Outside August 2013

BLAKE JORGENSON It took six days for Jorgenson to get this shot of mountain biker Darren Berrecloth setting up a cliff jump near the border of Nepal and Tibet in May. To get there, he and Berrecloth traveled by plane, by jeep, by donkey, and on foot, with all their camera gear and a bike. “It was totally exhausting,” says the Whistler, British Columbia, photographer. But it was worth it. “It was like traveling back in time. There’s nothing out there but tea huts, exposed mountains, and great riding.” THE TOOLS: Nikon D3S, 80–200mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/2,500 second JEREMY KORESKI Koreski wasn’t expecting great surf last January when he shot this image of Noah Cohen getting barreled off the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, with…

Given how thoroughly the subject of Mount Everest has been picked over by writers through the years, it can sometimes seem impossible to come up with a new angle on the world’s highest peak. Today I did a quick search for “Everest books” on Amazon.com that yielded no fewer than 9,800 results. Granted, I didn’t have time to wade through them all to see how tenuous the link was to the mountain, but the raw number proves my point: Everest is an inexhaustible source for adventure narratives. This month, not only does Grayson Schaffer uncover a fresh perspective on Everest, but his reporting could permanently change the way people think about the peak. After spending six weeks at Base Camp in 2012—and chronicling one of the mountain’s deadliest seasons—Schaffer returned…

New York City writer Sarah Rose thought traveling to the South Pacific to report “Tune In, Give Up, Ship Out” (page 82), about inexperienced sailors circumnavigating the globe, would be the highlight of her year. “It was a week of sailing in paradise—what could be better?” says Rose, author of For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World’s Favorite Drink and Changed History. The trip turned out to be a little different than she expected. From bliss to misery, here’s a brief summary of her assignment. June 21–24: Lands in the South Pacific, but the Saltbreaker, the 32-foot yacht she arranged to meet, is four days behind schedule. Kills time lounging on “perfect whites-and beaches.” June 25: Boards Saltbreaker during rough seas. Sleeps in the quarter berth,…

June’s “Feeding Frenzy,” by Carl Zimmer, which tackled the resurgence of ticks—and the deadly diseases they spread—generated plenty of concern among readers. But it was Ned Zeman’s thriller “Dead of Night,” about the shooting death of American financier John Bender, that prompted them to play judge, jury, and psychoanalyst. There is evidence to suggest that both Ann and John suffered from bipolar disorder, which can escalate into severe psychosis. If they were both psychotic—which seems likely, especially in John’s final days—it might be impossible to determine what actually happened in that room. The increased paranoia, obsessive behaviors, and hoarding suggest a break with reality. MASSIMO BALESTRI ONLINE I wonder if Ann is so unstable that she doesn’t even realize she killed him. For me, 550 Tiffany lamps in the bedroom…

For 25 years, contributing editor Peter Heller has been a participant in some of the most hair-raising expeditions this magazine has covered. “The trips take a bit more ibuprofen these days,” says Heller, 54, of Denver. “But I just can’t turn down an opportunity to do something I’ve never done before.” For this issue, Heller, author of The Dog Stars, a postapocalyptic novel about a bush pilot in the Colorado wilderness, took it a bit easier than usual (“Best Kept Wild,” page 78), helicoptering in to a remote lodge in New Zealand. Here’s a look back at some of his Outside stories 1989 Kayaks the first descent of China’s Dadu River; expedition member drowns in Heller’s arms 1990 Travels to Siberia during the Cold War to boat and party with…

To report “Disposable Man” (page 64), an investigation into the incredibly perilous work that Sherpas do in the Himalayas, senior editor Grayson Schaffer spent a month trekking between villages near Mount Everest. “It was a story that’s been hiding in plain sight,” says Schaffer. “I don’t think we fully comprehend just how dangerous the work is and how bad the safety net is when they fall.” To see Schaffer’s portraits of Sherpas, and video from his conversations, go to outsideonline.com/sherpas or download the August issue through our iPad app, Outside+ Magazine. A-REPORT CARD GRADE THAT BLIND ADVENT URER ERIK WHIHENMAYER GAVE WRITER TRACY ROSS FOR HER GUIDING WORK DURING A STAND-UPPADDLEBOARDING TRIP ON NORTH CAROLINA’S MELLOW CATAWBA RIVER. “NOT SURE I’D LET HER TAKE ME INTO RAPIDS, THOUGH,” SAID WEIHENMAYER,…