt to summit K2—he had no idea that the three days he’d spend recuperating there would change his life forever. To thank the locals who nursed…
Time to tune up that garageful of gear (we don't mean lawn chairs) and devote your next outing to full-throttle fun.
Because every second you’re not living life to the fullest is an opportunity missed—and the clock is ticking. To get you going, we’ve handpicked a no-regrets, full-throttle, see-the-world list of 50 things to do before you die—from climbing an 8,000-meter peak to making the perfect martini. Pro surfer Kelly Slater…
Last summer, the headless corpse of Reinhold Messner's brother Günther emerged out of the snowmelt on Pakistan's Nanga Parbat. After 35 years of nasty arguments and accusations, would the discovery finally reveal who was to blame for his death and solve one of mountaineering's greatest mysteries?
The future doesn’t just happen. The next frontiers of adventure, fitness, gear, and sport are crafted by bold visionaries with world-changing dreams—and the minds and muscles to make them real. Behold the 25 all-star innovators leading us beyond tomorrow. 1. Conrad Anker: High-Altitude Altruist 2. Josh Donlan:…
Name: DANIELLE FISHER Danielle Fisher BASE CAMP: Fisher in her parents’ backyard in Bow, Washington Home: Bow, Washington Gig: Mountaineer Height: 5’7″ Weight: 130 Age: 20 IN JUNE, FISHER became the youngest American to stand atop Mount Everest—and the youngest person ever to complete the Seven Summits, knocking…
It's time for a radical reform of high-altitude mountaineering�and a fresh debate over what it means to climb right
Pioneering climber, explorer, and mapmaker Bradford Washburn has shot some of the most epic mountain photography of all time�much of which has never seen the light of day. Kurt Markus delves into a cache of unforgettable images and reports on the long, full life of an alpine icon.
“Never say never, but I have no desire to climb over 8,000 meters again,” says mountaineering superstar Ed Viesturs. Well, you can’t blame him. Over the past 16 years, Steady Eddie has spent an estimated 25 days above 8K (26,240 feet) en route to becoming the first American to climb…
I climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in August. I have been skiing before but never in sub-zero conditions. Will two layers of long underwear under two layers of fleece and a waterproof, windproof shell jacket be enough to handle the cold at over 19,000 feet? Or do I really need to get down or something like it? Steve Moorpark, California
What are the best parka and boots for Aconcagua? Eugenia Sunnyvale, California
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?
Twelve authentic islands, luscious resorts, genuine fun
Road Trips skiing road trip Snowshoe Break: on the road in Colorado High-Speed Ski Safari Why choose between Summit County’s bounty, Jackson’s steeps, Steamboat’s trees, and Big Sky’s big sky? On this nine-day, Denver-to-Bozeman Rockies odyssey, they’re all yours. Day One: Rent a car for the 90-minute drive west…
Living well is a European tradition, but playing hard is the continent's secret passion. We discover five towns where you'll be both challenged and charmed.
It's climbing season again on Everest. And as hundreds of summit hopefuls converge at Base Camp, the great debate persists: Has the Big E become the Big Easy? Alpinists Greg Child and Dave Hahn take sides.
Help Wanted: Exum Mountain Guides, the country's premier climbing service, is looking for supremely talented alpinists with world-class résumés for seasonal work in the Tetons. Must be willing to follow in the footsteps of legends. If qualified, don't bother calling. We'll find you.
Chase your travel dreams with 48 handpicked adventures guaranteed to satisfy every type of wandering soul
A journey to the cradle of climbing reveals a strange new alpine environment, where glaciers are melting, mountains are falling, and nothing is as it was
To maximize the return on your investment in wanderlust, you need know-how and solid advice. We’re here to help. From saving on destination packages and high-value gear to insider trips and the bet reasons to blow a bundle, we’ve got the lowdown on affordable, rip-roaring, full-value adventure travel.
“Schoening leaned into his ax and braced himself for the impact. The rope thinned, then drew taut as a steel wire. For the next five minutes, he kept six men from falling of the face of the mountain.”
"He died doing what he loved best," they always say. But when climbers meet their end on the high peaks, the ordeal is just beginning for their wives, husbands, children, parents, and friends. An exclusive excerpt from Where the Mountain Casts Its Shadow
Cut your alpinism chops on North America's best routes.
Experience is the key to mountaineering prowess, but high-altitude fitness makes all the difference on summit day
So you want to climb a mountain, but you’ve never done it before. No sweatthere’s a first time for everything. Even the world’s greatest climbers were once beginners like you, gearing up with ropes, carabiners and crampons and heading for the hills for their first technical ascents. To help fuel…
Three years after a notorious kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan, new evidence and big changes emerge from Central Asia
Lodges at base camp? Tourists on oxygen? Everyone seems to have a vision for the next 50 years on the world's highest mountain.
Ten years ago, extreme snowboarder Stephen Koch cooked up a media-savvy plan to become the first to climb and ride down the Seven Summits. Now there's only one mountain left to conquer: Everest. And for his grand finale, Koch is determined to fling himself down the most dangerous descent possible.
Who says you can't take your children mountaineering? The trick is to choose the right summit—then watch as they amaze themselves by scaling it. These five peaks, in order from easiest to hardest, are handpicked to bring out your kid's inner Messner.
