Rock Climbing
Archive
How to see your stomping grounds as a concrete jungle.
There's something about New Zealand—and it's not just the soaring mountains, the red-hot culture, or the world-class Kiwi wines. STEPHANIE PEARSON goes in search of the adventure gene that inspires four million enlightened souls and makes NZ's islands a heaven for travelers.
Over four days this past May, 26-year-old Estes Park, Colorado–based climber Tommy Caldwell completed what is arguably the greatest big-wall climb in history. Using only his hands and feet, he made a first free ascent—no pulling up on mechanical aids allowed—of the Dihedral Wall, an obscure route on the west…
I'm a casual rock climber and want to upgrade my entry-level rock shoes. I see there are both cbered and fairly flat models available, but why would you ever need to crunch up your toes and wear the cbered model? All the advertising refers to higher performance, but I don't really understand how this helps. So I may go for a flat shoe, perhaps one with a Velcro closure for easy in-and-out access. What do you think? Karen Wellington, New Zealand
In the red-rock high ground of South Africa, climbing still comes down to black and white. Greg Child goes on belay to explore the crags, boulder gardens, and post-Apartheid complications of the world's next climbing mecca.
For years, virtually no one could beat Lynn Hill to the top of a climbing wall. Then along came Isabelle Patissier, and beyond a shadow of a doubt things are changing.
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.
Savor our top 20 wild Canadian adventures (including 5 new parks) for heaping helpings of glacial lakes, alpine meadows, swift rivers, and snowcapped peaks
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.
Meet your secret muscles—and find out how these hidden assets can leverage your leap to peak performance
Chase your travel dreams with 48 handpicked adventures guaranteed to satisfy every type of wandering soul
Your prescription for matching next-generation outerwear with your favorite winter pursuit is ready
Ten handpicked resorts that are rich in sun-drenched beauty, high on adventure, and fine-tuned for luxury.
Ten North American spas that will recharge your mind, body, and soul
It's ok—relax. We've got your big holiday score all wrapped up: the latest shiny new toys, sharp tools, and smokin' threads to help you keep you adventure resolutions.
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.
Escape urban gridlock in West Virginia, where country roads and mountain mamas are only a fraction of the attraction
If it's Riviera glitter you're after, head to Monaco. But for endless climbing, epic singletrack, and wild seacoast adventure, set a course for Finale Ligure.
Are the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients packed into everything you chug and chew the real secret to becoming a finely tuned sports superstar? Turn the page.
Experience is the key to mountaineering prowess, but high-altitude fitness makes all the difference on summit day
Low's Gully is a 6,000-foot chasm that gets deadly when it rains. This month, a team of top canyoneers take it on, with only one way out.
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
When it comes to winter sports, there are skills, and there are skillz. We're talking about catching big air off the halfpipe, making like Apolo Ohno on skate-skis, building a perfect snow ramp for launchpad jumps, and climbing a frozen waterfall. Ready to get with it? Then listen to the mad wisdom of pros who know.
Santa’s little climber: one move from the top on Hitchcock Pinnacle at Arizona’s Mount Lemmon. Q: A few of us from Virginia want to take a rock-climbing trip somewhere warm during the Christmas holidays. We’re considering Red Rocks in Nevada and California’s Joshua Tree National Park, among…
With his supreme skills on rock, hypercompetitive intensity, and new-age bag of tricks, Dean Potter scrambles up big walls faster than any man alive. So what's the trajectory of all this velocity?
One score and five years ago, this magazine burst onto the scene with a bold idea and a mission. The idea was that, against all odds, adventure is alive and well—and a force to reckon with and celebrate. The mission was to find new heroes, phenomenal athletes and explorers, the…
This September, speed climber Dean potter flashed Half Dome and El Capitan in a continuous 23-hour, 23-minute blitz that left his competition eating chalk. The 30-year-old Zen king of Yosemite is the first ever to free-climb—that is, use ropes and protection only as backup in case he falls, but otherwise…
Every adventurer knows those magical moments when it all flows—and those wretched times when it won't
TALL LATTE BEFORE WORK, double espresso in the afternoon, short cappuccino after dinner—it's the only way to tolerate Seattle's gray days. But when the clouds break and the Cascades, the Olympics, and Puget Sound appear, you know where you need to be. Grab a quadruple shot and get going.
