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.
Color Revolution: The Cholita climbers are a group of Indigenous Aymara women from Bolivia who have been scaling the high peaks of the Andes. They proudly wear their traditional pollera (bright, multi-layered skirts) and carry gear in colorful aguayos.
Their story is as much about heritage, overcoming discrimination, and personal empowerment as it is about summiting mountains. Next, they have their sights set on standing atop Everest in their pollera.
The Gilbertson Brothers Want to Rewrite Your Country’s Map: Twins Eric and Matthew Gilbertson have made it their mission to climb the highest mountains in every country. While in Saudi Arabia, they found conflicting information about whether Jabal Sawda or Jabal Ferwa was the highest peak, so they climbed both with GPS equipment to find out. Now they take their bulky GPS gear on every climb. They have established new high points in five countries.
Measuring the height of Crestone Peak in Colorado, with East Crestone in the background. Photo: Eric Gilbertson
Tourist behavior
The Best of the Worst Tourist Behavior of 2025: The Travel Hall of Infamy is back with awards for the worst tourist behavior from around the world. From using ancient castle ruins as stepping stones to avoid a puddle in Scotland to an influencer’s attempt to pole dance on a national flag in Turkey, there are plenty of challengers this year. There is the case of someone flooding a hotel because of an argument with staff, and an illegal visit to an isolated tribe. These acts turned heads for all the wrong reasons.
Portrait of Space-Walking Astronaut Suni Williams is Mind-Boggling: Since returning to Earth, veteran astronaut Don Pettit has been sharing his photos from the International Space Station. His most recent image is a portrait of fellow NASA astronaut Suni Williams during a spacewalk, with the station’s massive solar arrays and the blackness of space as a dramatic backdrop.
Suni Williams on her ninth spacewalk. Photo: Don Pettit
A mountaineering trailblazer
Gertrude Bell, The Best of All Edwardian ‘Lady Mountaineers’?: Gertrude Bell is often remembered for her travels, archaeology, and diplomacy in the Middle East. However, she also had a remarkable Edwardian-era alpine career.
Alongside two guides, Bell tackled several serious climbs in the Swiss Alps between 1899 and 1904. Over five seasons, she recorded around 10 first ascents. Her guides stated that they had seen very few climbers with her technical skill, courage, and judgment.
First Alpine Ascent of the South Face of Numbur Peak: Herve Barmasse recounts climbing Numbur Peak’s south face. Together with Adam Bielecki and Felix Berg, Barmasse made the first alpine-style ascent of the 6,958m mountain. The climb turned into a test of endurance when the trio was forced to bivy for the night at 6,900m. With no tent or sleeping bags, they slept under a flimsy emergency shelter.
Summit of Numbur. Photo: Herve Barmasse
A climbing ban in Spain
Climbing Banned at Oliana: Catalonia has banned climbing at Oliana, one of the world’s most iconic sport-climbing crags, by creating a 36-hectare protection zone around the prehistoric rock art at the Contrafort de Rumbau. The area is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the new protection zone effectively prohibits climbing, though it is not yet clear which routes will be affected. The decision shocked local climbers.
An Epic History of El Cap’s Easiest Route: The East Buttress on El Capitan is often considered its “easiest” free route. Positioned on the far right of the iconic monolith, it tops out on the same east ledges used for the bigger routes. The route has long been a rite of passage for climbers before stepping up to El Cap’s longer free routes. First tackled in the early 1950s by Allen Steck and various companions using aid, the route was later freed in 1964.
