Mountaineering
ArchiveFor three hours, a team of scientists collected samples from deep inside the crater of a seemingly peaceful volcano. Suddenly, an apocalyptic eruption shot white-hot rocks into the darkening sky. Nine people were killed high on the Colombian mountain that day, and volcanologist Stanley Williams barely escaped with his life. In an exclusive preview from the cont
An oral history of Everest's endearingly dysfunctional village
There's nobody more qualified to drag you to the top of the world than Babu Chiri Sherpa. And he'll gladly do it. But when he's through, he's got some business of his own to attend to. Namely, obliterating every last climbing record on Everest, shattering the myth of his people as high-altitude baggage handlers, and taking the Sherpa brand global.
Exploring the most enchantingly rugged places on earth is easy. Just follow our guide to the world's ten classic treks, put one foot in front of the other—and don't forget to take it slow.
Close encounters of the bear-human kind are skyrocketing, though actual attacks remain few and far between. Hopefully, new outreach education efforts will keep things that way.
Eight friends. Four volcanoes. Nine days. A primer on self-guided ski mountaineering.
Thanks to improved safety standards and tandem flights, scores of acrophobes are giving hang gliding a second wind. And now, they're soaring in style—over the Golden Gate Bridge.
An ice-climbing trip to Scotland—land of rain, sleet, and mad outdoorsmen—brings new respect for the sport's big-hearted pioneers
Terror put a chill on global tourism, but adventure travelers—used to a little uncertainty—seem determined to stay on the road
A new wave of adventurers makes the case that the world has much left to offer
LAST FALL, 20-year-old human fly Chris Sharma clawed up the first 80 feet of limestone on Biographie Extensiona 70-move, 140-foot climbing route in Ceuse, south of Grenoble, France, that has yet to see its first full ascent and that is believed by many to be the hardest sport climb in…
Outside's guide to the coolest trips and the world's top new adventure travel spots.
One climber broke his back. One wandered in a daze. One tried, and failed, to save a friend. They all left behind a moment and a place that would haunt a dead mountaineer's daughter for decades. A pilgrimage in search of a lost father.
A cold mountain, a mismatched pair, and a meditation on the strange chemistry of partnership
If you want to get high, there's still a price to be paid for invading the towering ranges—despite some newfangled shortcuts
Using cutting-edge techniques, three young mavericks set out to tackle one of the hardest routes in the Himalayas
The peaks of the Italian Alps may look daunting, but climbing them is la dolce vita.
A partner drops out, one thing leads to another, and suddenly our hero finds that peer pressure has him fighting for his life
Some of the most innovative boats ever built prepare for the fiercest race in sailing history
On a sunny day in 1953, a tall young New Zealander named Edmund Hillary became the first human to stand atop the world's highest mountain—and, thereafter, a paragon of grace and bonhomie for explorers who would follow.
In an exclusive excerpt from the book by the men who led the quest to solve the mystery of George Mallory's disappearance, the authors for the first time reveal the evidence they uncovered—and offer their chilling re-creation of Mallory and Irvine's last hours.
New School Skiing is teaching good old hotdogging some radical new tricks
Alaskan eccentric Trigger Twigg attempts the first winter ascent of the world's tallest face
They go to eastern Honduras, the wildest stretch of idyll that our hemisphere has to offer
After a lifetime of wanting, Jon Krakauer made it to the world's highest point. What he and the other survivors would discover in the months to come, however, is that it's even more difficult to get back down.