Outside Podcast

When’s the last time you were lost, as in  “zero connectivity, a map you don’t understand, and tens of miles between you and shelter” lost? If you’ve ever been in that situation you know it awakens a kind of primal panic. It's not pleasant, but it's an amazing classroom, and it's one that Emily Miller has intentionally led people into for over 15 years. Emily's a gifted rally racer, which means she's used to being lost while at speeds near 100 miles an hour. But as interesting as her racing career is (and listen on for just how interesting it was!), it's the race she founded that's really fascinating. The Rebelle Rally is the longest navigation race in the U.S., and it's only open to women. In the past decade, Emily has trained more than 8,000 women to race it, which mean's she's taught them how to get excruciatingly lost, and then find their way home. Turns out, those skills are pretty translatable to the rest of your life.

Today's Long Read with Outside Magazine Features Editor, Fred Drier, reveals the magnitude and devastating impact of the recent tragedy on Broad Peak, in the Karakoram Range between Pakistan and China. The 26,414-foot mountain is considered one of the challenging in the region, and 10 lives lost make it the deadliest high-alpine avalanche in more than a decade. Outside's Mount Everest correspondent, Ben Ayers, spoke to the people central to the recovery effort, and this is their story.

When Peter Heller moved to the Rocky Mountains, he arrived ready to split his time between paddling rivers and penning stories.  What began with a shot-in-the-dark cold call led to a career in adventure journalism. Peter’s award winning body of work saw him on assignment in some of the most dramatic and extreme locales around the globe. And these stories in turn became the foundation for his New York Times bestselling novels, like "The River" and "Burn." Peter’s books are so compelling because of their lyrical depictions of nature and the dramatic circumstances his characters face. And underneath the adventure is a continued examination of manhood and male friendship—a theme that’s been central to his writing since his very first novel, "The Dog Stars," which recently received the full Hollywood treatment from director Ridley Scott, starring Josh Brolin, Jacob Elordi, and Margaret Qualley. Peter sat down with us just after he returned from the film’s London premiere for a conversation filled with wild tales, the ongoing examination of what it means to be a man, and how time outside forms who we are.

Today's Long Read with Outside Magazine Features Editor, Fred Drier, is for anyone who's done battle with snack-hunting seagulls on a beach trip this summer. Writer Andrew Zaleski tells the tale of how one beach community—Ocean City, NJ—got so fed up with the gulls dive bombing its guests, it decided to respond with the big guns: Birds of prey. Come take a walk on the Jersey Shore, with the falconers keeping everyone's pizza safe.

When it comes to the GOATs of outdoorsy heroes, who do you think of first? Chances are it’s not  Grand Canyon rafting legend Georgie White, groundbreaking author and Adirondack wilderness guide Anne LaBastille, and backcountry powder-skiing trailblazer Dolores LaChapelle. And author Heather Hansman wants to change that. Her new book, “Fierce Country: The Untold Story of Three Women Who Ignited America’s Love for the Wild” is a triple biography of the trio’s influence on our understanding of wild places and the odds they faced to earn this influence.  Heather rectifies the sexism that kept their names out of our history in “Fierce Country,” but never pulls a punch when it comes to the grimy parts of life that made these women complicated heroes. In her research and writing, Heather found deep gratitude for the full and messy lives these women led, and a better understanding of why and how to live a life outside.