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Features
He’s one of the most important environmental leaders of the century, credited with many of the movement’s greatest triumphs. He’s also a man whose sense of mission outweighs allegiances to family, friends, or anyone who stands in his way. And even now, at 83, he still has
a world to save before his time runs out.
By Daniel Coyle
Snowboarding for grownups
As a fiercely pitched battle for southern Utah rages in Congress, one of the West’s staunchest advocates defends a wilderness that sets our imagination free.
By Rick Bass
Nothing conveys holiday cheer quite like a good piece of equipage.
If there’s one thing the author knows, it’s that the weather makes her sick–and makes her feel great. Is she a bona fide “weather-sensitive” or a certifiable head case? Depends on whom you ask. One woman’s odyssey through the world of biometeorology.
By Sallie Tisdale
Departments
As adrenaline junkies head for this month’s Raid Gauloises, adventure racing survives–for now–internal squabbles and doubts over its environmental ethic. Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson ducks a possible life sentence after a trial in hostile territory. Has Bruce Babbitt’s failed experiment caused the end of government-backed biology? The world’s most traveled man lays bare the dirty little secrets of competitive globe-trotting. Plus: Paula Newby-Fraser stumbles–quite literally–in her final Ironman, postdoctoral bohunks flex their pecs for science, a teenybopper podium rebellion mars the World Mountain Bike Championships, and more.
Pssst, buddy, need an 18-inch flesh-and-blood human being? From a Dantesque sweat lodge in Arizona to the seedy underbelly of Florida, our man tackles the mysterious case of the missing Little Person.
By Randy Wayne White
How do we know that no two snowflakes are alike? Why do geese fly in V formation? Plus: Improbable postscripts from the year’s correspondence, featuring killer lakes, squashed beavers, and freeze-resistant frogs.
The top Caribbean sports resorts: for those who need more than rum punch and a hammock, nine sloth-shunning oases for diving, sailing, boardsailing, snorkeling, fishing, mountain biking, and rainforest rambling. Carving the untracked via snowcat: the rotor-wash-free and moderately priced alternative to heli-skiing. PLUS: Class III and IV rafting trips through the verdant jungle of Ecuador’s Río Blanco and Río Toachi, the wilderness meets the information superhighway at NOLS’ new Web site.
The om with oomph: Astanga, aka power yoga, provides a serious workout with a transcendental edge, emphasizing endurance and strength as much as flexibility and good karma. Five sweat-while-you-stretch positions for the modern-yoga novice. Plus How to head off exercise-induced asthma in the cold, dry season, and What you should know when shopping for sunglasses for the slopes.
Gifts to brighten the yule of any outdoor athlete, including Patagonia’s insulated yet compact Puffball Vest, The North Face Easy Rider snowboard pack, the Cannondale Crop Jersey, Asolo’s Expedition boots, Schwinn’s retro bike seat cum bar stool, Media Mosaic’s Rock Climbing CD-ROM, Nike’s minimalist Air Rift running shoes, and long-range recreational walkie-talkies from Motorola. Plus: including The Pillars of Hercules: A Grand Tour of the Mediterranean, by Paul Theroux; The Sierra Club Desert Reader, edited by Gregory McNamee; and more.
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