Rescue of the Week

Video and internet comments from a fatal accident bring home the typical quandaries of big mountains, weather, group size and rescue expectations.

Reflections on the upside of grudge match hiking

Icy conditions in the fell country lead to seven trekker deaths on Wales' Mt. Snowdon and the English Peak and Lake Districts.

Shhhh, big secret! The best winter camping is in spring - whenever that is.

Uncovering another extension to a long cross-country route through Capitol Reef

Project Backyard researcher uncovers ancient rock art endorsement

Hood strikes again, as a female climber gets killed by chunk of falling ice. Why is this mountain so deadly?

Stay-cations can't be adventurous? We post otherwise, and invite you to do likewise.

It's easy to misunderestimate your back yard. Let friend, tester and long-time contributor Larry Amkraut explain.

Contributor and friend Mark Jenkins has a close call with an avalanche. His partner is killed.

Calling all werewolves! This weekend is gonna be a monster moon.

E-mail from a friend highlights the need for your old gear in Darjeeling, India

Snow slides trash Jackson Hole's new tram station and kill 11 in Utah, Wyoming and British Columbia

Solitude, beauty and yes, even comfort, await - if you go about it right.

Ahh, the holidays! The blizzards, the traffic, the warm glow of burning airliners.

By audaciously walking into a BLM oil lease auction and waving his buyer's paddle, a college student becomes my new hero.

Winter's back and so is the Avalanche Hazard. Time to smarten up.

Some thoughts on dealing with winter darkness

A baker's dozen images from our recent testing journey

Homecoming notes on changing climates, home heating and fall fashion

In which our hapless protagonist addresses some basic lessons in meteorology

Notes on killer scenery, harsh weather and gear testing

Design pitfalls that testers hate and you should avoid

My short list of current go-to schwag

Tragedy, comedy, and foreboding

A personal peek at some promising new schwag I've been testing.

An Oregon solo climber crawls for days to survive, and you could too.

And apparently a lot of hikers aren't setting out prepared for weather

River ford proves costly for a remote wilderness soloist

An upcoming adventure illustrates the common denominators between John Muir, group-think and sushi.

Chaotic insights on gear testing, Colorado growth, senior hiking mayhem and Germanic adventure.

And the tragedy hits close to home

The death of an Ultimate Fighting Champion illustrates the firm line between society and wildland

How to turn recreation into an epic and gain new respect for your own backyard

In separate incidents, three emergency beacons are triggered, saving two lives

Two golden eagles get a second chance at wildness and a matchless release site.

A vanished backpacker and two ice tunnel collapses illustrate that most expertise is merely local knowledge

Havasu Canyon gets a power flush, stranding nearly 200 campers

Late summer chaos, with falls and lost hikers coast to coast

An afternoon update of equipment I'm lusting after.

The so-far coolest stuff I've seen at OR

The hell with avalanches and snake eating; Survive Outdoor Retailer!

Eleven climbers die in avalanche high on K2, but details are scarcer than opinions

Are you tougher than a Five-Year-Old?

If you want to stay alive, get out of the house.

To avoid getting slapped down by hot weather, you need to acclimatize

Two radically different incidents illustrate that it’s about us more than the wilderness

Unusual incident possibly due to recent wildfire

In which our protagonists journey between gateways, encountering adventures never dreamed of among the high peaks.

It seems you can't hike anywhere these days without stumbling into a little drama

A Mountaineer goes missing, A novice hiker triggers a SPOT beacon alert

Summer thunderstorm season is here. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Mayhem-filled summer seems dominated by water incidents

Follow African adventurer Sibusiso Vilane as he climbs Alaska's 20,320-foot Mt. McKinley to complete his Seven Summits.

The First-Hand Skivvy

The anatomy of a (near) disaster

The absurdities of Denali climbing, a bit about my partner, and links so you can follow our progress

Hard Won Lessons on Logistics, Altitude, and Cold

SAR News from Dumb to Inspirational

Record heat creates avalanche rescue and multiple river fatalities in the Pacific Northwest

Canadian Brent Case describes a chilling, and leisurely, bear attack

When choosing which forces of nature to oppose, the smart call is to avoid showdowns with H20

Safe or Scary?

Musings on the 11th Essential, and Choosing Your Companions Wisely

A Friday roundup of the week's SAR News

The most common mistake in the book

Stories emerge. Investigations begin. And the answers will undoubtedly mimic lessons already learned.

SPOT satellite messenger beacons

Satellite Phones -or- Can You Hear me Now?

Emergency Beacons and Phones, Part One of Three

On windchill, temperature, and waiting for summer

On photography, sandstorms and power walking

Sometimes it's not enough if you're the only survivor

With some pontificating, and a few thoughts about rescue insurance

Thoughts on Jeeps, Sandstone, and Hiking Hazards

Never leave home without covering the three basic necessities for safe hiking

How do skiers, snowboarders, climbers and snowshoers get in avalanches? And more importantly, what are your chances if you do?

Check out Katie Herrel's author page.