There鈥檚 a reason people loved 听when it was introduced in 1997. Sure, it made a damn fine martini, but in a sea of 听补苍诲 , it was also one of the few small-batch liquors available. That鈥檚 since changed as looser distribution laws have lowered the bar for microdistilleries to set up shop. 鈥淭hings are starting to snowball,鈥� says Distiller magazine editor . 鈥淭he market has grown 50 percent every year since 2010.鈥�

While everybody wants to make a Scotch or a bourbon, focusing on aged spirits isn鈥檛 a smart business move for a startup. 鈥淭hey need to get something into the market to keep the lights on,鈥� says Faulkner. So newer distilleries are creating clear liquors like gin, vodka, white rum and whiskey, and tequila, using high-quality grains, botanicals, fruits, and vegetables. We asked a dozen bartenders for their favorites. These seven came out on top.

1. ; Quechee, Vermont; $29*
2. ; Brooklyn, New York; $39
3. ; Gardiner, New York; $27
4. ; Oaxaca, Mexico; $50
5. ; Missoula, Montana; $28
6. ; Crested Butte, Colorado; $27
7. ; Denver, Colorado; $43

*The print version of this article misstated the name of Vermont Spirits. 国产吃瓜黑料 regrets the error.

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Christopher McDougall鈥檚 best-selling 2009 book Born to Run posited the theory that human beings were once 鈥減ersistence hunters鈥濃�攖hat is, our ancestors would stalk quick-footed predators like antelope across the plains of Africa for days on end, until the beasts finally succumbed to exhaustion. If true, it would go a ways toward explaining how homosapiens evolved to run the kinds of long distances exhibited in sports like ultrarunning.听

A new documentary, , puts that theory to the test. Fair Chase, based on a 2011 国产吃瓜黑料 article by Charles Bethea, follows ten distance runners across the high plains of Northern New Mexico over a single day in August of 2011听as they attempt to chase down a pronghorn antelope.

A handful of indigenous tribes still practice this method, including Kalahari bushmen of Botswana and the Raramuri people of Northern Mexico. We talked with Emma Tammi, co-director on the film, to see how the film鈥檚 cohort of joggers fared,听补苍诲 whether she still believes persistence hunting could be a viable explanation for our evolution as runners. (Warning: Spoilers听ahead.)

OUTSIDE: First of all, did it work鈥攄id they catch the antelope?
TAMMI: Well, the team basically听ran a marathon over rough New Mexico ranch land in brutal August heat. They knew they couldn't run faster than the antelope, but that they had a shot at exhausting it after many hours. It was an experiment but also a run for dinner鈥攏ot another first place鈥攚hich made them all the more inspired. Did they succeed? You鈥檒l just have to watch.*

What were the challenges of filming a daylong chase through the plains?
Keeping up with the runners. It鈥檚 crazy watching the film鈥攊t looks like they鈥檙e going for a jog on a summer鈥檚 day. But the terrain is much more insane than it looks, and they鈥檙e going very fast. We have ATVs, bikes, and a drone at one point.听

But it raises questions about how we get our meat in 2015 versus early in human history, and which one is more humane? Some of the runners were actually from Kenya and had done persistence hunting at home as kids. They had chased larger animals and had used dogs. For the Kenyan guys, this wasn鈥檛 anything controversial. For some of the American guys, telling their friends, they were like 鈥渨hoa, don鈥檛 hurt the animal.鈥� One of our runners was a vegetarian. He loves a challenge and loves to be a part of it. He鈥檇 take much more issue with a cow farm than he would with a pack of people chasing down one antelope.

Were there any surprises or big revelations?
I think that all of the guys involved鈥攁nd certainly us as filmmakers鈥攕tarted feeling connected to the biology of our bodies and really started to think about why our bodies are able to run long distances. Certainly getting in touch with some sort of ancestral custom and habit was really interesting. It was inspiring and a little superhuman, quite frankly. Whether you鈥檙e a marathoner or not, it鈥檚 an infectious passion.

Are you partnering with any researchers to bring your findings to the scientific community?
We haven鈥檛 done that in any formal way, but we do interview two scientists and authors in the film. They complement the runners鈥� personal journey with the science behind humans and antelopes as runners. There are all these cave paintings of humans chasing down antelope. Daniel Lieberman** [a Harvard scientist interviewed for the film] has done a lot of research on why it鈥檚 better to run barefoot. He breaks down a lot of the biology in the film.

What kind of argument can you make for persistence hunting now?
I don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 an argument for persistence hunting as much as it opens up questions about how we live. Some of the runners talked about getting so close to catching the antelope, something primal kicked in, something they had never experienced before. The camaraderie they felt was special. Not living in tribes anymore and going after meat for basic survival, they felt some human instincts that were exhilarating. Beyond the biology of why we鈥檙e born to run, it was really exciting.

Are these guys going to try again?
There鈥檚 no follow up chase slated, but the guys are open to trying it again. Maybe they鈥檒l inspire someone else to try the next persistence hunt.

