The 2019/2020 winter issue of Adventure Pro Magazine hits the newsstands loaded with inspiration to get outside! For more stoke, the editor has a message for you!
When you hear of someone skiing jagged peaks in Alaska, bike touring the Andes or kayaking a wild coastline, do you wonder how they got there? Not the flight they took, but the path to becoming skilled enough to consider going that big. Do you dream of going big yourself, saying, “one day…”?
Seeking adventure has driven me far afield. I’ve been fortunate, provided with a wealth of experiences that one day will be distilled into stories told around a campfire – perhaps stories that nobody will believe.
I am humbled by the rewards of experiences I simply had to pursue. Every reward is a gift, of course, often delivered in mysterious ways.
Soloing steep mountains has presented for me many trying moments, of which dalliances with crevices, near falls and tunneling through a giant bergschrund remain vivid and prized memories. Gripping tight to hold two Pakistani porters from sweeping into the maw of killer rapids has helped etch in my psyche a permanent inferiority to natural forces – no one can “conquer” a mountain or river.
Standing ankles to teeth of a large caiman taught me that patience and courage are kindred – one move and my bones would be sand today. Midway across the Pacific on a voyage from Singapore to Seattle, I witnessed seven rainbows embroiled in a distant black mass of storm clouds – can someone, anyone, affirm a supernumerary phenomena like this can exist?
Retrieving the body of a fallen climber from a Karakoram slope revealed the power in a name – it was a body until we were given his name. While standing naked in the plunge of Angel Falls, the world’s highest waterfall, I sustained a drubbing cleanse that launched for my team a belly laugh that keeps on giving.
I’m not sharing these stories to impress, but to remind that you, too, can build a portfolio of unbelievable stories. Put yourself out there, try new things, allow yourself to be uncomfortable, even scared – it can be unbelievable!
In this issue, Heather Mobley opens the door to cross-country skiing, a sport in which she is an expert, but was once a novice. It works that way.
On the other hand, Josh Jespersen took his turn long ago and he keeps taking them. Now he’s making steep ones in landscapes like the Grenadiers, a dreamy place for him.
It doesn’t take much to begin a new adventure, just start with used gear. Morgan Sjogren reminds us in “Ode to Used Gear” that new, state-of-the-art gear isn’t necessary.
Adventure Pro Magazine puts a lot of effort into inspiring adventurers to try new activities, sports and gear. From back door to beyond, we’re sticking with you!
Adventure is yours for the taking. Believe it!
