Exploration & Survival
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Katie Heaney won't ever climb Mount Everest, but she's ready to step outside and try some things鈥攍ike looking for a moose
World record vertical formation attempt. Photo: Brian Buckland By Brian Buckland On August 1, 2012, I joined more than 138 skydivers from…
GE recently built a pretty exhaustive interactive graphic showing the history of world records from August 29, 1900, to May 5, 2012. The data visualization displays the number of world records set by year, by country, and by sport. It also offers a…
On Monday morning at approximately 1:32 Eastern, the new rover Curiosity touched solid ground on Mars after a flight through the planet's atmosphere that NASA dubbed “seven minutes of terror.” The state-of-the-art exploratory vehicle will photograph and take samples to see if there…
Project Angel Thunder is the largest search-and-rescue exercise in the world, involving 1,700 pilots, commandos, and recovery specialists training in the wilds of Arizona and New Mexico to save your ass in some impossibly bad situations. Embed Brian Mockenhaupt discovers that while the scenarios are pure fiction, the game is deadly serious.
Earlier this week, video surfaced of 42-year-old French stuntman Jean-Yves Blondeau flying down Tianmen Mountain at speeds of more than 50 miles per hour in a 34-wheeled rollerblading suit. It took him just under 20 minutes to navigate 99 turns and…
3rd Place: Meandering Mississippi Landsat 7 Acquired 5/28/2003, Small, blocky shapes of towns, fields, and pastures surround the graceful swirls and whorls of the Mississippi River, the largest river system in North America. Countless oxbow lakes and cutoffs accompany the meandering river south of Memphis, Tennessee,…
Fabiola in smoke. Photo: Brian Nevins This past April, 33-year-old, Hampton, New Hampshire-based photographer Brian Nevins won the Telus Pro Photographer Showdown in Whistler, British Columbia. It鈥檚 one of…
Telluride Mountain School students explore the Needle Mountains. Photo: Jamie Salem By Emily Brendler Shoff The older kids get, the easier it is to take them into the backcountry. This is even true for teenagers, who, despite getting a bad rap for being addicted to all…
Maybe you've never heard of Lucky Chance鈥攂orn Toby Benham鈥攂ut the Australian climber, circus act, and all-around stunt monkey was testing the limits of BASE jumping in 2011 when he survived a horrible mountainside crash in France. What happens when a highflier falls to earth? He starts over鈥攏o matter how daunting the prospect.
The Arctic Row Team. Photo: Arctic Row On July 15, a team of four men will attempt to complete the first non-stop unsupported row across the Arctic Ocean by journeying from Inuvik, Canada, to Providenya, Russia. The men will row their 29-foot-long, 6-foot-wide boat in shifts…
From sharks and cougars to avalanches and frozen waters, four survivors share their stories in their own words. Plus: expert commentary.
When Robert Wood Jr. disappeared in a densely forested Virginia park, searchers faced the challenge of a lifetime. The eight-year-old boy was autistic and nonverbal, and from his perspective the largest manhunt in state history probably looked like something else: the ultimate game of hide-and-seek.
After getting yanked under the barricades by a Red Cross medic, our man on the ground at the 2012 San Fermin festival chats with Jesus Muniain, who has been helping runners for 30 years
Our man on the ground at the 2012 San Fermin festival remembers the time he ran with Jimeno Romero, who was gored to death in 2009 and memorialized by his family with a special monument of flowers this year
A collection of sights and quick observations from our man on the ground at the 2012 San Fermin festival, including a conversation with brothers Peter Milligan and Aryeh Deutsch
Meet the preppers, a rattled, robust survivalist movement whose members just hate being called survivalists. Emily Matchar investigates the 21st century's wildest new apocalyptic scene.
A collection of sights and quick observations from our man on the ground at the 2012 San Fermin festival, including a conversation with the medics that rescued him from a charging steer
For some of us, the human drive to explore, even though most of the earth's surface area has already been mapped, even though it's no longer necessary in order to obtain food and shelter, endures. And in an urban environment where many public spaces are not open for public use, this drive becomes the urban explorer's urge to infiltrate.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=hhwhkwE1nws Not long after launching himself off a 394-foot-tall power pylon near Konakova, Russia, a young BASE jumper's parachute failed to open properly. He fell at a speed of 105 miles per hour, according to the text below the YouTube clip, and crashed…
There is a moment in this wingsuit video that makes it play different than the rest. In it, Vincent Descols jumps off a cliff and pilots his wingsuit through turns, into a canyon, around spires, down a trail, and then over some evergreens. It's the moment between the trail and…
A collection of sights and quick observations from our man on the ground at the 2012 San Fermin festival, including a conversation with David Ubeda, who recovered from last year's broken arm to run the horns of the lead steers down Estafeta
A collection of sights and quick observations from our man on the ground at the 2012 San Fermin festival, including still photographs shot by Ernest Hemingway's great-grandson and a brief interview with bull-racing veteran "El Padre" Graeme Galloway
The things that cause 国产吃瓜黑料 employees to be late to work, or absent altogether, are the ones you might expect. In the winter, many of us are conspicuously tardy after a midnight snowstorm blows through. In the spring, when daylight pushes past 5 p.m. and Friday-night camping becomes a possibility,…
Alligators and crocodiles landed in the #10 spot in the CDC's database. Photo: Shutterstock Whether it's by stinging, crushing, biting, butting, kicking, or any other variety of accidental or nefarious means, animals injure millions and kill hundreds of people every year. The…
There are plenty of hungry predators roaming the USA. But the deadliest ones for humans may not be the those you expect.