Want an easy plan to prepare you to climb a mountain—say, 14,494-foot Mount Whitney? Here's a five-week program that'll whip you into summit-worthy shape.
In honor of the 50th anniversary of Hillary and Tenzing's historic first Everest summit, we're opening the vaults to bring you the best stories ever written about the planet's tallest mountain. From Jon Krakauer's groundbreaking article, "Into Thin Air," to Brad Wetzler's account of sex, death and bad behavior at Base Camp, a collection of Outside's
Of course they do—they get to trek with camels. But you can, too! We’ve got the COOLEST TRIPS, TOP TEN TRENDS, EXPERT ADVICE, AND BEST NEW PLACES TO GET LOST IN 2003. So what are you waiting for? Giddyup! Star…
In Bhutan's pristine alpine sanctuary, even a heathen climber can see the light
Thirty years after losing his brother on a Himalayan peak, Reinhold Messner battles ugly accusations that he abandoned him at the top.
A generation ago, mounting an expedition meant drafting a herd of porters, slogging loads of gear to a rocky base camp, and laying siege to a Himalayan peak. These days, light, fast, and self-supported expeditions are in, and multisport explorers like Mike Libecki, Mark Synnott, and Brad Ludden are showing us how to do it. Here, our preview of the hottest adven
Mount Everest becomes a prize on TV's Global Extremes. Is this a Good Thing?
High over Hemingway's Africa, our hero discovered a last epic feat somehow still undone. Going where no man has ever bothered to go before, he vowed to become the first person to descend Mount Kilimanjaro on a pair of stubby Kneissel Big Foot snowboards. Never mind that it was illegal, and basically insane.
A quarter-century after he changed everything by summiting Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen, Reinhold Messner is looking fit, feeling adventurous, and acting about as mellow as a snapping turtle. Ah, well: Great men aren't always sweethearts—and Messner is still the best there ever was.
Remember the lessons of Everest 1996? Nobody else seems to. The world's highest peak is more crowded than ever—and ripe for a deadly reckoning.
It’s no wonder that the former Yugoslav republic of Slovenia has produced some of the world’s best mountaineers: You can’t travel north of the country’s capital, Ljubljana, without butting up against some of Europe’s most precipitous ranges. And since the 11-year-old country is still underneath most Americans’ radar, Europeans have…
How To Get Off the Beaten Trail (or River, or Mountain) With These 43 Soon-To-Be-Classic National Park Adventure
32 YEARS AGO this summer, my pal, the crime novelist Jim Crumley, his overeducated farmer friend from Arkansas, Harold McDuffy, and yours truly hiked six miles to Bowman Lake in Glacier National Park. For someone who had spent most of his life in the desert country of southeastern Oregon, this…
Ten lodges where you can take it all in, and then launch an expedition out the back door
After a dark year, Nepal offers up a trove of glittering new prizes: 103 peaks and miles of virgin terrain
When the weather turns ugly and conditions get rough, every mountaineer must make the ultimate choice: storm the summit, or call it quits.
We’ve learned a lot in a quarter-century of roaming the planet. This month, to kick off Outside‘s silver anniversary, we’ve chosen 25 bold, epic, soul-nourishing experiences that every true adventurer must seek out—from the relatively plush and classic to the cutting-edge and hard-core. All that’s left for you is the…
It sounded like a good idea at the time: Journey to the sopping epicenter of the wettest place on earth, bag the peak, and get back in time for supper. But that was before the clouds clamped down on Mount Waialeale. Before the jungle closed in and the map became irrelevant. Before the machete-wielding, pig-hunting swamp guide said, "Would be so easy to get lost
New zealand may be smaller than Colorado, but it sure crams a lot of outdoor superlatives into a tiny space—mountains rivaling Europe’s Alps, fjords to match Norway’s, and beaches, forests, and hiking trails as beautiful as any in the world. If you have limited time to see it all, head…
Want some sound business advice? Go climb a mountain. Hey, it's what all the savvy capitalists are doing these days.
“There is a reasonable chance somebody could die,” says a Dallas-based doctor and Hardrocker. “I’ve fallen, and almost been swept away by a waterfall.”
Fifty-odd years ago, a young guy's visit to Vanuatu inspired the legend of Bali Hai. Thankfully, the good life's still here. Why aren't you?
Once you've made a name for yourself in the burly world of ski mountaineering, astonished your buds, bagged a few sponsors, shot some sick footage that had Banff buzzing—in short, once you're at the top of your game, can you actually take a vacation? The author investigates in Peru's Cordillera Blanca, where six adventurers scramble to beat "poachers" to f
His life’s grand pursuit has killed his closest companions. His bride-to-be is his best friend’s widow. His exploding fame owes as much to happenstance (stumbling upon Mallory’s body on Everest) and luck (escaping an avalanche in Tibet) as it does to his great skill as a mountaineer. An intimate look at the serendipitous, tumultuous, and nearly unbearable success of Conrad Anker.
Get lost in Alaska's Wrangell--St. Elias: It's six Yellowstones' worth of icy lakes,anonymous meadows, and peaks you won't find on any map.
Five wunderfamilies show how children are no impediment to real, no-holds-barred, self-supported adventure.
Discover the wild side of Greece and western Turkey with 12 getaways—from Spartan to Olympian.