What do you want viewers to take away from this film?
After we finished filming, and during it, I felt inspired to run. Regardless of whether or not it inspires you听to run, it will inspire you to find a challenge outside your comfort zone and go after it. Some of the runners are professionals, but a lot of these guys have other full-time jobs and they live their lives for the next challenge. That鈥檚 why we called the film Fair Chase. Metaphorically, the chase is never over. The next challenge is on the horizon.

*This reply was altered from its original language at the request of the filmmakers, who asked that the end of the film not be spoiled.

**Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled Daniel Lieberman's name.

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I put on a motorcycle helmet and buckle into what鈥檚 basically a 12-foot-long beach chair affixed to three wheels and a sail. My feet rest on pedals that steer the tiny front wheel, and I point the contraption across the dry lakebed toward听a distant peak. After I give it听a few kick-pushes to get the thing moving, the sail catches a gust of wind and I take off.

Within seconds, I鈥檓 shooting across the desert at highway speeds. I feel the acceleration in my chest.听Chunks of dirt batter my face. The lifting sail pulls one of the rear wheels off the ground. I cling to that side to avoid flipping. It鈥檚 my first spin in what is known to those who build them as a land yacht听or dirt boat. It鈥檚 a Friday in late March, and a coterie of dirt boaters has flocked to the Ivanpah Dry Lake on the California-Nevada border to race for the title of national champion in the 41st America鈥檚 Landsailing Cup.

If you鈥檝e never heard of land sailing before, you鈥檙e forgiven. The sport gained traction in Europe in the early 20th century. To this day, Mazda sponsors land-sailing teams across the Atlantic. But it never really caught wind in the United States, and today it鈥檚 relegated to a handful of haphazard events held in the dustiest parts of the West. Many of these 鈥渟ailors鈥� (a number of which are water sailors as well) have spent the bulk of their lives manipulating the desert winds and have forgotten that when most people think of sailing, they imagine madras pants and snobbery鈥攅ssentially the judge in Caddyshack. But when I discovered land sailing, I was immediately intrigued. Traditional sailing is a vaunted activity of well-heeled bluebloods whose surnames call to mind the regality of the nation鈥檚 Founding Fathers. Land sailing, by comparison, looks like sailing鈥檚 wayward, mutant disciple and is relegated to the venues you鈥檇 last think to spend a fun weekend away. Why isn鈥檛 it better known? I had to find out what has kept it so well hidden.

Land sailing is a lot like traditional sailing in the way it鈥檚 raced, but way faster and generally carried out in homemade rigs. Ivanpah is the site of the sport鈥檚 current speed record of 126 mph, set by a British engineer in 2009. By comparison, sailors racing for glory in multimillion-dollar catamarans in the America鈥檚 Cup top out at about 55 mph. Land sailing鈥檚 helmeted drivers are called pilots, not skippers, and look more Formula One than yacht club; the sport is a marriage of the two.

Pioneers and neophytes alike construct a DIY village at Ivanpah鈥攖he scene is like Burning Man for speed freaks. Land听sailors refer to these desert forays as 鈥減ilgrimages,鈥� which makes the sport something of a religion. A 60-year-old retired carpenter from Santa Cruz, California, named Duncan Harrison had invited me to stay in his camper. Harrison, with a sun-worn visage and an impish laugh, is land sailing鈥檚 loyal chronicler鈥攈e founded the online journal Dirt Boating Magazine in 2013. The sailors spent the week racing and celebrating a pastime that in its centuries of existence has never become mainstream. And it may never听if enthusiasts don鈥檛 find a way to inject the sport with new blood.

鈥淚t鈥檚 too remote a sport,鈥� says former North American Land Sailing Association (NALSA) president Dennis Bassano. (NALSA hosts the lakebed race.) And it鈥檚 solely dependent on the weather conditions. 鈥淵ou get out there and there鈥檚 no guarantee it鈥檒l blow,鈥� Bassano says. 鈥淪o they don鈥檛 have what it takes to wait, survive out there, and entertain yourself.鈥�

As long as there鈥檚 been a wheel and a sail, people have pieced together terrestrial wind-powered vehicles. Paintings of wind听carts have been found in the tombs of ancient Egyptian pharaohs. The Belgians used carts with sails as military troop carriers in the 16th century. The first documented land-sailing races took place in 1898, between Louis Bleriot, a famous French aviator, and the Dumond brothers of Belgium, some of the first automobile makers.

It wasn鈥檛 until after World War I听补苍诲 the advent of the pneumatic tire, which made the boats operational on varied terrain, that the sport rose in popularity in Europe. Ubiquitous abandoned airfields and surplus aircraft parts spurred competition. During the postwar era, jury-rigged land sailing popped up in the United States听as cross-prairie transportation and pure fun.

