When we’re not outdoors, we get our adventure fix by exploring social media and the web. Sometimes we’re a little too plugged in and browsing adventure reads can turn from minutes to hours. To nourish your own adventure fix, here are some of the best adventure links we’ve discovered this week.
Skiing In Afghanistan: Changing Landscapes: Afghan photographer Mubaraka Mohammadi speaks about war, leaving it all behind, and her hopes for the future of her country. Mubaraka’s imagery captures a side of the country you may never have seen before, particularly when it comes to young Afghani women shredding pow.
The Human Antivenom Project: Since 2000, Tim Friede, a truck mechanic from Wisconsin, has endured some 200 snakebites and 700 injections of lethal snake venom — all part of a masochistic quest to immunize his body and offer his blood to scientists seeking a universal antivenom. For nearly two decades, few took him seriously. Then a gifted young immunologist stumbled upon Friede on YouTube and became convinced that he was the key to conquering snakebites forever.
Tales From The Deep
Cave diving: the epitome of high risk. Photo: Shutterstock
Lost At Sea: The Man Who Vanished for 14 Months: In November 2012, Salvador Alvarenga went fishing off the coast of Mexico. Two days later, a storm hit, and he made a desperate SOS. It was the last anyone heard from him –- for 438 days. This is his story.
The Cave Divers Who Went Back for Their Friends: In 2014, two divers died at a depth of more than 100m in a huge cave system in Norway. The authorities considered it too dangerous to retrieve their bodies, but four of the men’s friends decided to take the risk.
How Iceman Wim Hof Uncovered the Secrets to Our Health: Wim Hof’s teachings about breath work and the health benefits of cold plunges have attracted millions of followers. They swear that it has cured everything from depression to diabetes and has made them happier and stronger. Outside magazine traveled to Iceland (naturally) for a deep dive with the man and his methods. I’d like a little more evidence.
Tales From Everest
The First Expedition to Everest Wasn’t Sure Where the Mountain Was: Everest was identified as the world’s tallest mountain way back in the 1850s. A new book asks why it then took explorers nearly 70 years to visit the mountain. In brief, the pre-history of Everest is the story of the Great Game, a 75-year rivalry between Russia and England for control of Central Asia. It culminated in the disastrous British invasion of Tibet in 1904.
The Loneliest Mountaineer on Everest: German climber Jost Kobusch is attempting to be the first to scale the world’s tallest mountain in winter alone, without supplemental oxygen. There’s nobody else out there. We’ve covered Kobusch a lot; this is the NYT’s take.
View From The Top: Eight-thousand-metre guide and seven-time Everest summiter Tim Mosedale has created this neat interactive summit panorama from the top of Everest. Mosedale lugged up a full-frame camera and spent some time on top while it was quiet to capture this one. A plume of wind and snow obscured a view of the eastern side of the mountain, however.
Ojos del Salado. Photo: Shutterstock
I Hiked Up and Biked Down the World’s Tallest Volcano: Ojos del Salado, which straddles the northern end of the Chile-Argentina border, is the tallest volcano in the world. It measures 6,893m, just 60m lower than Argentina’s Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere. A ragtag crew of friends on mountain bikes tackle Chile’s monster volcano.
