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 adventure fix, here are some of the best adventure links we’ve discovered this week.
The Space Race the World Needs Is Finally Starting: Elon Musk wants SpaceX to become the first private company to complete a mission to Mars, but he has competition and that’s good for everybody. Musk probably took it for granted that his space exploration company would launch and land the first private space mission to Mars. If he did think SpaceX had cornered the market, though, he doesn’t anymore.
The Battle for Beacon’s Beach: With increased coastal flooding and erosion, climate change is harshing California’s mellow vibes. Officials say it’s time to retreat from the shore altogether. Residents want to stay and fight. Paul Kvinta reports from the front lines of a pitched battle, where geologists and millionaires are squaring off, and friendly fire between surfers isn’t so friendly.
In Switzerland, Sledding Is a National Pastime: Anyone who has ridden a proper sled downhill has probably heard the whispering whoosh of steel blades as they speed across snow. It’s a soundtrack that locals and tourists experience every winter in Graubünden canton, a mountainous sledder’s paradise in eastern Switzerland.
Chasing Tornadoes
Photo: Shutterstock
Storm Chasing is An Exhilarating Rush. But Is It Worth The Risk? As climate change intensifies extreme weather and shifts the boundaries of ‘Tornado Alley,’ social media is tempting more travelers to chase. Most people try to avoid golf ball-sized hail, flashing lightning, and dark skies when traveling. But not Brittany Holley, a storm chaser who seeks out places to encounter high winds and hailstorms.
Tragedy in Baffin Bay: Members of the Wyoming Alpine Club — which at the time numbered around 15 — had a full slate of expeditions planned for 1995, including one that struck member Mark Jenkins as alarming. The plan was first to mountain-bike over the Barnes Ice Cap in the center of Canada’s Baffin Island. Then they would sail through the icebergs of Baffin Bay, ending the journey at the Inuit village of Clyde River. Mark Jenkins chose to skip this risky adventure with his friends. Twenty-five years later, he’s still haunted by what happened in his absence.
American idol
Poppa Neutrino, an unlikely adventurer. Photo: Boston Globe
Poppa Neutrino Jazzed His Way Across the Atlantic on a Raft Made of Trash: The first thing you should know about Poppa Neutrino is that he once sailed from Maine to Ireland on a raft he built out of trash. This is, by itself, a remarkable achievement. At the time that he completed the voyage, in 1998, only one other person had sailed a raft across the Atlantic. But Neutrino was the first to do it piloting a raft made from refuse.
The 10 Most Convincing Bigfoot Sightings: Bigfoot sightings continue to capture the imagination of monster lovers everywhere. Backpacker Magazine gathered 10 of the best-known photos of the elusive pseudo-creature.