The first land yacht models commercially manufactured in the United States, called the Desert Dart and the Sand Sailor, emerged in the late 1960s. The Dart was the first to have a 鈥渞aked鈥� mast, meaning it was angled backward to flatten the sails and better balance the boat. In 1974, hang-glider manufacturers听invented the and, in 1976, the Manta Twin. These designs built on the legacy that came before them鈥攍ight frames and efficient wings鈥攁nd are still the go-to models today.

Land sailing鈥檚 rise in the United States听is largely attributed to Don Rypinski, who raced with an international team of land听sailors 1,800 miles across the Sahara Desert, from Algeria to Mauritania, in 1971. (National Geographic filmed and televised the feat in a special called .) Under his guidance, the nascent U.S. racing community attached itself to a preexisting European infrastructure. The first America鈥檚 Landsailing Cup hosted by NALSA, which Rypinski founded,听was held at Roach Dry Lake in Nevada, just down the road from Ivanpah, in 1974.

In those days, steel and fiberglass were cheap, and many in the land-sailing community were engineers or craftspeople. Mad geniuses in the desert, they pushed the sport toward a competitive awakening. Before NALSA, competed against each other in dry lakebeds or airfields with homemade yachts built from water pipes and wheelbarrow wheels. Last summer, NALSA hosted in which scores of sailors from 47 different countries competed at Ivanpah.听

Despite the international participation, the sport hasn鈥檛 taken off in the United States听quite as Rypinski envisioned. Accessibility is at the heart of the problem. The French and Belgians take their children on field trips to coastal land-sailing schools and encourage membership in generations-old clubs with hundreds of members. Meanwhile, favored land-sailing spots鈥攍ike the Smith Creek Playa, three hours east of Reno along Highway 50, dubbed 鈥渢he loneliest road in America鈥濃�攁re just too remote to attract mainstream attention. Rypinski says the oil crisis in the early 鈥�70s is partly to blame for stymying the sport in its infancy because it limited the distance people were willing to drive their gas-guzzling campers.

Today, land听sailors are having difficulty securing places to host races and shelling out for general liability insurance. Appropriate sailing venues are far from populated areas and in regions where weather is fickle. Furthermore, perhaps most consequentially, NALSA hasn鈥檛 tried reaching out to young people. Sailors just bring newcomers when they can. 鈥淎 lot of people don鈥檛 know we exist as a sport,鈥� says Alan Watson, president of the International Land and Sandyachting Federation. 鈥淏ut our life is in getting youth involved.鈥�

Sunday, two days after my first solo ride, is championship day in the desert. Spectators and some families arrive, including one group from Chile with three kids eager to compete. The few young people who learn the sport usually follow a parent into it and often have to travel a long way to race against others. Out of the desert, Rypinski appears with the 鈥渨indbuggy鈥� he built in 1958 and raced in Europe. He had turned 79 the day before. 鈥淚鈥檓 getting too old for this shit,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his thing isn鈥檛 competitive anymore, but neither am I.鈥� He no longer races, but year after year, he shows up.

Flags from various countries鈥� land-sailing clubs hang on the wall of the race听committee tent as Bassano begins the mandatory pilots鈥� meeting. The tent shakes in the violent wind, and the 70 or so racers inside clamor with restlessness. With gleaming trophies behind him, Bassano goes through the race rules鈥攁nd some camp rules. 鈥淲atch your dogs,鈥� he said. 鈥淣obody likes your dogs when they pee on tools or wheels.鈥�

鈥淗ow do you know it鈥檚 the dogs?鈥� someone yells. Harrison grins a knowing grin.

Race time: The Manta pilots line up to start and can barely hold down their boats in the gusts blowing out of the south. Strapped into their aluminum crafts and adorned with motorcycle helmets and motley protective getups, they look like a menacing road gang from Mad Max. Race committee head Mary Bassano, Dennis鈥櫶齱ife, drops the checkered flag, and the听Mantas are off. At a far mark, one capsizes in a dirt听cloud. As per the rules, the race counts as long as somebody completes a lap within 15 minutes. In ideal conditions, a race would be over long before then, but it鈥檚 a close call in today鈥檚 conditions. One by one, the pack sails across the line, trying to keep that windward wheel down and sending a wall of dust in front of some photographers鈥攔eally just family members trying to capture the smiles on the finishers鈥� faces.

The afternoon is a revolving door of several boat classes going around the marks. The big boats, spaceship-looking and each of a unique design, rip around the course at 60听to听90 mph. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like a ballet,鈥� Mary Bassano says. Spectators stand rapt in the grueling sun, completely absorbed in their esoteric ritual and the little world they鈥檝e kept alive. I wonder if something so beloved could possibly die.

Contrary to Dennis Bassano鈥檚 theory that young people who might join land sailing are turned away by capricious weather conditions, it has become clear to me that U.S. land听sailors themselves are responsible for keeping their sport hidden, if only involuntarily. They鈥檙e too busy doing it鈥攖raveling to and from the desert and building and maintaining their crafts鈥攖o concern themselves with marketing it. But it鈥檚 safe to say that even if NALSA were to collapse in a generation, there will still be pockets of people out there putting sails on wheels, and they鈥檒l find ways to race their contraptions.

