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The Guide
LAUNCHPADS
If you’ve ever dreamed of buying an adventure-ready second home, now’s the time, thanks to bottoming-out prices. Here’s where to start your hunt. By LARRY OLMSTED

Editors’ Choice Awards
THE GREATEST…
For our inaugural list, we’ve gathered 51 of our favorite things into arollicking compendium of capital ideas, sublime destinations, brilliant equipment, and more.

A Left Turn at the End of the World
In which STEPHANIE PEARSON discovers that the half-forgotten Falkland Islands feature one of the greatest remaining wildlife cornucopias on the planet.

It’s the Dog in You
The Pentagon’s latest skunkworks project is endowing humans with the prowess of the strongest, hardiest animals on the planet: Iditarod sled dogs. By BRIAN ALEXANDER

Departments
DISPATCHES
»   FIRST LOOK: The new film 180° South retraces Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins’s legendary 1968 trip to Patagonia. The result? Silver-screen inspiration to quit your job.
»   NEWS FROM THE FIELD: Surfer Stephanie Gilmore looks for her fourth-consecutive ASP title; ski comedies; eco-books
»   THE WILD FILE: A new kind of animal power list, dead pools, and frozen cocktails
»   XX FACTOR: Kick Kennedy is the latest in the family to get her feet wet on water issues
»   BOOKS: Ted Conover discusses his examination of the world’s roads; Mark Spragg’s new novel about hard living in Wyoming; Anthony Brandt’s chronicle of the search for the Northwest Passage
»   MEDIA: How Discovery’s cameramen captured everything from komodo dragons to humpback whales for Life

DESTINATIONS
»    GET LOST: Fickle weather makes spring a tough season for travelers, but pay attention and you just might score a last-minute trip of a lifetime. Here are six scenarios to take advantage of.
»    JOURNEYS: South Africa is getting a multi-billion-dollar upgrade ahead of soccer’s World Cup, in June. Go now before the hooligans arrive.

STYLE
Jackets and sweaters for wet and wild days; plus, an ode to thrift

BODYWORK
»    YES YOU CAN…RUN THE NEW YORK CITY MARATHON: Our new four-part series provides simple training plans for some of life’s greatest (and most rewarding) physical endeavors. First up: 26.2 miles of Big Apple.

THE ESSENTIALS
»    INCOMING: A new kind of avalanche airbag is set to become standard equipment for backcountry enthusiasts
»    OUTFITTED: Killer gear for the rain warrior, whether on the trail or the tarmac
»    SPECTRUM: Is that a laptop in your pocket? Portable tools for the adventure traveler

Columns
THE BIG IDEA
Let mountain bikers roam free in our federal wilderness areas. By JOHN BRADLEY

OUT OF BOUNDS
Take a ringside seat as ERIC HANSEN learns the ropes of boxing–and the left hook and the standing eight-count…

NATURAL INTELLIGENCE
With two coyotes attacking and killing a 19-year-old folksinger this fall and scientists confirming that an eastern subspecies is actually part wolf, the once overlooked animals are garnering new attention. By ELIZABETH ROYTE

THE LAB RAT
The quickest way to boost your performance in any sport? Drop some gut. By NICK HEIL