Outside

“I'm Still Alive but Sh*t Is Getting Wild”: Inside the Siege of the Amarula

When vast gas reserves were discovered off the idyllic coast of northern Mozambique, a crew of roughnecks flew in from around the world to make their fortunes. But in March 2021, Islamist rebels attacked, and the foreigners and thousands of Mozambicans were abandoned. Two hundred holed up at the Amarula Lodge, where the expats faced a choice: save themselves, or risk it all to save everyone.

We’re Here. You Just Don’t See Us.

There’s a common misconception that Black people don’t love wild places. Latria Graham, a southerner with deep connections to farms, rivers, and forests, says the problem isn’t desire but access—and a long history of laws and customs that have whitewashed our finest public lands.

Raising the Dead

At the bottom of the biggest underwater cave in the world, diving deeper than almost anyone had ever gone, Dave Shaw found the body of a young man who had disappeared ten years earlier. What happened after Shaw promised to go back is nearly unbelievable unless you believe in ghosts.

The King of the Ferret Leggers

Longtime Outside readers will tell you: The funniest story this magazine ever published appeared early in its history, in 1983, when a prolific writer named Don Katz persuaded the editors to let him celebrate the strangest sport anybody had ever heard of. His odd but true tale became an instant sensation.

Can You Step in the Same River Twice? In Montana, I Learned the Answer.

Change is inevitable. When it happens in our relationships, it’s best to take a cue from the currents and go with the flow.

19: The True Story of the Yarnell Hill Fire

Through interviews with family, colleagues, and the lone survivor, a former hotshot pieces together their final hours—and the fatal choices that will haunt firefighting forever.

The Mysterious Story of Moncacht-Apé, the Yazoo Explorer Who Walked Across America

After a devastating personal loss, I spent a year tracking the clues of a 300-year-old mystery to show how a nearly forgotten Indigenous explorer reached the Pacific a century before Lewis and Clark.

How Did This Climber Get Away with So Much for So Long?

Federal prosecutors allege that Charles Barrett—a prominent member of the Northern California climbing community who goes to trial for aggravated sexual abuse next week—is a serial offender with a shocking history of violence, harassment, and intimidation. An exclusive investigation into his life and alleged actions raises troubling questions about the dangers women continue to face in the outdoors.

“Please I Will Give Anything for You to Come Back”

Why did a mother with no backcountry experience take her sister and 13-year-old son to live off the grid on a 10,000-foot mountain during a Colorado winter?

Cowgirls All the Way

One of the first women to make a splash during Outside’s formative years was E. Jean Carroll, who in 1981 reported on a championship that was equal parts rodeo and beauty pageant. She came back with a story that advanced the magazine’s rambunctious style and treated saddle queens with the respect they deserve.

Going It Alone

What happens when a Black woman decides to solo-hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine during a summer of bitter political upheaval? Everything you can imagine, from scary moments of racism to new friendships to soaring epiphanies about the timeless value of America’s most storied trekking route.

My Drowning (And Other Inconveniences)

After a legendary career in adventure writing, Tim Cahill thought his story was over. Thrown from a raft in the Grand Canyon’s Lava Falls, he was trapped underwater and out of air. When he finally reached land, his heart stopped for several minutes. Then he came back—and decided to risk Lava again.

Murder on the Appalachian Trail

In 1990, a grisly double homicide on America’s most famous hiking route shocked the nation and forever changed our ideas about crime, violence, and safety in the outdoors

On the Hunt for America’s Last Great Treasure

Millionaire Forrest Fenn launched a thousand trips when he announced in 2010 that he had filled a chest with gold, rubies, and diamonds, and hidden it somewhere north of Santa Fe

The Bighorn Sheep Who Was YouTube Famous

A story about an American icon, environmental displacement, and slob behavior by the human race

The Day We Set the Colorado River Free

It's been more than 50 years since the Colorado River regularly reached the sea. But this spring, the U.S. and Mexico let the water storm through its natural delta for a grand experiment in ecological restoration. As the dam gates opened, a small band of river rats caught a once-in-a-lifetime ride.

The Tale of John and Ann Bender and Their Quest for Paradise

A brilliant American financier and his wife build a lavish mansion in the jungles of Costa Rica, set up a wildlife preserve, and appear to slowly, steadily lose their minds. A spiral of handguns, angry locals, armed guards, uncut diamonds, abduction plots, and a bedroom blazing with 550 Tiffany lamps ends with a body and a compelling mystery.

The Killer in the Pool

He glanced through the glass and saw Tilikum staring back, with what appeared to be two human feet hanging down his side. There was a nude body draped across Tilikum’s back.

The Tuber

Having constructed the greatest flotation device mankind has ever known, our fearless writer embarks on an ill-conceived, possibly insane crossing of alligator-infested North Florida via a string of seriously imperiled and incredibly beautiful rivers. (Yeah, it's a tube.)

Life’s Swell

To be a surfer girl in Maui is to be the luckiest of creatures. It means you’re beautiful and tan and ready to rip. It means you’ve caught the perfect dappled wave and are on a ride that can’t possibly end.