After his race, Harrison returns to camp glowing with adrenaline. Excited to have snagged a first-place finish, he sits down next to two friends. 鈥淭ears your arms out of their sockets,鈥� he says of the intensity of steering. 鈥淒o this for a week and you鈥檒l be walking like an ape.鈥� As the sun goes down, I head out for another ride. Harrison yells after me, asking for my blood type.

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With more than 27,000 guides nationwide operating as part of the $1 billion outdoor industry, you鈥檇 think it鈥檇 be easy to book a fishing trip in Colorado. Turns out it鈥檚 not, something James Hamilton,听a lifelong fly-fisherman and backcountry skier,听discovered firsthand.听

鈥淚t was painful,鈥� the 25-year-old says. 鈥淚 was playing phone tag over and over. We鈥檙e so used to these easy online marketplaces, I thought, this is a product that needs to exist.鈥�

Because many guides don鈥檛 have social media accounts, much less usable websites, finding someone capable of leading you into the wilderness can be next to impossible. To address this issue, Hamilton started Boston-based , with co-founder MacGill Davis, 23, in January. The goal: Build a universal platform鈥攃omplete with reviews, payment, and direct messaging鈥攆or clients to track down and hire guides.

GuideHire isn鈥檛 the first company in this space. But unlike some of its competitors (think , , and ), it鈥檚 more than an online travel agency where clients can book trips. Think of it more like an online dating site: GuideHire introduces a client to a guide, and then steps back to let them handle the logistics.

GuideHire also publishes user-submitted reviews that the company听vets and runs past the guides听(to make sure they鈥檝e actually听toured with the听reviewer/client). Clients can book, pay, and message their guides directly through the site. The company says it wants to help guides as much as clients by giving them visibility and a stable platform to market trips.

For these services, GuideHire takes 10 percent of booking fees, but Hamilton says that commission is negotiable. The guide can compensate for the fee to protect their margins听by slightly increasing their price on the site. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to lower the barrier of entry for people to get into these kinds of activities,鈥� says Hamilton. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to get them a new kind of client听补苍诲 help them grow their businesses.鈥�

Since launching its website a month ago, the company has built听a network of about 40 Northeastern guides and is looking to expand nationwide by October. One of its clients, in New Jersey, says it has gotten a few clients in the past month thanks to GuideHire.听

鈥淕uideHire makes it possible to reach people who aren鈥檛 hands-on and already involved,鈥� said Sea Bright听founder Carter McCoy. 鈥淚t gets us out there for people who are traveling to the area and aren鈥檛 necessarily familiar with the sport.鈥澨�

Mike Hart, a fishing guide in Massachusetts, has posted his services on GuideHire. He hasn鈥檛 seen results yet听but believes the company has potential to change the industry, which still largely relies on word听of听mouth.

鈥淔or somebody who doesn鈥檛 have the resources, they aren鈥檛 going to go into a fly shop and pick up a business card,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t can be intimidating. GuideHire is a directory. You plug in what you want to do and where you want to do it. I think it will work.鈥�

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Emergency response nonprofit Oxfam has begun employing high-altitude workers to rebuild and supply aid to remote villages in the Khumbu Valley鈥攖he region Everest climbers pass through on their way to the mountain鈥攖hat were devastated by the April 25 earthquake in Nepal, the organization told 国产吃瓜黑料.

Oxfam has hired 36 Nepalese mountain guides and porters at Laprak village in the Gorkha district, where 90 percent of homes were destroyed, according to the organization鈥檚 humanitarian press officer, Lauren Hartnett. These are guides who make their living carrying supplies through the Khumbu to various trekking and climbing destinations, like Everest Base Camp, for private outfitters.

Oxfam is paying porters the market rate of 1,200 Nepalese rupees, about $12, per day. By contrast, porters employed by private outfitters to haul gear and supplies through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall between Base Camp and Camp I on Everest are paid $12.50 per trip.

The first team of porters and guides trekked for four hours from Barpak on May 17, carrying 2.5 tons of aid material, such as tarpaulins, hygiene kits, and food, to reach Laprak. Air support there remains limited. The epicenter of the April 25 earthquake was in Barpak, about ten听miles away from Laprak.听

The effort has so far brought aid to more than 160,000 people in seven of the worst-affected areas in Nepal, according to Harnett. Oxfam鈥檚 top priorities are supplying people with safe shelter and helping them protect their livelihoods so they don鈥檛 become dependent on foreign aid. Two-thirds of Nepalese rely on small-scale farming for a living. Harnett said Oxfam hopes to supply aid to 400,000 people before monsoon season starts at the end of June. Oxfam expects its relief operation will take three years and cost $56 million. So far, Oxfam has raised almost $50 million.

