In the social chatter of Mount Everest Base Camp, everyone has heard about Wally. 　　Thats the nickname given to Viorel Stirbu, a 74-year-old man who has become a crowd favorite in the mountaineering community. Wally is an American citizen who speaks with a thick Romanian accent. He was born in Romania but sought asylum in the United States 45 years...

　　It recently took me 25 minutes to walk a across Mount Everest Base Camp to the edge of the Khumbu Glacier to meet American ultrarunner Tyler Andrews. 　　I had to stop frequently along the rocky path—which is at 17,500 feet above sea level—to cough and catch my breath. During the stroll I often thought about Andrews upcoming attempt to run...

　　When Teresa Martinez was a mountain-bike racer, she suffered a recurring anxiety dream. Days before any competition, Martinez would envision herself woefully unprepared, five minutes before the start. First, her shoes would go missing, then her bike, then her water bottle, then her gloves. With her gear finally gathered, she still had to find the starting line. “And then, you...

　　Mount Everest holds a special aura for hardcore climbers and casual fans of the sport alike. Every year, the worlds highest peak attracts several hundred climbers who attempt to reach the top. But not everyone is familiar with the dynamics on the mountain, the guiding industry, or even the route to the top. Below, we answer a handful of familiar...

　　Proper diet and exercise are just what the doctor ordered when it comes to living a healthier and longer life, for us and our canine friends. “Just like people, the secret to longevity for dogs is to eat healthy and exercise,” advises Dr. Justin Toth, veterinarian and owner/founder of Dallas Highway Animal Hospital. Here are a few ways to help...

　　If you’ve ever thought something like, “It’s just corn out there in Nebraska,” we’re gonna enjoy telling you how wrong you are. Beneath its wide skies and quiet prairies lies a rugged and surprising variety of landscapes with trails galore. Whether youre winding through ponderosa pine forests, trekking past otherworldly rock formations, or standing atop towering limestone bluffs, the Cornhusker...

　　I remember the shaking. 　　The vibrations were so severe that I could not stand up. After a few seconds, the soil beneath my feet liquified, and the village I was standing in began to spin like one of those sketchy teacup rides at an American county fair. 　　I also remember the noise. In an instant, the planet itself became a...

　　When you walk into the Sherpa village of Pangboche, which is about ten miles from Mount Everest Base Camp, it feels like youre stepping back in time. 　　The town sits on a hillside at 12,000 feet above sea level, just off the trail to Everest and 22,349-foot Ama Dablam. With its stone homes and meandering yaks, Pangboche is a throwback...

　　Stuart Terrill’s life forever changed in a blink of an eye during a competitive mountain running race this past summer. 　　On July 13, the 22-year-old from Crozet, Virginia, summited 11,000-foot Hidden Peak at Snowbird ski resort above Salt Lake City. He was an hour into the 8.7-mile Cirque Series race serving double duty as the 2024 USA Track and Field...

　　Ray Zahab first noticed that something was wrong with his body in the spring of 2022. “I just started to feel like shit,” he told me, chuckling. The Canadian ultrarunner was 54, and he felt like his body was breaking down. Even his warm up runs began to feel grueling. He was constantly out of breath, napping several times a...

　　Last winter, now 17-year-old Isobel Chi found herself on Washington’s Sasse Mountain with a group of fellow high schoolers and a handful of adult leaders. The early February hike was a regular outing for the Seattle-based Mountaineers Adventure Club (or MAC, pronounced as one word), a youth program designed to provide outdoor recreation opportunities for 14- to 18-year-old Seattleites. Every...

　　Hundreds of climbers and guides are headed to the summit of Mount Everest to make the most of the first stretch of favorable weather of the 2025 climbing season. 　　Here in Base Camp, the chatter amongst expedition leaders is about the traffic jams and conga lines that will soon appear on the mountain. Youve probably seen photos of the congestion...