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What do rock-climbing heart transplant patients, Somali pirate hunters, and arctic cowboys have in common? All could be found on the big screen at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. Of this year’s 217 films, these seven outdoor-focused picks were a cut above.
After freeskier Shane McConkey died in a ski-BASE accident four years ago, a group of his friends created McConkey, a documentary of his adventures that is as thrilling as it is heartfelt. We spoke with two of the directors about the film.
Anson Fogel, founder of Forge Motion Pictures and winner of more than 60 awards at outdoor film festivals, on how to get the most out of your action cam.
A brilliant adaptation of Kon-Tiki brings the legend of Thor Heyerdahl to the masses
Before his arrest last Tuesday, survivalist Troy James Knapp, a.k.a. the Mountain Man of southern Utah, lived off the fat of the landowners, breaking into cabins and running circles around sheriffs and marshals with little but his physical fitness and backcountry savvy. As Knapp appears in Sanpete County court via video this morning, JON BILLMAN reports on the
Junger’s powerful new documentary about the life of war photographer Tim Hetherington shows us why dedicated journalists are needed now more than ever
Ueli Steck dreamed of using a paraglider to enchain three of the Alps’ most famous mountains in a day. But first he had to learn to fly.
The story of a Pacific Island community in Papua New Guinea—their unique way of life and their fight to preserve what really matters in the face of climate change.
In this weekly roundup, we scour the Web for our favorite long-form articles, collecting them here and on Longreads and Twitter. This installment focuses on sled dogs, sewer rats, and mountaintop doping.
When he isn't guiding world-renowned photographers, psychologists, and Hollywood acting coaches, Chris Dombrowski is writing. We caught up with him on the occasion of his new book.
Dan Baum, author of Gun Guys: A Road Trip, talks to Jason Fagone about the appeal of the AR-15 rifle, the link between gun love and social class, and how carrying a firearm changes the way you look at the world
"If I die here on the road, at least I'm doing something to change my life."
In this exclusive clip from The Discovery Channel’s Weed Country, airing at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6, 2013, grower Nate Morris returns to his farm to find that his crop has been ripped up by a fellow grower.
Leo Houlding, Jason Pickles, and Sean “Stanley” Leary go deep into the Amazon to attempt a first ascent on the magnificent Cerro Autana.
The trailer for Battleground: Rhino Wars, a riveting new series in which former and current Navy SEALs and a Green Beret head to South Africa to stop illegal rhino poaching.
Hollywood sticks it to the energy establishment with the new Matt Damon and John Krasinski film
Jim Harrison's new book, made up of two longer stories, is a fascinating read about the way we navigate rivers and life
Hitch a ride with renowned surf/skate photographer Steve Sherman as he syncs up with Donavon Frankenreiter for his European “Start Livin'” Tour. Watch the full video on YouTube.
Join us for the strange but true story of Wild Bill Cooper, playing right here on Thursday, February 7, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. ET. Filmmaker Mike Scholtz will join us in the comments below to answer your questions.
Robert Stone, the Academy Award-nominated director behind Radio Bikini, has done a complete 180, embracing nuclear power in Pandora's Promise, his latest documentary. What caused him to come around?
What can we learn from traditional societies?
In his latest documentary, Albert Maysles profiles 13-year-old Aidan Dwyer, who won the Young Naturalist Award from the American Museum of Natural History for applying the Fibonacci number sequence to the design of solar panels
This is the strange but true story of Wild Bill Cooper. Part Arctic adventure and part crime caper, Wild Bill’s Run is an unforgettable ride with a true American folk hero. Join us for an online screening of the full film on February 7, 2013, at 7 p.m.
Sebastian Junger pays tribute to the late war photographer in Which Way Is the Front Line From Here?, a new documentary that will air on HBO in mid-April
We spoke to director Nick Ryan about his new film The Summit, which revisits a 2008 tragedy on K2, a mountain for mountaineers
It’s the deadliest day on the world’s most dangerous mountain in this trailer for a feature documentary. Read our Q&A with director Nick Ryan.
The Disaster Diaries author on self-reliance, situational awareness, and adulthood
Boulderers Paul Robinson, Ashima Shiraishi, and Carlo Traversi head to South Africa’s Western Cape in search of unclimbed lines.