鈥淩elief must reach remote communities as quickly as possible,鈥� Harnett wrote in an email. 鈥淲e found that employing porters and mountain guides was a solution that worked for everyone. Porters and mountain guides who struggle finding work have an income, and aid is delivered in a safe and quick way. Their expertise is often fundamental to reach remote communities.鈥�

Oxfam is currently attempting to reach other isolated communities as soon as possible. 鈥淲e need to keep providing immediate emergency relief to people, and at the same time start supporting them towards long-term recovery,鈥� Harnett wrote. 鈥淧eople need to be able to start rebuilding their lives.鈥�

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Last month, developers unveiled the world鈥檚 first sustainable, algae-based surfboard at the premiere of National Geographic鈥檚 documentary听World鈥檚 Smart Cities: San Diego,听which the board will tour with around the world.听

鈥淗ow can you be a surfer and totally connected to the environment, but your connection is a piece of plastic made from fossil fuels?鈥� says Stephen Mayfield, one of the board鈥檚 creators and director of the at UCSD. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 seem right.鈥�

So Mayfield and his team came up with an idea to address this irony: What if you made a surfboard out of algae? He shared the idea with Marty Gilchrist,听the business director at , North America鈥檚 largest surfboard blank maker,听who immediately saw the product鈥檚 potential.听

If they were going to change how the industry made surfboards, it made sense to start from the bottom up. Surfboard blanks鈥攖he blocks of material from which boards are shaped鈥攚ere the perfect entry point.听

Most surfboard blanks today are made from polyurethanes derived from polyols, a fatty acid or unsaturated oil that comes from vegetable oils or fossil fuels. These are groups of liquid molecules that react with alcohol and become polyurethane, a thick compound that can be cooked, shaped, and molded. Polyurethanes form a surfboard鈥檚 central core. Because algae oil is chemically similar to petroleum-based polyols, it can be substituted for the latter, which is exactly what听Mayfield and Gilchrist听did.听

The U.S. government helped foot the bill to develop the flagship algae-based board. (The 听funds Mayfield鈥檚 work, which goes far beyond surfboards, to provide alternative fuel sources and reduce greenhouse emissions.) But adapting a new ingredient in the process wasn鈥檛 easy. 鈥淭his is all first-generation stuff,鈥� says听Mike Burkhart, associate director of the听California Center for Algae Biotechnology. 听

To source enough algae oil for the initial run of 50 boards, Mayfield contacted ,听a San Francisco鈥揵ased biotech that produces large quantities of algae oil for everything from commercial lubricants to anti-wrinkle cream. Solazyme agreed to partner with UCSD and supply enough oil for the first batch of products.听

The algae oil from Solazyme looks a lot like supermarket-bought vegetable oil when it gets to the lab. There, chemists add an alcohol to break the bonds and thicken the formula into polyurethane, creating a听new compound that听has the viscosity of molasses or engine oil.听

Arctic Foam听then adds a catalyst,听usually a silicate-like sand or glass,听that hardens the compound while it鈥檚 contained in a coffin-shaped vat. This is an important step, as the hardness of the final product has a major effect on how the board behaves. 鈥淭hey have recipes they jealously guard,鈥� Mayfield says. 鈥淎n eye of newt and a tinge of beaver tail.鈥澨�

The first two boards were failures.听One came听out too rubbery, and one expanded听so quickly that it 鈥渆xploded,鈥� says Mayfield. The engineers had to tweak the six-component recipe several times before they landed on a formula to yield high-quality material. Once they nailed the process, Arctic Foam can听make the board blanks. Finally, it鈥檚 cooked into a block that the company shapes听with a computer.听

Arctic Foam plans to fine-tune the formula as it receives听feedback on the prototypes, says Gilchrist. They hope to get early versions into the hands of about 20 well-known pros, including Rob Machado, Kelly Slater, and John John Florence, to test and promote.听

鈥淥nce the pros sign off on it, we鈥檙e going to start mass production,鈥� Gilchrist says. UCSD will soon pass production of the polyols over to an industrial lab to produce them on a mass scale with the goal of making the boards commercially within three to six months. There鈥檚 no cost estimate yet, but Arctic Foam hopes to bring it close to the market norm of about $600.

Other manufacturers are skeptical that algae boards will catch on. Kim Thress, president of , Arctic Foam鈥檚 main domestic competitor, said the company isn鈥檛 yet considering foam derived from algae oil. 鈥淲e have done a number of environmentally friendly things in the past,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut none of them seem to pan out with quality blanks. We aren鈥檛 working on anything like that right now.鈥�

As for Arctic Foam, the company says the new boards will perform as well as if not better than their traditional counterparts, thanks to a tighter cell pattern that makes them harder, more flexible, and more buoyant. At least that鈥檚 what Arctic Foam claims. We鈥檒l have to test one ourselves before we can corroborate that promise.听

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Everest is no cheap hike. Between getting to Nepal, paying for a climbing permit, outfitting yourself and Sherpas, as well as compensating them for time and expertise, you鈥檙e looking at anywhere from . But where exactly does this money go?

