By Lorraine Blancher 　　Photos by Ryan Creary 　　As passionate outdoor aficionados, we all love to experience the natural beauty of our planet. As humans, we know our decisions can have an impact. How we balance our adventurous desires with our responsibility to protect the precious places we love is paramount to ensuring they will be here for generations to come....

　　Story and Images by Dustin Silvey 　　Outside my tent I hear the fire crackling. I open my eyes, shocked to realize the sun is shining. I roll my body to the side, slowly sitting up, and pull myself out of my sleeping bag. That’s when it hits me, the cold. I quickly put on some extra layers and head out...

　　 　　The boulder field, photo by Whitney Oliver Originally published on Aug. 18th, 2014 　　Story by Hilary Oliver 　　When it comes to hiking, there are mountains—and then there are the mountains that haunt your fantasies. The legendary peaks that don’t come so easily. The ones with iconic shape, or stunning cliff faces. Longs Peak in Colorado’s Front Range is one...

　　By Steve Marks, aka the “Malbec Pilgrim” 　　A few May snowflakes appeared out of nowhere, drifting down and brushing off my jacket as I paused to enjoy the immense vista. It had been a tough cycle to the summit, and was just one of the many times my altitude almost touched 5000 m (16,400 ft). The blackened rocky and mountainous...

　　By Luke Mehall 　　Fall means one thing to the desert climber: Indian Creek season. Located about an hour southwest of Moab, Utah, the Creek is the center for the Colorado Plateau desert climbing scene. Every year, it gets a little more popular, but the good news is there are plenty of cracks for everyone. If a climbing road trip is...

　　Rivian unveiled its new R2 mid-size SUV to much fanfare this week, which it says should start around $45,000 when it reaches customers in 2026. About the size of a Toyota 4Runner, the Rivian is actually cheaper than most versions of that gasoline-powered 44. Some versions of the R2 will also be faster than Rivian’s flagship R1T pickup and R1S...

　　By Savannah Cummins 　　This spring I spent nearly a month on the flanks of Denali, supporting my friend Katie Bono as she successfully set the women’s ascent speed record at 21h 6m. As my first time on a big mountain, it was an unforgettable experience despite all the suffering involved. From carrying 130lbs of gear at once, to rain, snow,...

　　Water is heavy—one liter weighs 2.2 pounds, and four liters weighs almost nine pounds. Even the best-designed hydration packs or vests, waistbelts, or handheld carrying systems don’t make water any less heavy than it is. A good system does, however, distribute that weight effectively and allows you to carry what you need comfortably. 　　Figuring out what amount of fluid you...

　　Tuckerman Ravine on the southeastern flank of Mount Washington holds an almost mythic reputation among expert backcountry skiers and snowboarders in New England. The glacial cirque sits mostly above timberline on the 6,288-foot peak, and the wide bowl boasts chutes and steep snowfields—extreme skiing terrain that is tough to find in the Northeast. 　　But Tuckerman is also dangerous, and reaching...

　　16 Days and 8 First Ascents in Chinas Tien Shan Mountains The Tien Shan range in China is ideal for exploratory mountaineering expeditions. There are hundreds of valleys, each with handfuls of unclimbed peaks and each mountain with plenty of route options. A lot of the routes can be simple mountaineering, but you can choose a line more demanding and...

　　Avalanche safety, like sex ed, isn’t really about abstinence. People are going to venture into the mountains, so the challenge is to minimize risk, take appropriate countermeasures, and understand when conditions are too dangerous to proceed. Still, things sometimes go wrong even if you’re following best practices, at which point the objective shifts to maximizing your odds of surviving and...

　　This past June, climbers Harry Hamlin and Avery Parinello spent a couple weeks in the Ruth Gorge in Denali National Park. The Gorge is a mammoth glacial gorge cut into the lowlands below Denali by the Ruth Glacier. This enormous zone contains prodigious peaks that tempt rock climbers and ice climbers alike due to their immense size and spectacular exposure....