Three years after his professional snowboarding career ended with a traumatic brain injury on the half-pipe, Pearce is in Park City, Utah, promoting The Crash Reel, a documentary from Lucy Walker that follows his recovery process
A conversation with director Eva Weber, who traveled all the way to Karigasniemi, Finland, for three days to film this three-minute short
Seb Montaz, the filmmaker behind Kilian's Quest and I Believe I Can Fly (Flight of the Frenchies), released an adventure short last week meant to inspire one simple question: Are you following…
Once a year, from 1975 to 1978, skateboarders in pursuit of speed and recognition gathered in Signal Hill, California, to race down a roughly 30-degree slope. Actually, after the first couple of years, contestants in the annual Signal Hill Speed Run weren't so much…
Like it or not, professional athletes are role models for our children. Sometimes this is a good thing, and, well, sometimes it’s not. (Ahem, Lance.) Thankfully, inspiration is a two-way street: Young athletes can teach us what it means to try our hardest, practice true sportsmanship,…
Food for thought, at La Montanita Co-op. All poems courtesy of Snow Poems Project, Santa Fe. It didn’t exactly come as a shocker: 2012 was the hottest and driest year on record. But winter isn’t dead yet. Literally or metaphorically. There’s fresh stuff under the boards…
How a secretive, stunt-loving energy-drink company pulled off one of the coolest feats in adventure history
Tough Mudder events are 10- to 12-mile obstacle courses challenges that test all-around strength, stamina and mental grit. More than half-a-million participants have participated worldwide and raised more than $3 million dollars for the Wounded Warrior Project. On average, only 78% of participants complete a Tough Mudder challenge. MUDSLINGERS…
CONTRIBUTOR: CHRISTOPHER SOLOMON“I was raised Catholic, which might explain my masochistic streak,” says contributor Christopher Solomon, who wrote “The Agony and the Heresy” about training for a marathon by following CrossFit Endurance founder Brian MacKenzie’s punishing routine. “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done for…
Female action sports athletes looking for exposure have a new outlet. Rachael Burks started femalewolfpack.com as a site for women to show off their feats after a sponsor pulled funding…
It's been more than two years since Austrian BASE jumper Felix Baumgartner unveiled his ambitious Red Bull Stratos mission, a plan to free-fall from a height of 128,000 feet and become the first human to break the sound barrier without the aid of jet propulsion. That announcement gained considerable…
Live Bravely, a 30-minute documentary about the history of Outside, premieres on Outside Television at 9:30 p.m. ET on December 25, 2012.
A 30-day drift boat journey down the longest “undammed” river in the lower 48 gets serious when the crew passes through the clean up efforts of the 2011 Exxon Mobil oil spill on the Yellowstone River. Join us for a free screening on Thursday, December 20, 2012.
The best articles, photos, and videos that I didn't post this week—until now. If you only click on one thing, make it “A Soap Opera on the High Seas,” by Charles Homans. For the best longreads of the week,…
New from Sweetgrass Productions, Valhalla, dropping fall of 2013.
THE MESS ON EVERESTWhile stationed at Base Camp for two months this spring, senior editor Grayson Schaffer witnessed firsthand one of the most chaotic climbing seasons in Mount Everest's history, with 10 deaths. The overcrowding he detailed in “Take a Number”…
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An invite-only conference series for young progressive leaders plans to make a permanent home in the Wasatch Range, buying Powder Mountain for a rumored $40 million
If we Americans still relied on human muscles to generate all the energy we happily consume, we'd each have 150 dedicated “energy slaves” working for us, all day, every day. Instead, we've been exploiting other forms of energy—mostly non-renewable and emissions-generating fossil fuels—for the past 150 years. But it takes…
CONTRIBUTORS: DEAN KUIPERSDean Kuipers, who wrote “Honey Stinger,” about an FBI ecoactivism informant, isn't new to environmental reporting. His first article for Outside, in 1993, was about monkeywrench-style sabotage, and his book Operation Bite Back tells the story…
While awaiting further judgment on a case against the accuracy of Three Cups of Tea, the bestseller he co-wrote with Greg Mortenson, Relin committed suicide by putting himself in the path of a moving freight train
wind turbines, Banning Pass, CA. Down on the wind farm. Photo: George Wuerthner Every therm and watt of energy we consume comes from somewhere, and those sources are finite, even if they're generally well removed from our daily lives. Energy: Overdevelopment…
The best articles, photos, and videos I didn’t post this week—until now. (Sorry for missing last week, I was concentrating on digesting my Thanksgiving meal, unlike this fool, who gave up.) If you only click on one link this week, make…
How deep can an action-packed adventure movie get? A new bar has been set, at least for teaser video and text. Blur the lines between dream state and reality, as you perceive the world through the minds of many. Into the Mind contemplates the…
Adventure filmmaker J.J. Kelley lets you in on the tricks of the trade. Join us between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 29, 2012, for a free screening of his latest film 'Go Ganges!' and a livechat.
Yesterday, specialty outdoor e-tailer Backcountry.com launched Treeline, an online retail showcase for artists, craftsmen, and up-and-coming brands whose products “evolve the outdoor lifestyle.” The new site goes way beyond selling shirts, shoes, or wooden camping bowls. Each week, Backcountry.com will profile one brand/artist. Treeline introduces…
Why the giant waves in Chasing Mavericks won’t help Hollywood break its surf-film losing streak
Shoot and edit your own short film in the Colorado backcountry with the Outside Adventure Film School
Television producers and adventure travelers Josh Thomas and J.J. Kelley test their skills on an epic adventure down India’s sacred river.