To find out, we crunched the numbers. We assumed our would-be Everest climber would hire a typical Western operator, with five guides shepherding ten clients. Our mountaineer gets one pass at the summit with perfect weather. Note that the price tag goes up rapidly depending on the climber-to-guide ratio, the operator鈥檚 profit margins, and certain amenities.

Everest prices have changed some after the 2014 tragedy. Protections for Sherpas, including听life insurance,听have improved, which has contributed to making听climbing permits more expensive. And of course听there鈥檚 inflation. Here is an idea of what you鈥檙e shelling out for. We spoke with experienced Everest guide 听补苍诲 Karsang Sherpa, a VP at , based in Denver, and consulted .

The Breakdown*

Travel

Airfare to Kathmandu from the U.S.: $2,500-$3,000
Airfare to Lukla: $300听
Hotel/food in Kathmandu听(three nights): $400-$600
Kathmandu to BC: $1,000 ($12/day/porter, 10 porters over 10 days)
Nepal visa/immunizations,听Immunoglobulin, if necessary,听etc.: $300听

Fees/Licensing

Liaison officer: $350 ($3,500/10 clients)
Permit/park fee (per client): $11,000
Garbage/waste deposit: $500 ($5,000/10 clients,听is usually returned)
Icefall Doctors/fixed route fee:听$500
Climbing Sherpa (fees, tips, bonuses, o2, gear for 20 Sherpas): $5,500听听($55,000/10 clients=$5,500:听 $25/day/Sherpa=$1,600 – $1,800 each听equipment dispersement, $350 each insurance
Puja (pre-climb prayer ritual):听$750

Logistics

Tents (sleeping, cooking, toilet, storage): $2,500
Cooks:$6,000 (6听weeks at $25/day = $1,050 and $1,000听each dispersement)
Food and fuel (for stoves, generators):$800 – $1,000

Gear, Medical, Miscellaneous

Everest ER fee/medical contractor in Nepal/medical kit:听$1000
annual membership with a medical/rescue crisis response service:听$500
oxygen: $3,500听($1,000 for mask and regulator听补苍诲 $2,500 听for听five bottles at $500/bottle)
personal gear (down jacket, sleeping bags, boots, crampons, etc.):$5,000-7,000
sat phone (depending on usage):$500-$1,000
Admin costs in the States:(5% of total = $3,000)
Western guide salary: $12,500 ($25,000/2 clients)

Total = ~ $61,300

*All calculations are approximate, and based on interviews with guides, Sherpas, and climbers.

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At a 听on Thursday afternoon in Washington, DC, Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell discussed the growing financial importance of wild places in the United States听补苍诲 underscored the importance of the government evaluating growth in the outdoor recreation industry.

The industry faces challenges including climate change, rampant wildlife trafficking, competition from the oil and gas industry, states struggling for control of public lands, and a need for improvement in park access for all Americans, Jewell said.听

Jewell also called for more 鈥渇ormal reporting on the value of public lands.鈥� The Outdoor Industry Association has 听consumer spending associated with public lands at $646 billion鈥攖wice that of the pharmaceutical industry鈥攁nd says the industry supports 6.1 million jobs. Jewell urged people with a stake in the outdoor industry鈥攈unters, anglers, commercial fishermen, hikers, and National Park employees鈥攖o make their voices heard.

鈥淭hose voices are very important to offset the very loud voices of the extractive industry,鈥� Jewell said.听

Jewell also highlighted the need to continue allowing fossil fuel development on some federal lands, saying, 鈥淲e recognize we are a nation that still needs fossil fuels.鈥� But, she added, 鈥淲e need to be more thoughtful of how we balance development with conservation. And it needs to be on the landscape level.鈥� That is, conservation must not end right at a park鈥檚 border, and it should account for animal migration patterns and ecosystem-wide impacts.

Washington Post correspondent Jim Tankersley, who moderated the forum, asked Jewell how she might balance jobs the outdoor industry creates with energy industry jobs foregone. She stressed the diversity and large scope of the outdoor industry. It even extends to areas like agriculture and ranching, she said.听鈥淭hese are legitimate jobs.鈥澨�

鈥淚f you value public lands, you have to be at the table,鈥� Jewell said. 鈥淥r else you鈥檙e on the menu.鈥�

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While rowing across the Pacific in 2008, wind pushing him and waves battering him, Italian explorer 听felt an unsettling lack of control.听

Playing in his mind was the story of another Italian explorer, Umberto Nobile, who crashed his zeppelin north of Svalbard after a 1928 polar expedition. Seven men died. The survivors, including Nobile, spent a month wandering the free-floating pack ice, at one point shooting and eating a polar bear, until their rescue. How people react to unpredictable situations fascinates Bellini, a dedicated student of psychology. In the Arctic Ocean, unpredictable situations are a way of life.听

