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.
I’ve Climbed all 222 of Scotland’s Corbetts: The summits of Scotland’s 222 Corbetts all sit between 2,500 ft and 3,000 ft, and Rab Anderson has climbed all of them. The Corbetts round is considered one of Britain’s toughest mountain challenges. For those who don’t want to take on all 222, Anderson shares his six favorite peaks.
Revisiting The Vanderbilt Heir Who Vanished in the Canadian Rockies: In 1984, 25-year-old Nicholas Vanderbilt, an heir to the wealthy Vanderbilt family, vanished without a trace while trying to summit Mount Robson in the Canadian Rockies. His second attempt on the mountain, he set out with Francis Gledhill Jr. in perfect weather.
Other climbers saw their headlamps around 600m below the summit on the evening of August 21. The next day, when they were scheduled to return, the weather worsened. Fifteen centimeters of snow fell, and visibility was poor. Vanderbilt and Gledhill had vanished. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched a helicopter search and rescue. Vanderbilt’s parents funded their own search team, but neither he nor his climbing companion was ever found.
Mount Robson. Photo: Shutterstock
National Park blues
What It’s Really Like Working in a National Park: Working as a National Park Service ranger always had perks: living and working in some of the most beautiful landscapes in the U.S., on-site housing, and a government pension.
Last year, widespread layoffs, budget cuts, hiring freezes, and shifting priorities under the Trump administration upended much of this. The remaining rangers have been scrambling just to keep parks running. One ranger answers questions on what it is now like to work in a National Park, the new culture of fear around supporting environmentalism and diversity, the lack of job stability, and the farcical application process.
Arctic Talent: Matty McNair is best known for leading the first all-female expedition to the North Pole and multiple ski expeditions to the South Pole. Alongside this, she is also a fiddler in Iqaluit, the capital of Canada’s Nunavut territory. She has spent decades nurturing local musicians and hosting weekly living-room jam sessions where they can practice, share tunes, and build a community.
Musicians gather in Matty McNair’s living room in Iqaluit. Photo: Arty Sarkisian
Another Aussie Dies While Skiing in Japan: Two Australians have died within a few days on the ski slopes of Japan. Michael Hurst, 27, has died while skiing in the Niseko region, just days after the earlier death of Brooke Day, 22, in a freak ski lift accident.
Both incidents come amid unprecedented snowfall that has been linked to 35 deaths and hundreds of injuries across Japan since January 20. Officials warn that the heavy snow is increasing the risk of avalanches in the country.
Free soloing is not for newbies
Friends Question Why Novice Climber Who Died on Mount Hood Was Free Soloing: On January 25, Thomas Hostetler, 30, died after falling roughly 90m while free soloing the Devil’s Kitchen Headwall (AI3, 244m) route on Oregon’s Mount Hood. His death has left friends and fellow climbers questioning why someone with such limited climbing experience would attempt such a dangerous ascent without rope or safety gear.
Hostetler was a keen backcountry skier, but had only bouldered in gyms. His climbing partner at the time of the incident has since said he overestimated Hostetler’s ability and that it was not his decision to climb unroped.
2026 Paddling Film Festival Winners Announced: The 21st Paddling Film Festival World Tour kicked off on January 22 in Toronto. The event showed this year’s best paddling films and announced winners across a range of paddle sport categories.
Follow the Water, a short documentary following a source-to-sea kayaking journey, took home Best Kayaking Film, whilst A Baffin Vacation, Love on Ice, won Best Adventure Travel Film.
Other category wins include: We Stand Together, about a women-led paddleboarding community in Alberta; River Mamma, which explores motherhood and whitewater; and A Little Bit Different, a documentary that follows a group of Afghan refugees and American teenagers as they raft the same river.
Drone to the rescue
A Drone With A Flashlight Comes to the Rescue: A recent rescue on Colorado’s Quandary Peak highlights how technology can help save lives in the mountains. In January, a worried mother called the Summit County Rescue Group. Her 19-year-old son was on Quandary Peak, his phone was about to die, he had no headlamp, and the weather was getting ever worse.
The Summit County Rescue Group immediately sent out a drone to locate him and deliver a flashlight. It is the first time the team has used a drone to transport gear during a rescue.
