While California skiers are rejoicing over the state’s record-breaking snowfall this year, many wildland firefighters are starting to get nervous. Winter precipitation means spring plant growth—and to a wildfire, plants are nothing more than fuel. Of course, California’s record-breaking precipitation does have some benefits. It’s helped alleviate the state’s longstanding drought. Plentiful rainfall also encourages [...]
My heart pounds as I pull just one more time against my hangboard, a piece of wood designed with finger-sized slots for warming up the hands for rock climbing. I’m desperate to grasp any bit of possible help before all the cameras point at me and I’m expected to climb a challenging ascent in front [...]
If you saw the Jungle Book movie as a kid, you might remember the scene in which Baloo scratches his back against a tree (just before singing the “Bear Necessities,” if memory serves). While scientists have long observed bears doing this in the wild, they weren’t sure why—until recently. A new study suggests that wild [...]
Finding water in the mountains sounds like it should be easy, whether from streams formed by melting snow or fast-running rivers meandering through valleys. But in reality, you might find yourself on a high mountain ridge with no obvious source of food or water. Or, at lower elevations, the terrain might be too dry to [...]
It’s finally time to get away for a few days and sleep under the stars. Whether you want your friends and family to tag along or you want to travel solo, there’s a campground on this list perfect for you. We’ve rounded up the 25 best campgrounds within two hours of Madison so all you [...]
Every January, ski patrol teams from across the country gather in Utah to train their secret weapons: avalanche dogs. And there’s no better place to train than at an elite academy known as the Wasatch Backcountry Rescue International Dog School. Equipped with world-class sniffers and the ability to dig fast—even through hard-packed snow—dogs are rapidly [...]
The first priority of survival in general is to seek the protection of a shelter, and that goes doubly if you’re in sub-zero temperatures. Often, especially if you’re above the treeline, that shelter must be made from snow. “Snow can save your life and will insulate you far better than the metal of a broken-down [...]
As a survivalist, Bear Grylls has made it his mission to show people how to persevere everywhere from mountains and jungles to deserts and in sub-zero conditions. Bear often talks about his four life-saving priorities if faced with an emergency situation—and a simple way to remember them: “Please Remember What’s First” for Protection, Rescue, Water [...]
If you’ve heard about the upcoming horror-comedy film Cocaine Bear, you may have already lumped it together with such classics as Sharknado and Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus. (We wouldn’t blame you.) But the new film does have one redeeming quality: unlike Sharknado, it’s actually based on a true story. In the film, a black [...]
When Australian explorer Eddie Gault mistakenly left his video camera out on a glacier, he didn’t expect a pair of penguins to get to it first—let alone start taking selfies. Gault, a polar explorer for the Antarctic Australian Division, had been traveling near the Auster rookery, a penguin colony near Antarctica’s Mawson Research Station. It [...]