 Marine iguanas? Yes. Tourist crowding? No.: Bartolome Island in the Galapagos Q: I'm looking for a Latin American vacation spot with great snorkeling and rock climbing and not too many tourists. Any ideas? — Carrie, Portland, Oregon Adventure Advisor: A: The first place that…
Monsoon hopeful: Arizona’s Mount Lemmon Q: We had planned a climbing trip to northwest New Mexico and southeast Arizona but are worried there’s nowhere open given the recent fires. We’re looking specifically for top-roping spots. The skill level in our group ranges from amateur to intermediate, and…
For two credulous seekers, dreaming of the lost big-wall treasure of the Sierra Madre Occidental is better than the real thing
Most families plan one big blowout vacation each summer—which still leaves a lot of summer left to enjoy. Our advice: Think weekends. Our seven getaways are active enough to keep older kids entertained, yet won’t be daunting for the younger ones. And they’re close to major cities, so you won’t…
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…
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…
br NAME: LISA RANDS AGE: 26 GIG: BOULDERING SPECIALTY: TECHNICAL OUTDOOR CLIMBS HOMETOWN: BISHOP, CALIFORNIA HEIGHT: 5′ 4″ WEIGHT: 115 POUNDS SEEN NEXT: September 14 and 15 in Rovereto,…
#1 You must merge with the living energy of the mountain. #2 That nagging headache may be the result of an avalanche that has just crushed your tent. #3 In order to endure the most dire physical suffering at 25,000 feet, you must inhabit other dimensions free from pain. (Note: Pain returns upon reentry into the body.) #4 You will be compelled to ascend the most harrowing face in the Himalayas, alone. #5 Go home, break both of your legs, and start all over again.
WILL GADD is a world-class adventurer who wants his exploits to pay off. He tackles breakthrough climbs all over the planet (sounds good), makes so-so money doing it (less good), and could easily get killed every time he goes to work (sounds bad). Is this any way to make a living?
Warm, windswept, unfettered, ever-changing—North America's four great desert regions hide untold possibilities for classic winter adventure. They may be scorching and sere, with prickly dangers over every horizon, but if you know where to go—and how to explore wisely—you'll find these 500,000 square miles of desolation downright hospitable.
Welcome to Bigfoot's winter hideaway, where unclimbed mountains, roaring whitewater, and a new luxury eco-lodge await you
Our thoroughly opinionated guide to the five sexiest sporting islands.
Calling all climbers: beckoning walls in Italy’s mighty Dolomites Q: I’m planning a trip to the Dolomites and am after suggestions of must-see places since there is so much to see and not enough days to see it all in. Is it worth bringing climbing gear for…
On the other side of the world are other worldly sights-Tasmanian Devils, spirit houses, and the greatest reef of them all.
Forget the Yosemite circus. Head north to Bugaboo Provincial Park, a fortress of world-class granite in a quiet corner of British Columbia.
Beyond the top ropes and chalk stains, Joshua Tree's famous granite reveals its more mysterious faces.
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.
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.
Going core with Yvon Chouinard—leery capitalist, walking contradiction
Meet the toughest wall rats ever. Some of them are still redpointing routes (fused ankles and broken backs notwithstanding). Or running their own companies. Or passing the torch to young acolytes. A portrait gallery of American climbing's greatest generation.
The skinny on rough-hewn adventure in the long, tall land that has it all: from deserts and salt beds to glaciers and geysers.
You could call it a youthful passion, but why mince words? What seized the author at age 19 was a fateful obsession with El Capitan.
Using cutting-edge techniques, three young mavericks set out to tackle one of the hardest routes in the Himalayas
Will Earth's most fragile unexplored ecosystems survive the age of adventure?
The peaks of the Italian Alps may look daunting, but climbing them is la dolce vita.
A corps of rock rats in a hurry is putting the pedal to the mettle in big-wall climbing
The Pacific Rim's most explosive endurance sport combines speed, pain, and ancient tradition
The rules (there are only three of them) remain the same for a lifetime, and they come from the mouths of babes
Some of the most innovative boats ever built prepare for the fiercest race in sailing history