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.
Winner of the 2026 Iditarod Trail Invitational 1000: We typically think of the Iditarod as a long-distance dogsled race, but it’s a fat-tire cycling race, too. The 2026 Iditarod Trail Invitational saw riders battling some of the harshest conditions Alaska could muster. Over 27 days, only four riders, racing in pairs, completed the 1,600km race.
I Paddled 1,300km to Hudson Bay: David Jarden writes about his month-long canoe trip to Hudson Bay in the 1960s. He and five others spent almost five weeks pushing north from Yellowknife toward the Arctic coast, battling upstream travel, brutal portages, swarms of insects, hunger, and fraying tempers.
When they finally reached the Coppermine River, the trip morphed into something much more than an adventure. It became a lesson in teamwork, risk, and just how close you can come to disaster.
The La Venta group explores the Qanaf Cave. Photo: Tullio Bernabei/La Venta
A difficult cave
La Venta Returns to Oman to Explore Qanaf Cave: This year, the La Venta Geographical Exploration Association returned to Oman’s remote Jabal Samhan plateau to extend its exploration of Qanaf Cave. The vast sinkhole system has extreme carbon dioxide levels that have long impacted progress. Building on their earlier attempts, the team tests out some innovative breathing technologies to help them descend deeper into the cave’s unexplored passages.
A Freaked-Out Free Soloist Taught One Climber a Lesson He’ll Never Forget: Brian Stevens tells of an uncomfortable scene he encountered in Boulder’s Eldorado Canyon. Attempting to climb Gambit, a 5.8 trad route, he came across a hesitant free climber whose confidence seemed to be unraveling as he inched higher. A pitch later he heard a scream. The same free climber was dangling from the wall by his leg, trapped by dislodged rock.
Molly Kool. Photo: Friends and family
The First Woman to Become a Sea Captain: In 1939, Myrtle “Molly” Kool became the first woman in North America to earn her captain’s license. Her father was a Dutch sea captain, and she grew up on cargo ships, learning everything she could about navigating the ocean. Initially rejected by the Merchant Marine School, she convinced them to teach her. She pushed past the rejection and skepticism to gain her certifications and command of her own vessel. And she helped change Canadian law to recognize women as ship captains.
Rediscovering the ocean after years of terror
Shark Attacks Mysteriously Stopped on Réunion Island: Réunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, saw a surge in shark attacks from 2011 to 2019. Over eight years, 30 attacks took place, including 11 fatalities. Many of the victims were surfers. No one knows why there were so many attacks.
Just as quickly as they appeared, the attacks have now disappeared. Throughout this, a small group of locals continued to paddle out into the ocean to catch some waves. Now they are trying to bring back the island’s surfing culture.
New HBO Series Examines the Life and Death of Dean Potter: HBO’s new four-part documentary, The Dark Wizard, looks at the life of climber and BASE jumper Dean Potter. Directed by the filmmakers behind The Dawn Wall and The Alpinist, the series promises a nuanced portrait of a man who constantly blurred the line between brilliance and recklessness, culminating in the fatal wingsuit accident that ended his life in Yosemite in 2015.
Hiker Dies for Rattlesnake Bite: A 46-year-old woman has died after being bitten by a rattlesnake while hiking in Wildwood Regional Park in Ventura County, California. This is the second fatal rattlesnake bite in Southern California over the last two months.
Authorities believe Gabriela Bautista might have tried to move the venomous snake, leading to the attack. Weeks earlier, Julian Hernandez, 25, was bitten after falling into some brush while mountain biking. Both died in the hospital after succumbing to the effects of the venom.
