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.
An Ode to the Surf Travel Ordeal: If you want to surf around the world, you have to travel, but travel can be difficult and unpredictable. From sleeping outside airports to lost board bags and a “taxi mafia,” one surfer details the circumstances she has found herself in while trying to get her surfing fix.
James Cameron: Why I Knew Right Away the Submersible Had Imploded: This week, five people died in a submersible that was trying to view the Titanic. James Cameron, director of the Titanic movie and someone who has visited the wreck himself many times, reveals why he always opposed the OceanGate vehicle — and how he knew almost immediately that it had been destroyed.
Bikepacking Scotland: In Scotland, you can go almost anywhere on a bike. Markus Seitz has compiled a list of five of the country’s best backpacking routes and what you can expect from them.
Bikepacking in Scotland. Photo: Markus Stitz
Before Alex Honnold, there was…
The Free Soloist Who Fell to Earth: Well before Alex Honnold, Austin Howell was known for his free soloing. After a number of falls and brain injuries, his mental health was deteriorating. Climbing was his one outlet, but ultimately, it would claim his life. Michael Levy explains how he followed Howell’s career and also climbed to cope with depression. Howell’s comments on climbing resonated with Levy. Eventually, he found himself climbing the wall where Howell died.
Breaking the Wilderness Bell Jar: Dana Johnson recently wrote an article questioning the act of bolting in rock climbing. She, and many non-climbers, criticize the effect it has on wild landscapes. Climbers have fumed about the article, but one writer was “strangely happy” to see its publication. Not because he agrees, but because climbers need to see it in order to protect their rights. Andrew Bisharat discusses the repercussions of the piece and the stance that he believes climbers should take.
Announcement Mountaineering at its Finest: Robert Bosch discusses the rise of mountain tourism and the effect it is having on the sport of climbing. Now huge teams are deployed so that one person can summit. Those attempting records often shower social media in announcements before taking even one step up a mountain and are compared with earlier counterparts in a twisted manner. He believes that one group needs to step up and accurately depict what is going on: journalists.
Oskar Speck. Photo: Oskar Speck
An early kayak epic
From the Danube to Australia: In 1932, Oskar Speck lost his job and wanted to find work in Cyprus’s copper mines. He had no way to get there, so decided he would kayak from the Danube River in Germany to Cyprus. Except when he reached Cyprus, he didn’t seek out a job, he didn’t stop at all. Instead, he continued paddling all the way to Australia.
Trying to Enter a Personal No-Fly Zone: Amy Benson has traveled her whole life. It was the one luxury her parents indulged in. They spent their summers exploring. For her, it was the best possible form of education. Her love of travel continues but now it is in a world where we fully understand the environmental effect of flying on the world around us. She writes about the growing “no-fly” movement and her efforts to join it.
