John Ackerman has spent millions procuring a majority of the known caves in Minnesota, which add up to dozens of miles of underground passageways and likely make him the largest cave owner in the U.S. He collects and charts them in the name of preservation, but his controversial methods have created many opponents.

A letter from a cyclist who survived.

A Ranger graduate breaks down an ordeal that shapes some of the nation’s finest soldiers.

Two brothers attempt to bond on a trek in the Cascades

Artist Eric Bealer was living the remote, rugged good life in coastal Alaska with his wife, Pam, an MS sufferer, when they made a dramatic decision: to exit this world together, leaving behind precise instructions for whoever entered their cabin first.

Behind the scenes of the survivalist reality-TV show.

Investigating one of the deadliest maritime disasters in U.S. history.

Who gets to decide when a destination is “at capacity”?

The view of a life from cruising altitude.

On surfer girls in Maui; the story that led to the film Blue Crush.

To some, Baltimore Jack’s choice to live off the grid was irresponsible. Others celebrated that he’d managed to break the shackles of convention. We look back on the life of an AT antihero.

Three deaths in the mountains, and a community left to wonder: How close should we stand to our own mortality to feel alive?

On the rise of alt meat and the decline of cattle.

Death, ISIS, and tourism in the Atlas Mountains.

Six young men set out on a dead-calm sea to seek their fortunes. Suddenly they were hit by the worst gale in a century, and there wasn’t even time to shout. The article that eventually became The Perfect Storm.

How much does the world need to know about a deadly bear attack? That question was tested in the Yukon last year, after the horrific loss of a mother and daughter caused a destructive media storm.

A profile of a 25-year-old Spanish sensation.

Two years ago, the climbing photographer known as Nathan Smith saw no way out, after struggling for years with gender-identity issues in the male-dominated outdoor industry. Then—slowly, bravely—Nikki introduced herself to the world.

More than 250 people have died since 2011 taking pictures of themselves in dangerous locations.

During the Great Floods of 2011, the Mississippi unleashed deadly currents and a flow rate that could fill the Superdome in less than a minute. Defying government orders, the author and two friends canoed 300 miles from Memphis to Vicksburg. This is their story.

High in the Karakoram, where the stubborn armies of India and Pakistan face off.

For decades, Jeffrey Lendrum went to extreme lengths to snatch falcon eggs from their nests and sell them to the highest bidder. Then he got caught.

Justin Alexander went searching for higher meaning. No one expected the quest to end in a search for his body.

A lifelong runner is hit with a mysterious physical breakdown and forced to begin contemplating the end.

Inside the most destructive fire in American history—and why the West’s cities and towns will keep on burning.