If the team from the University of Maryland can get, and hold on to, just a bit more air, their Gamera II craft will win $250,000. To claim the AHS Sikorsky Prize, the pedal-powered helicopter needs to hover…
By Erica Lineberry When I got pregnant in the summer of 2009, I was shocked at how matter-of-fact people were with their 鈥渁dvice.鈥 Most annoying to me were the comments around my husband鈥檚 and my recreational pursuits, specifically climbing: 鈥淜iss all those crazy weekend climbing trips goodbye!鈥 and 鈥淚 guess…
In the end, the spectacle surrounding Nik Wallenda's high-wire walk over Niagara Falls forced him to change his original plans. He ended up performing the stunt while wearing a safety harness at the…
Riding down a winding mountain road at night obviously isn't something that should be tried by everyday longboarders, even if they do have Lupine lights, Contour helmetcams, and Globe boards. That said, the video…
In the stunning and remote wilderness along northern British Columbia鈥檚 Highway 16, at least 18 women鈥攂y some estimates, many more鈥攈ave gone missing over the past four decades. After years of investigation, authorities still don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 the work of a serial killer or multiple offenders. Bob Friel drives into the darkness for answers.
The legendary daredevil talks about recovering from the accident that almost killed him
CrossFitter Mel Soria puts his functional fitness training to the test in the backwoods of Georgia, chasing down prey that's as delicious as it is dangerous
Photo: Courtesy of NASA_JSC_Photo/Flickr By now, you've probably heard of NASA's Don Pettit. If you haven't, he's the Dragon-grabbing,…
Little ripper, going big: Alex Mason at the Teva Games. Photo: Teva Mountain Games Competitive slacklining. If that sounds like an oxymoron, you must not have been in Vail this past weekend, when the sport made its debut at the annual Teva Summer…
On Monday, January 17, BASE jumper and wingsuit pilot Jeb Corliss, 36, thought he was either seconds or hours away from death. He had just jumped off South Africa鈥檚 Table Mountain, misjudged a target, and flown into a granite outcropping at…
The newest professional sports league. Just five months ago, wingsuit pilot Jeb Corliss thought he was moments away from death after crashing into South Africa鈥檚 Table Mountain at 120 miles…
At least two thank yous should be given for the timelapse video above. The first goes to NASA, for sharing the images of earth taken from the International Space Station for free. The second goes to a man named Adonis Pulatus, who…
A Q&A with an 国产吃瓜黑料 in Aspen participant
Tantalizing new evidence prompts an ambitious search for Amelia Earhart by a group that can't seem to quit
Inskeep couldn鈥檛 find a map that covered his route, so he pasted two together. Photo: Nick Fountain/NPR When Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep started planning a 2,000-mile-long drive from Tunis, Tunisia, to Cairo, Egypt, he couldn鈥檛 find a map detailed enough to set…
One way to spend a summer evening: figuring out the most creative ways to open a bottle of beer. Another? Drinking good beer from cans. Read our picks of the best canned beer here.
Ric Gillespie has spent the past three decades looking for what he calls an 鈥渁ny-idiot artifact鈥: a bombproof discovery that will persuade the world he鈥檚 found Earhart鈥檚 crash site. Here are TIGHAR鈥檚 greatest whiffs.
When 24-year-old Kilian Martin performs on a skateboard, some say he's dancing. The Spaniard's unique style is showcased in Kilian Martin: Altered Route, a new short by filmmaker Brett Novak. Martin began gymnastics at 10 years old, moved…
What would it be like to ride a rocket at super high speeds just above a really long road? That's the question Giacomo Miceli, a creative coder, computer scientist, and self-proclaimed entreprenerd from Rome, asked himself as a child. He decided to find out as…
There's no shortage of epic timelapse videos popping up on Vimeo, but few chronicle their shots in a way that allows you to learn something. Photographer Sean F. White gathered footage in 24 countries on all seven continents over the course of six years to…
A Q&A with an 国产吃瓜黑料 in Aspen participant
Sylvester Ayek survives by subsistence hunting and by turning his take into art. The Inupiat elder carves the ivory from walruses into jewelry and sculptures. In The Bone Carver, the Nome, Alaska, resident shares how he learned to hunt…
As astronauts spend more and more time in space, their bodies degenerate. Gravity doesn't exist as it does on earth, and so there isn't the same amount of resistance from weights. During space flight, astronauts experience a force of gravity one-millionth as strong as we experience on earth. In such…
Falcon 9 lauch. Photo: SpaceX Yesterday, the same man that sent a rocket into space also had his company announce the release date for one of the most efficient electric cars on the market. Elon Musk, the 224th richest…
https://video.sky.com/embed/external/16234036 Gary Connery became the first man to jump out of a helicopter in a wingsuit and land safely without the aid of a parachute. The 42-year-old jumped from an elevation of 2,400 feet and flew in the air for 50 seconds at a…
If you want to see the difference between night skies with and without light pollution, you can't do much better than the video above. The World at Night recently announced the winners of the…
Sarah Outen was rowing somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean in 2009 when she decided to go on a longer journey. “I wanted more of it,” she said in a recent email. “And I wanted to…
For 24 years, from 1986 until 2010, there were no mortal encounters with grizzlies in Yellowstone National Park. But four deadly incidents over the past two summers have hikers on edge, reigniting the fierce debate over bear management.
