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Advances on the web changed the we heard about adventures, breaking news, and victories. and and and changed the way we shared stories with our readers. We checked into airports the night before with our laptops and flashed credit card passes over gas pumps on road trips. We guzzled Red Bull to meet tighter deadlines. iEverything rose in popularity as about attention span and networking flashed on Google news and then disappeared. Even with all of those advances, the best adventure story of the decade involved face-to-face contact, cash, pencils, and paper.

10. Cold Cups

Bode Miller took the men's in the two biggest highs of a roller coaster decade.  ruled and revolutionized snowboarding, in the process getting this decade than any other extreme athlete. But takes the top spot in winter sports for dominating skiing the last few years with an unmatched toughness. America's best chance for downhill gold in Vancouver competed in her first World Cup on November 18, 2000 and kept moving up. During the second half of the decade she overcame serious crashes and an unlucky incident with a champagne bottle and won two big crystal globes, becoming the . Here's hoping she starts off 2010 by overcoming and doing well in the Olympics, so people in this country give her .

9. Noteworthy Survivor

Aron Ralston brought the conversation starter around campfires to a new level after broke in May of 2003. Five days into a solo hiking and canyoneering trip in Utah with a pocket knife because it was trapped underneath a boulder and he'd run out of water. We after the event and published an account in . The moral? Always leave a detailed note or tell friends and family when you head out in the wilderness. Ralston didn't. The moral of Ralston's life story? . He now guides and counsels at risk youth and veterans on wilderness expeditions. We can't wait for .

8.��Speed to Cracks to freeBASE

Dean Potter kept chasing new natural highs. At the end of the 90s, Potter became the first climber to complete The Nose and the Northwest Face of Half Dome in under 24 hours. At the he pushed the limits by racking up first ascents (), first solo ascents (), and . In the middle of the decade, he fell from grace in the eyes of many when he surprisingly . A feat that led of him. Near the end of the decade he rose to popularity again when he took up slacklining and the new sport of . It's better to watch these recent feats in the YouTube video above from rather than read about them. That way you can see that Potter has circled back to his old tricks in a new way, making people's jaws drop for the right reasons.

7. Renewing Debate

On January 11, 2008 —the first to summit the mountain on May 29, 1953 along with partner Tenzing Norgay—died at the age of 88. In the spring of 2008, the Chinese of the mountain to climbers during the Olympic torch relay. in 2009, reached the summit for the 19th time, breaking his own record. completed his 11th summit the same year, the most for a Westerner. His achievements complimented a . An increasing number of people bagged the peak. But no story on the mountain this decade captured the public's attention like , two climbers stranded high on the mountain just a couple of days apart. One lived. One died. Speculation as to why led to a debate not seen since the .
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6. Size and Power

China's coming out party as a world power featured architectural flair, grand ceremonies, and a gold monopoly. Planning, finding, and then training talent in the years leading up to the allowed the country to take home the . Though the political might of China showed itself in their medal count, the wow of the games came from two individuals. combined an intense training regimen with freakish athletic talents (a 79-inch wingspan, huge hands, an elongated torso, and size-14 feet) to take home .  won two golds and started his streak of setting world records while shattering the confines of an ideal sprinter. People are still trying to figure out why , and getting faster.

5.��Ever the Wiser

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The youngest world champ in history and retirement to become world champ in ASP history. In total, piled up 41 ASP victories, (four this decade), six pipe masters, and an victory. He also put out plenty of this decade, allowing fans to watch him perform on video in a more natural way.

4. Prostheses Hypothesis

Does a legless Olympic sprinter have an advantage over other athletes? This question ignited a debate that went all the way up the legal ladder and led South African Oscar Pistorius to be banned and then allowed to qualify for the 2008 Olympics. He didn't make the cut, temporarily ending the heated debate, but scientists took up the question: Did Pistorius have an advantage with his fancy, high-tech blades for legs? The answer: A sprinter like Pistorius had to work much harder than someone with legs to reach similar, but slightly slower, speeds. Technicians and athletes in other sports continue to in order to compete and enjoy the outdoors. This decade will likely include an even stronger debate on the subject as technology advances. 

3.��Unnatural Lows

Thanks to all the accusations andconvictions for drug use over the last decade, now when records falldoubters rise. That's because , the , and the all had athletes busted for drugs. Some of the big names inthe news in the last decade included Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Tyler Hamilton, and Marion Jones. The biggest story for our readers occurred when title due to doping after we put him . A of accusations, denials, trials and appeals followed. Despite all the arrests,punishments, and headlines, the cheating won't stop anytime soon. Itmay even get worse. Some speculate that the front lines may move fromdrugs to .

2. Yellow Redefined

He came back from cancer at the end of the decade to . Then he won six more races. He made in a way that XTerra, Body Glove, and couldn't. Plastic wristbands became a symbol of support and courage. He retired. Then he , and into his own quick way to . He won a and returned to Le Tour, fans in tow. This decade we'll continue to follow the long and short of his story, from epic rides in the Tour de France to 144 character dispatches .

1. Leaving Mountains Behind 

Never has the failure to climb a mountain led to such success. After failed to climb in 1993 to honor his dead sister, he picked a new mountain. He raised enough money so a small village in Pakistan could build their own school. In 2006 he published , a book chronicling his journey. By 2009 he had supported more than 131 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. At a time when U.S. foreign policy is governed by military might that includes Shock and Awe and a flock of high-altitude drones, Greg Mortenson took a simpler, gentler approach. He —in the same remote regions where the United States dropped bombs from unseen and unheard planes high in the sky—to so locals could build schools from stones and have basic learning supplies for their children. He took the war against violence out of the sky and put it in the hands of young girls on the ground.

Disagree with our list? Tell us in the comments section below.

–Joe Spring