Blog
Biking the Great Wide Open
Sweeping cathedrals of tiger-striped sandstone. Bright fuschia cactus blossoms in a sea of rocks. The delicate scent of juniper and sage after rain. This is southeastern Utah, home of beloved national parks like Canyonlands and Arches and miles and miles of protected land. This is my pilgrimage zone every spring and fall, a landscape that clears the brain as much as it challenges the body. Recently I had the opportunity to write about the adventure capital of this remote corner of the country: Moab. My primer in the May issue of National Geographic…
A Quest to Save Colorado’s Best Ghost Town
Twelve miles north of Silverton, Colorado, where the spruce and fir forests thin to alpine tundra, nine abandoned wooden structures rise out of a meadow. Over a century ago, several hundred people lived here at 11,000 feet, braving -30 temperatures, maddening winds, and, in one winter, 25 feet of snow. Animas Forks is one of Colorado's best ghost towns, but in recent years, it was in danger of falling down. Despite the hamlet's remote location, some 250,000 people ride ATVs, trucks, and dirt bikes up the rugged mountain…
Europe’s Most Legendary Ski Route
Most American skiers who travel to the Alps for the first time are struck by two things: the pleasant amenities (trailside espresso huts! huge Italian feasts for lunch!) and the surprising wildness of the peaks. In Chamonix, for example, the Aiguille du Midi tram rises some 12,000 hair-raising feet over graggy granite in 20 minutes. (It takes considerably longer to get back down.) One of the best ways to immerse yourself in this mind-boggling scenery (and glorious century-old ski culture) is through a hut-to-hut backcountry ski trip,…