While many gun proponents remain adamant that firearms offer better protection against a charging bear than pepper spray, a growing body of scientific research suggests otherwise
If you're heading into bear country this summer, heed these important tips from Kerry Gunther, bear management program leader for Yellowstone National Park
Ever been out traveling or an a wild adventure when you felt, all of a sudden, like you were no longer at the top of the food chain? Here, experts explain how to avoid becoming lunch.
In March 2007, Gary Arndt sold his house and promptly called the road his home. Half a decade later, after bagging every continent and more than a hundred countries, he's no closer to dropping roots.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=lUZ-e2SkeMI Six days ago, Laughing Squid posted the above highlight reel from a Danish TV Show called Dumt and Farligt (Stupid and Dangerous). It immediately went viral, and expectedly so. It features gratuitous hi-def shots in super slow mo…
Tim Hetherington in February 2011 A year ago today, Chris Hondros, a New York-based photographer on assignment for Getty Images, and Tim Hetherington were killed while covering battles in Libya between government forces and rebels. Many of the details surrounding the incident are fuzzy, but…
One year ago today, photojournalists Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros died after a mortar shell exploded near them on Tripoli Street in the city of Misrata, Libya. They were embedded with rebels fighting the army of Colonel Qaddafi. Hondros died…
Jason Puracal with his sisters More than five years ago, in the small town of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, a 28-year-old American expat from Tennessee named Eric Volz was charged with the murder of his beautiful ex-girlfriend.
Australian adventure photographer Krystle Wright has toughed out a lot of assignments in her first six years of shooting. When the now 25-year-old showed up to the Elephant Polo Championships in Nepal, there weren鈥檛 enough teams, so she volunteered for a new squad, hopped on…
By the winter of 1854, the Advance crew had been trapped for almost two years, their ship frozen in ice just below the North Pole. Some had lost limbs to scurvy and frostbite; some had succumbed to Arctic hysteria; all of them were starving.
In the last decade, athletes have freeBASE'd the Eiger, paddled into 70-foot-plus waves, and dropped more than 100 feet off waterfalls. What鈥檚 next? And how will the stories be told? We asked the world's biggest adventure icons.
Photo: Flikr/tkd540 With their commercial use permits on hold, horse pack operators in Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks aren’t taking trip reservations and are nervously awaiting a May 23 hearing at which聽U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg will outline…
Meet the men and women on the knife's edge of exploration
He was a proud Marine who survived three 颅brutal tours in Iraq and had plans to redeploy with the 颅national guard. But when 30-year-old Noah 颅Pippin 颅vanished inside Montana鈥檚 remote Bob 颅Marshall 颅Wilderness, he left behind a trail of haunting secrets鈥攁nd a mystery that may never be solved.
Veronika Scott's initial coat design, with Tyvec shell. Photo: Brittany Thomasson In 2010, while pursuing her degree in product design at Detroit's聽College for Creative Studies, a single idea changed the course of聽Veronika Scott's life. She decided to make a coat. Not just any…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=tbjzZHuGTng%C2%A0 Twelve-year old Tom Schaar has been skating since he was four, but only started attempting the 1080 a couple weeks ago. The Malibu-based prodigy made four attempts on March 26鈥攁nd nailed it on his fifth try, landing three complete mid-air rotations off a 70-foot tall mega ramp at Woodward…
The nation's four best wilderness first aid courses
聽 Some might say this is the perfect telescope for the star-searching newbie. If you can't hone in on the galaxy you're looking for on your own power, Celestron's Prodigy 6 robotic self-aligning telescope will find it for you. Using electronic motors, an intelligent on-board computer, a…
Kathy Willens/ Associated Press The rancorous feud at New York鈥檚 108-year-old Explorers Club has finally drawn to a close. Yesterday, the board of directors gathered at the club鈥檚 Manhattan headquarters and voted to oust controversial president Lorie Karnath in favor of Alan Nichols, a San Francisco-based…
Photo: Young Hoon Oh Young Hoon Oh, South Korean PhD candidate in anthropology at UC Riverside, is headed to Nepal at the end of the month to attempt his second Everest summit. But his itinerary extends well beyond the days he'll try to reach the top…
In the heart of New York City, a power struggle is under way at the century-old Explorers Club鈥攚ith claims of tyranny aimed at Lorie Karnath, the current president. She says her detractors are mired in the past, and in a fight this rough, somebody isn鈥檛 coming back alive.