Outside April 2013

DANIEL SOHNER For one day each October, it’s legal to BASE-jump and rappel off the 876-foot-high New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville, West Virginia. It’s called Bridge Day, and last year 400 jumpers and 300 rappellers came from 41 states and ten countries. “It’s controlled chaos,” says Sohner, of Columbus, Ohio. “There are lines of people waiting to jump or lower from the bridge.” To capture these four figures in various stages of rappelling, Sohner aimed up from a boat on the river below. “The tricky part was exposing the photo so the ropes were washed out but the profiles were clear.” THE TOOLS: Canon 5D Mark ll, 70–200mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 640, f/4, 1/640 second LUKE TIKKANEN As soon as temperatures drop low enough to freeze the water seeping…

Each June, as the six-week climbing season on Everest winds down, there is a familiar temptation around Outside headquarters to wonder aloud: have we finally said everything there is to say about the world’s most overexposed mountain? The answer, of course, is no—or, perhaps more accurately, never—because every year something transpires on Everest’s crowded flanks that is unprecedented or shocking or illustrative of the current state of modern alpinism. Sometimes an issue checks all three of those boxes, as with our report this month “Climbing’s Little Helper” (page 98), which explores the increasing use of the steroid dexamethasone, a.k.a. dex, among guided clients hoping to summit the world’s tallest peaks—a development that can have fatal consequences. Writer Devon O’Neil focuses on the case of Jesse Easterling, an amateur climber from…

“I became something of a shoe whore,” says Tilin of his experience reporting on the running-world battle between footwear traditionalists and the growing legions of back-to-basics striders (“You Don’t Know How to Run,” page 86). Tilin decided to see for himself how the two classes of shoes compared. At a track near his home in Austin, Texas, in 95-plus-degree heat, he started with cushioned soles, switched to minimalist, then went barefoot. Only problem: after a mile without shoes, he realized that the scorching synthetic-rubber track had blistered his feet.…

When the Bounty, a 180-foot-long tall ship, went down during Hurricane Sandy, writer Kathryn Miles was in a fortuitous position. She was embedded with the Coast Guard and had just finished her book All Standing: the Remarkable Story of the Jeanie Johnston, the Legendary Irish Famine Ship. Miles’s riveting account of the demise of the Bounty, “Sunk,” begins on page 78. Here, an overview of the ship’s tumultuous history. 1960: The Bounty is built for the 1962 Marlon Brando film Mutiny on the Bounty. 1998: The Bounty takes on water off the Georgia coast and is rescued by the Coast Guard and Navy. 2001: Robert Hansen Jr. purchases the ship and begins renovation. 2006: The Bounty is renovated again, for an appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.…

TRUE GRIT We knew our February cover shot of skier Lindsey Vonn would generate a flood of mail (see “The Tally,” below right). What was surprising—and encouraging—was how many of you wrote in about Erden Eruc’s human-powered circumnavigation of the globe (“Around the World in 1,026 Days”). I was mesmerized by Eruc’s ten-year quest to circle the planet. It’s hard to imagine how anyone could have so much determination, drive, and courage. I deeply admire this man. JOACHIM ZUTHER GRANT, FLORIDA Absolutely amazing, and nearly beyond comprehension to consider what he achieved. I hope there will be more in the future about his amazing journey. MICHAEL FIOLA OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS Eruc’s accomplishment was so jaw dropping, I can’t imagine why he wasn’t on the front pages of newspapers, receiving medals,…

This month’s issue truly spans the globe. Between the annual Outside Travel Awards (“Power Trips,” by Tim Neville and Stephanie Pearson, page 46), photographer Scott Soens (that guy on the cover), and the debut of our Roam travel column (“Don’t Mess with Perfect,” by Elizabeth Gilbert, page 104), we take you to the 35 countries highlighted on the map below. We’ve also recounted some memorable moments from the lives of our intrepid contributors. 1. MEXICO: Gets pulled over for speeding, accuses officer of being a fake, has fine increased $50. 2. CHILE: Films Yvon Chouinard and Doug Thompson climbing the Corcovado volcano for adventure film 180° South. 3. ALBANIA: “It’s Europe 150 years ago,” says Neville. “Some places look like a limestone Yosemite.” 4. NAMIBIA: Takes four-hour flight on a…