We talked with the Survivorman star about finding your meals in the backcountry, and why you should consider foraging your own holiday feast—and maybe even eating it raw and rotting
The best articles, videos, and photos I didn't post this week—until now. If you only have time to click on two links, check out “BP Will Plead Guilty and Pay Over $4 Billion,” from The New York Times, and “…
The Ledge. Photo: Random House The National Outdoor Book Awards have released their picks for the best books of 2012. This year's titles include 15 winners and honorable mentions in nine categories, ranging…
Ken Burns talks about his latest documentary and why a 1930s disaster means so much in the present day
In Anything Worth Doing, Jo Deurbrouck profiles Clancy Reece, who lost his life on the Salmon in June 1996 when the river crested at nearly 100,000cfs
ext_script = "//player.ooyala.com/player.js?deepLinkEmbedCode=5namJvNjprsU66zhZLypfqVzvZlfOAew&height=360&embedCode=5namJvNjprsU66zhZLypfqVzvZlfOAew&width=640&video_pcode=1jZG06vQqWlGOe2jr1WK6VaYFHtK" If you have the Monday following Veteran's Day off and are looking for something to do inside, the movie High Ground can now be streamed on Netflix. The 91-minute documentary follows 11 wounded warriors from Iraq and Afghanistan…
Outside Television is ready to unveil the first phase of a significant programming push with a quintet of original shows. The active lifestyle and adventure-sports proponent, created in mid-2010 from Outside magazine and the former Resort Sports Network, will bow a new season of morning staple Outside Today and present…
The best photos, articles, and videos I didn't post this week—until now. If you only read one thing, check out Matthew Power's story, “Far Rockaway: Global Disaster Zone.” For the best longreads of the week, visit “…
RYAN STUARTLast year was a tough snow year in most places. But not on Vancouver Island, where pack tested Stuart lives and plays: Mount Washington and the hills surrounding his home received some 45 feet. INGA HENDRICKSONNot only did Hendrickson shoot everything in this issue, but she also…
LITTLE BOY LOSTMany of the search-and-rescue responders who spent countless hours combing the Virginia forests for autistic eight-year-old Robbie Wood Jr. (“Catch Me If You Can,” August) also felt compelled to write in about the story. “Being one of the volunteers involved in this search was…
Michael Brown’s documentary, which grew out of an Outside Adventure Film School project, follows a group of 11 wounded United States veterans as they scale a mountain in the Himalayas.
Just back from the front Kachin Independence Army soldiers take a rest in front of the Laiza hotel MYANMAR'S LAST WARAs Adam Skolnick observes in “The Jesus-Kissed, War-Fringed, Love-Swirled Rangers,” Myanmar's government is engaged in a complicated dance: freeing political prisoners on the one hand, while launching attacks…
To reach the clandestine training camp where he photographed “The Jesus-Kissed, War-Fringed, Love-Swirling Rangers,” South Africa-based lensman Jonathan Torgovnik was smuggled across the Burmese border in a pirogue. Then he was guided at night through a jungle laced with land mines. At the camp, Torgovnik met a…
Some stories take a day to report. Others, like Joe Spring's profile of Navajo cross-country coach Shaun Martin, “Running Down a Dream,” are a bit more involved. “The best stories sometimes take the longest to report,” says Sam Moulton, who edited Spring's piece. For…
A view of the changed coastline in New Jersey. Photo: NASA Goddard Instead of gathering a widespread assortment of the week's best articles, videos, and photos, I've included the most thought-provoking and eye-opening articles on Sandy and her aftermath. Some…
In the winter of 2002, three friends and I headed out of bounds from the Santa Fe Ski Basin for an afternoon of sidecountry skiing in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Our destination was a set of relatively mellow chutes that drop from a ridge just above timberline into…
Fire Season. Photo: Ecco/Harper Collins On Thursday, Banff announced that Fire Season won the Grand Jury Prize in its 2012 book competition. Written by…
The movie poster. Photo: Courtesy of Messner One of the biggest films that screened at the 2012 Banff Mountain Film Competition was Messner, a 108-minute German documentary with English subtitles directed by…
A list of the best articles, videos, and photos that I didn't post this week—until now. For the best longreads of the week, check out “Weekend Reading: Invasion!“ ADVENTURE What's the story behind the explosion in popularity of…
America's leading active-lifestyle and adventure-travel magazine is looking for a digital editions designer to join its team. Think you have what it takes? Apply now. Outside magazine, America's leading active-lifestyle and adventure-travel magazine dedicated to covering the sports, people, places, adventures, discoveries, health and fitness, gear and…
“To the Arctic”. Photo: Florian Schulz The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival is an annual gathering of the biggest names in adventure and environmental writing and…