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.
Soul Mountaineer — In Conversation with Tamara Lunger: Italian alpinist Tamara Lunger started her journey in the mountains through ski mountaineering, eventually discovering her true calling in high-altitude climbing. She became the youngest woman to summit Lhotse and later reached the top of K2 without supplemental oxygen.
However, her path took a painful turn following the deaths of close climbing partners. Struggling with grief and searching for a new direction, she turned her focus to regeneration, realising she had never allowed herself the time or space to recover.
Does Hiking to Mount Everest Base Camp Make You Want to Reach the Summit?: Ben Ayers, Outside’s basecamp correspondent, explores whether trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp motivates you to attempt the summit. Drawing on his experience living in Nepal for over two decades, he reflects on how common it is for guided Base Camp hikers to feel inspired to climb — and how guiding outfits leverage this connection by operating both trekking services and summit expeditions.
New Trails in the Middle East
Night-time winter camping in Lebanon’s mountains. Photo: Gilbert Moukheiber
The Hiking Trails Reshaping Lebanese Tourism: Lebanon is developing a 400km network of hiking trails through the Anti-Lebanon and Mount Lebanon ranges to boost rural tourism and support local communities. Led by guide Gilbert Moukheiber, the Boukaat Loubnan Trails project connects around 50 villages, offering hikers cultural experiences, homestays, and local food. Despite challenges from regional instability, the trails aim to revive economies and promote sustainable tourism.
This Hiker Exploded a Can of Fuel Through the Ceiling, Don’t Make the Same Mistake:
Backpacker reports that using fuel transfer devices like FlipFuel to consolidate partially used isobutane canisters can save space. But mishandling, especially overheating or overfilling, can cause catastrophic explosions. Users share stories of canisters bursting after they have heated them in boiling water or on stoves, causing severe property damage and injury.
A Departing Legend
For three decades, Ivan the Terra Bus reliably shuttled passengers between Antarctica’s airfields and research stations. The 2024–25 summer season marked its final journey across the ice.
Photo: Eli Duke/CC BY-SA 2.0
The Bus, the Myth, the Legend: This podcast episode pays tribute to “Ivan,” the iconic Terra Bus that has ferried researchers and workers between McMurdo Station’s airfield and base for over three decades in Antarctica. Hosts Dylan Thuras and Allegra Rosenberg explore its origins, as well as its distinctive physical presence: massive tires, a wood-paneled interior loaded with stickers, and bright orange-red paint. Drivers recount its quirks, such as the lengthy 30–60 minute engine warm-up, fogged windows, and leisurely 15–20mph pace.
As McMurdo modernised, Ivan symbolised a nostalgic link to Antarctica’s past, complete with songs and fond memories. Facing retirement because of parts shortages and cost, the bus was saved from the scrap heap by a grassroots campaign that relocated it to Christchurch for preservation.
Unpacking a Controversy
Photo: Guardian Design/Jim Wileman
Inside the Salt Path controversy: This Guardian article examines the controversy surrounding Raynor Winn’s bestselling memoir The Salt Path, which chronicles a 1,000km walk along England’s coast. While recent investigative journalism questions elements of Winn’s story, this piece broadens its focus to explore how memoirs, especially those centered on transformative journeys like long-distance walking, often blur fact and narrative. It highlights the genre’s long history of embellishment and the lack of rigorous fact-checking, raising questions about truth, trust, and the responsibility of both writers and publishers.
