When we’re not outdoors, we get our adventure fix by exploring social media and the web. Here are some of the best adventure links we’ve discovered this week.
From Death Valley to Denali: In the next few days, Oli France begins cycling from the bottom of Death Valley to Alaska’s Denali. He will then climb North America’s highest peak.
It is part of a larger project where he aims to get from the lowest point of each continent to the highest point by human power. This is the second part of the challenge. His first continent was Africa.
The Allure of a Remote Caribbean Island: Mona Island sits halfway between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Over the centuries, it has hosted indigenous communities, pirates, prisoners, scientists, and refugees.
The island lies in the middle of the Mona Passage, a notoriously rough stretch of water and a popular migrant route. Many migrants end up stranded on Mona and have to be removed from the wildlife reserve by rangers living on the island.
The bloody couloir
Cody Townsend Ends ‘The Fifty’: In 2019, pro freeride skier Cody Townsend began ticking off the 50 classic ski descents of North America. He has finished 46 lines. Line 46, The Bloody Couloir, was a full circle moment for him. Twenty years earlier, it was the first big mountain line he ever skied.
But now Townsend says he is done with “The Fifty.” He will not film the remaining four lines and is unsure if he will finish them.
“Whether Bjarne [Salen] and I complete all 50 or not, that is a question I continue to seek the answer to,” Townsend says in what may be his final video in the series.
An Interview with Siebe Vanhee: Siebe Vanhee has made ascents all over the world. Many have been first ascents and first free ascents. Recently, he was part of the team that made the first free ascent of Riders of the Storm in Patagonia.
Vanhee speaks about his first attempt at the wall, the move from sport to big-wall climbing, how Belgium (a country with no big walls) has produced so many talented big-wall climbers, and about going back to Yosemite’s Dawn Wall.
Leszek Naziemiec emerges from the Yukon. Photo: Piotr Sadurski
Leszek Naziemiec’s Yukon Odyssey: Last July, Leszek Naziemiec swam a 250km stretch of the Yukon River. He talks about his move from organized events to personal challenges, his love of cold-water swimming, and how he prepares for these.
Travel politics in Pakistan
Travel Influencers Tangled in Pakistan’s Politics: When Cynthia Ritchie visited Pakistan, she fell in love with the country. A year later, she moved there and eventually created a trailer for a documentary she planned to make about her new home.
The documentary never materialized but the trailer did, weirdly, inspire social media influencers to promote Pakistan as a new holiday destination. While some enjoyed their country’s positive attention, others felt it distracted from serious national issues.
Descending the Dajianshan Falls. Photo: BASE Magazine
Hunting Happiness Through Adventure in Taiwan: In February, Sofia Jin set out to explore Taiwan’s adventure scene. The island is hardly a famous adventure destination, but there are many possibilities.
Focusing on climbing, cycling, and watersports, Jin rapped down the Dajianshan waterfall, climbed the Long Dong sea cliffs, and cycled through Yangmingshan National Park. This first part of an upcoming series explores whether adventure can lead to happiness.
Fifty More Classic Climbs in North America: In 1979, Steve Roper and Alex Steck published Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. To this day, no one has completed them. Owen Clarke suggests 50 more classic climbs on the continent; most are slightly more accessible than those in the original list.