鈥淎ll adventure is based on hypothesis, which can be very different to reality,鈥� says Bellini. 鈥淎n adventurer must adapt himself to the environment he faces.鈥�听

叠别濒濒颈苍颈鈥檚 newest adventure听highlights and relishes that lack of control. Sometime next winter, he plans to travel to Greenland鈥檚 west coast, pick an iceberg, and live on it for a year as it melts out in the Atlantic.听

This is a precarious idea. Bellini will be completely isolated, and his adopted dwelling is liable to roll or fall apart at any moment, thrusting him into the icy sea or crushing him under hundreds of tons of ice.听

His task: experience the uncontrollable nature of an iceberg at sea without getting himself killed. The solution: an indestructible survival capsule built by an aeronautics company that specializes in tsunami-proof escape pods.

鈥淭his adventure is about waiting for something to happen,鈥� says Bellini. 鈥淏ut I knew since the beginning I needed to minimize the risk. An iceberg can flip over, and those events can be catastrophic.鈥� Icebergs tend to get top-heavy as they melt from their submerged bottoms, so flips can be immediate and unpredictable. And, of course, so is the weather.

Bellini spent two years searching for the appropriate survival capsule, but most were too heavy to plant on a berg. But then, in October, he contacted aeronautical engineer Julian Sharpe, founder of , a company that makes lightweight, indestructible floating capsules, or 鈥減ersonal safety systems.鈥澨�

They can hold from two to听ten people, depending on the model, and are made from aircraft-grade aluminum in what鈥檚 called a continuous monocoque structure, an interlocking frame of aluminum spars that evenly distribute force, underneath a brightly painted and highly visible aluminum shell. The inner frame can be stationary or mounted on roller balls so it rotates, allowing the passengers to remain upright at all times.听

Inside are a number of race car鈥搒tyle seats with four-point seatbelts, 听facing either outward from the center听or inward around the circumference, depending on the number of chairs. Storage compartments, including food and water tanks, sit beneath the seats. Two watertight hatches open inward to avoid outside obstructions. Being watertight, it鈥�s a highly buoyant vessel, displacing water like a boat does.

鈥淚 fell in love with the capsule,鈥� says Bellini. 鈥淚鈥檓 in good hands.鈥� He selected a three-meter, ten-person version, for which he鈥檒l design his own interior.听

Sharpe got the idea for his capsules after the 2004 Indonesian tsunami. He believes fewer people would have died had some sort of escape pod existed. With his three-man team, which includes a former NOAA director and a Boeing engineer, he brought the idea to fruition in 2011. Companies in Japan that operate in the line of fire for tsunamis听expressed the most interest. But Sharpe hopes the products will be universal鈥攊n schools, retirement homes, and private residences, anywhere there is severe weather. The first testing prototypes of the capsules, which range from $12,000 to $20,000, depending on size, were shipped to Tokyo in 2013. Four are in Japan;听two are in the United States. His two-person capsule is now for sale; the others will follow later this year.听

鈥淩ight now there鈥檚 only horizontal and vertical evacuations,鈥� Sharpe said. 鈥淲e want to offer a third option: riding it out.鈥�

The company intends to rely on an increasing market for survival equipment as sea level听补苍诲 the threat of major storms听rise. Sharpe designed the capsules to be tethered to the ground using 20 to 50 meters of steel cable and to withstand听a tsunami or storm surge. Each will have a water tank and a听sophisticated GPS beacon system in case the tether snaps. Survival Capsule advises storing seven to ten days of food in each capsule.听

The product appeals to Bellini because it鈥�s strong enough to survive a storm at sea听or getting crushed between two icebergs. It will rest on top of the ice using either its own weight听or a specially designed stand that will detach if the berg rolls. The circular shape is crucial for avoiding a crushing blow. The capsule will just roll off any incoming mass, and the water will provide an equal and opposite reaction to any force exerted on the capsule. 鈥�A multicurved surface is almost uncrushable,鈥� Sharpe said. 鈥淚f you imagine shooting an arrow at a wooden ball, unless you hit dead center, it鈥檒l ricochet.鈥�

The basic model ensures survival, but there鈥檚 more to life on an iceberg than just surviving. You can add windows, extra space, and other modular additions, even surround sound and color options. 鈥淵ou can trick your crib out all you want,鈥� Sharpe said. And that鈥檚 exactly what Bellini plans to do. He doesn鈥檛 have a layout yet, but he has hired Italian designer Pietro Santoro to customize his ten-person pod. He will remove the other nine seats for extra room.听

Other than modifications to keep him safe and healthy, the capsule is basic, Bellini said. It will carry 300 to听400 kilograms听of food, a wind generator, solar panels, and an EPIRB beacon so rescuers can find him. He鈥檒l have Wi-Fi to update his team and the public. The layout will consist of a work table, electronic panels, and a bed. 鈥淎 foldable bed,鈥� Bellini added. 鈥�I want to have room to work out.鈥�

