When we’re not outdoors, we get our adventure fix by exploring social media and the web. To nourish your adventure fix, here are some of the best adventure links we’ve discovered this week.
Who’s Behind the Romanticization of Surfing Life?: Surf magazines, films, and social media posts paint surfing as an idealistic activity and career. Imagine, traveling the world to find idyllic beaches and perfect waves. A sense of adventure and youthfulness surrounds it. Ella Boyd discusses where this impression comes from, and whether it is justified.
Lynn Anderson Tackles Eldorado Canyon: On April 27, Lynn Anderson set herself a challenge. She wanted to link up 10 routes on the Central Buttress of the Rincon Wall, in Colorado’s Eldorado Canyon. Since the 1970s, it has been a hub of hard trad climbing. She had climbed all 10 of the 5.11 to 5.13+ routes before. Twice previously, she had tried to link them, but on April 27 she finally managed it.
Japan’s Shikoku Pilgrimage: The Shikoku Pilgrimage is one of the most famous in Japan. On the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, the route connects 88 Buddhist temples over 1,200km. Each temple claims to be linked to Kukai, a famous monk in Japan.
Only Buddhists used to undertake this pilgrimage, but now travelers from all over come to trek the route and immerse themselves in Japanese culture.
Adam Swanson in Nepal. Photo: Adam Swanson
A spontaneous round-the-world trip
Teenager Cycles Around the World: In 2021, Adam Swanson started cycling around the world. He has always wanted to do a long biking tour and didn’t want to start college online because of the pandemic. This was the perfect time.
With no training, he and a friend bought tickets to the Netherlands. They had no real route plan but made their way across the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia in six months. At this point, his friend had had enough. Swanson continued alone.
We Were Known for Our Rivers: Kimberly Gaza writes of visiting her childhood home. Wading into rivers she knew as a child, they were colder than she remembered. The rivers around her carried memories of the times she spent with her family, of those she has lost, and of the changes in the town she once called home.
Life in Snowdonia: As Nick Livesey sat in a wild part of Wales, pondering his life, his phone rang. His then-fiancée told him she was done, she had had enough of his obsession with the mountains, and he had to move out.
It triggered a decision: He was going to move to the mountains of North Wales and build himself a new life. Now he lives as a mountain leader and outdoor writer, but it has taken years to get there. “I quickly learned that living in a rural area, however popular it may be with tourists, can be a lonely and isolating experience if you are not prepared to put yourself out there,” he explains.
Life in North Wales. Photo: Nick Livesey/UK Hillwalking
Speeding up the Seven Summits
FKTs on the Seven Summits: Gaining new fastest known times on routes around the world is a goal for many who are driven to extremes. Some of the most popular routes in the U.S. include the John Muir Trail and the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim route in the Grand Canyon. Now there is a new popular FKT: the set of the Seven Summits. Outside breaks down the current FKTs on each mountain and the specific skills needed to take them on.
Lost in the Desert for Nine and a Half Days: In 1994, Mauro Prosperi took on the Marathon des Sables. The now well-known race stretches for 250km across the Sahara. As the former Olympian ran through the small dunes, the sand began to move around him. By the time the sandstorm had passed, he was lost. It had wiped out every point of reference. Now the challenge wasn’t about finishing the race, it was about surviving.
A Big Ass Canoe Goes the Distance: In a 9.5m canoe, a group of men took on a 2,500km paddle around the northeastern United States. Among their challenges: a powerboat wake throws them and their stuff into a canal, lightning storms, and the Russian mafia.
