Caving and Canyoneering
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David Kushner went to the rainforest to write about a mysterious place and the people who go there. He never imagined the experience would change him forever.
In ‘The Rescue,’ Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin capture the astonishing effort to find the boys’ soccer team that spent more than two weeks trapped in a cave
A 31-year-old climber took a fatal fall earlier this month in Colorado’s Eldorado Canyon State Park
On a backpacking trip through Utah’s Buckskin Gulch with ultralight gear legend Glen Van Peski, our writer learns about the Crotch Pot, an Oscar-winning actor’s anti-snoring technique, and that there’s a whole lot of shit you don’t need when you’re on the trail 1,000 miles from home
For nearly half a century, legends of a giant cave in the Andes—holding artifacts that could rewrite human history—have beckoned adventurers and tantalized fans of the occult. Now the daughter of a legendary explorer is on a new kind of quest: to tell the truth about the cave in order to save it.
John Ackerman has spent millions procuring a majority of the known caves in Minnesota, which add up to dozens of miles of underground passageways and likely make him the largest cave owner in the U.S. He collects and charts them in the name of preservation, but his controversial methods have created many opponents.
In 'First Descent,' legendary canyoneer Scott Swaney reflects on a career of self-taught outdoor skills and a few close calls
Filmmaker Eric Hanson describes a harrowing account of how serious flash floods can be
Two years after he was saved in a remote canyon, our host talks with one of his rescuers about coping with life-altering trauma
It took an epic effort to get him out. Two years later, the healing for him and his rescuers continues.
Reliable gear to help you navigate the unpredictable sport
‘Epic Trails’ is a series from Heliconia and backpacker Eric Hanson as they explore the world’s best trails.
Rescuers spent nine days searching for the 12 boys and their coach. They finally found them two miles deep in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system.
In 1869, John Wesley Powell led nine men and four boats on the first documented descent through the Grand Canyon. As is made clear in this excerpt from 'The Promise of the Grand Canyon,' it was a hell of a challenge.
Harvey Butchart was hiking the canyon long before others thought to follow
From filmmaker Dan Ransom, One Trick Pony features Steve Ramras who is as versed a canyoneer as they come. But the kicker is, that’s the only outdoor activity he does.
Our PlayNow series highlights an epic POV clip so you can get in on the action even when you're stuck behind a desk.
If you’re willing to work hard, conquer your fears, and maybe don some superhero spandex, anything is possible
Scott Swaney, a former oilman and current badass a couple years shy of 70, has more first descents in Death Valley National Park than anyone on earth. He spent the past decade looking for everything from tight canyons to massive drop-offs and is believed to have led or been involved with 203 of the 258 first descents in the park. Swaney has burned through partners who couldn’t stand the heat and hard labor of exploring his hellish playground, but he continues to recruit new ones, eager to keep exploring. This spring, photographer Ian Tuttle, who had never canyoneered, stuffed his camera—a film Mamiya 645 AFDii—into a backpack and followed along.
When a group of canyoneering beginners were swept away in a flash flood last September, it was the worst disaster in Zion's 97-year history. And it illustrates a growing question: How far should national parks go to keep their visitors safe?
American cavers were first to descend the 1,200-foot deep Sotano De Las Golondrinas, better known as the Cave of Swallows, in 1966. It’s one of the world’s largest cave shafts in the world and one of Mexico’s 13 natural wonders.
Photographer Josh Hydeman has made it his mission to illuminate America's caves and spark interest in what lies beneath.
The stigma is gone. For years, canned beers were derided for their metallic taste. Worse, the options were limited—few breweries canned beer that you’d want to sample, let alone drink 12 ounces of. Then, Oskar Blues started canning its flagship Dale’s Pale Ale in 2002. And everything changed.
From that time Lance Armstrong showed us how to fix a flat tire to an investigation into USA Swimming’s sex abuse scandal, we look back at the stories that defined the year.
There are many threats to the 50-year-old Wilderness Act. But the most dangerous, Kenneth Brower says, comes from those who are chipping away at the very idea of wilderness itself.
Dan Berlin didn't start running until he lost his sight. He's now running somewhere most runners only dream of—across the Grand Canyon—and he'll become the first blind runner to do so.
It may be the oldest emotion. Before happiness, before sorrow, before exhilaration, and way, way before the urge to climb mountains and bomb down steeps, there was fear. Now scientists are finding new ways to help us conquer our deepest anxieties—and use them to perform even better.
Do cell phones, satellite messengers, and personal locator beacons create more false alarms in the backcountry?
Beat the crowds on the not-so-beaten path this summer in one of America's favorite national parks.
There's nothing more American than hitting the open road with the windows down, the music up, and a cooler full of beer in the backseat (you know, for later). Sure, the game has changed a little—smartphones have all but rendered guidebooks and crumpled maps obsolete—but one essential question remains: where to go? Look no further. We hand-picked the ten best, most adventure-packed road trips in the country.
It's a lonely road from Las Cruces, New Mexico, through West Texas, but very much worth it. Just a few reasons why: surreal white sand dunes, a massive network of caves, and mountain biking trails all to yourself.
Start in the Grand Canyon and wander up to Moab, Utah, with some moonlit camping and excellent mountain biking along the way.
The route from Jackson, Wyoming, to Glacier National Park, Montana packs in five national parks and plenty of watering holes.
National parks are America's greatest recreational asset. Now an overdue movement will make them even better.
Dream all you want about your adventure bucket list, but isn't it better to get right out there and start ticking off boxes? Let these trips be your inspiration—or your exact blueprint.
You might be one of those who people who doesn’t “get” Vegas. The charms of Sin City are completely lost on you, but there’s a conference at Caesar’s, and your company has sent you. Or maybe it’s the location for your buddy’s bachelor party. So you reluctantly…
Kloofing is the South African version of canyoneering. The term comes from the Afrikaans (Middle Dutch) term “kloof,” meaning “a steep-sided, wooded ravine or valley.” Thought to have developed in the 1920s, kloofing is the art of following gorges—and the rivers that flow through them—by walking, swimming, floating, jumping, bouldering,…
We may never know how 21-year-old rafter Kaitlin Kenney died on the Colorado River, but we will never forget why she went
Travel to these destinations for tons of open space—and it's all yours
Katie Heaney walks into the longest cave in Wisconsin and, despite the bats, the darkness, and the bats, makes it out alive
Tips for surviving seven of the world's deadliest adventures
Meet the men and women on the knife's edge of exploration
Six nightmare scenarios that keep the best adventurers up at night
The sign read, “Tenaya Canyon is extremely dangerous. Many have lost their lives in the attempt.” Thus warned, my 78-year-old dad was set to hike and rappel through it. And I had agreed to join him.
Since the release of 127 Hours, a certain canyon in Utah has become a lot more popular—and dangerous
Has this tired old world been explored-out? Not Down Under, where uncharted, bottomless slot canyons hide just west of Sydney.
Will Earth's most fragile unexplored ecosystems survive the age of adventure?
The come-on: Grab two hours of challenging fun and fast adventure. But when a dark wall of water swept away lives and reputations, the question became: Why?