Bellini will spend almost all of his time in the capsule with the hatch closed, which will pose major challenges. He鈥檒l have to stay active without venturing out onto a slippery, unstable iceberg. If it flips, he鈥檒l have no time to react. He鈥檚 working with a company to develop nanosensors able to detect movement in the iceberg听so he has advance warning of a flip. 鈥淎ny step away from [the iceberg] will be in unknown territory,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou want to stretch your body. But then you risk your life.鈥� He fears a lack of activity will dull his ability to stay safe. 鈥淚 cannot permit myself to get crazy,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 need to keep my body fit, not for my body, but for my safety.鈥� He is working on a routine of calisthenics that can be done in the capsule,听补苍诲 he might听install a stationary bike, most likely a .听

Lack of sunlight is another challenge of spending a year in an aluminum sphere. It will be winter in the Arctic, with maybe five hours of light each听day. Bellini and Sharpe are working on a lighting system that will simulate natural light, allowing Bellini to get vitamins and maintain his circadian rhythm.

叠别濒濒颈苍颈鈥檚 model is in development, and he expects it to be ready in about a year. He plans to write during his mission听补苍诲 will bring plenty of nonfiction books, especially psychology.

The capsule won鈥檛 ease his isolation, maybe his greatest challenge, but Bellini听remains undaunted:听鈥淚t鈥檚 the key to the inner part of myself.鈥� The first step is relinquishing control.

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When Jing Wang and her team 听last year, becoming the only party to do so in a season marked by tragedy, the 41-year-old Chinese climber reignited a longstanding debate about the purity of climbing. To avoid the Khumba Icefall, she chartered a helicopter to fly her from Base Camp to Camp II, bypassing one of Everest鈥檚 most dangerous obstacles and more than 50 years of climbing tradition.

Helicopters have long been a contentious addition to the mountain. But Wang鈥檚 flight鈥攐n a year when 16 high-altitude workers died in one day, effectively closing the mountain鈥攂ecame a lightning rod for criticism. 听

The Nepalese government . Had her flight been authorized? Officials disagree, even today. Was her summit legitimate? Everest summiter and blogger says no: 鈥淯sing a helicopter to climb a mountain isn鈥檛 really climbing a mountain.鈥� Was Wang鈥檚 climb even official? Not exactly. Her achievement is officially noted as 鈥渄isputed鈥� in the Himalaya Database, an asterisk that has been applied to dubious summits.

The chopper debate isn鈥檛 going away in 2015. Whether shuttling climbers from Base Camp to Kathmandu or pulling off rescue operations at the higher camps, the roar of helicopter engines around Everest will be a constant.

Helicopters have been flying on Everest since 1992. They鈥檙e sometimes used to shuttle gear to Base Camp and as a shortcut for climbers to get back to Kathmandu. But people are rarely flown to Base Camp and the idea of using helicopters as shuttles up the mountain was unheard of, until Wang. They鈥檙e also technically forbidden above Base Camp except in emergency rescue situations. (Though rescue flights have become standard practice, they cost upwards of $10,000 if the injured climber is above 20,000 feet.)

That may be about to change. In the wake of the 2014 avalanche, Western outfitters like Washington-based (IMG) and New Zealand-based 听argue that flying supplies over the Icefall is the best way to keep Sherpas and clients safe. It鈥檚 simple math, says Greg Vernovage, 2015 expedition leader for IMG: If it takes ten hours for a Sherpa to make a single up-and-down Icefall trip, and a Sherpa team consists of 70 individuals, that鈥檚 700 man-hours. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e looking to minimize risk, 700 hours seems like a pretty good place to start,鈥� Vernovage says.

Some guides, like 15-time summiter Dave Hahn, dispute the safety argument, citing the poor track record of heli flights on the mountain鈥攖here have been 43 crashes and at least 338 deaths, according to a 2009 report. Others note that a mass-adoption of helicopters may reduce Sherpa wages.

Sherpas are paid well by local standards to carry gear through the Icefall, says Jiban Ghimire, managing director of Kathmandu-based . (Western outfitters pay around $4,000 a year to Sherpas who work above Base Camp鈥攏ot including a bonus of roughly $350 for their trips through the Icefall.) Nepalese outfitters would rather officials focus on constructing and maintaining a safer Icefall route than flying over it. Helicopters are really only practical for expeditions with the richest of clients. Smaller outfitters wouldn鈥檛 be able to compete. Flying gear over the Icefall would cost an additional $34,800 per 12 clients, according to calculations 国产吃瓜黑料 made after talking to flight operators and several outfitters. That鈥檚 a prohibitive expense for all but the most well-financed outfitters.

For gear flights to take place, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation will need to revise its rules. On March 17, the government issued a statement听saying that it intends to improve the response time of helicopters in rescue situations, but the ministry has remained silent on whether it will allow helicopters to shuttle either gear or climbers. And given the government鈥檚 typical response time, that鈥檚 unlikely to change anytime soon.

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