Contributors

Ron C. Judd is the outdoors reporter for The Seattle Times and the author of two guidebooks on the Pacific Northwest, the most recent being Inside Out: Washington (Sasquatch Books). He spends his winters checking out the slopes, bars, and accommodations at ski areas throughout the West (hey, it's his job!), and he shares his inside info on 10 resorts. While covering the Winter Olympics in Nagano, he also investigated one of Japan's curious indoor ski mountains.

Bob Payne, a veteran travel writer based in New York City, is a contributing editor of Islands and Cond‰ Nast Traveler who manages to spend a suspicious amount of time "on assignment" in the Greek islands. He accounts his exploration of the island of Folegandros. He also covers a remote dive resort in Papua New Guinea and a hike through Italy's Cinque Terre.

Alex Salkever is a self-confessed surf bum who fled the shores of his native Maryland to catch some perfectly shaped waves in Hawaii. Now a resident of Oahu, Alex manages to find time between sets to write on a wide range of topics for publications as varied as Wired, The Christian Science Monitor, Brides, Islands, and Travel & Leisure. In this issue he leads us on a hike through the Waimanu Valley on the Big Island of Hawaii and explores the trails, rivers, and beaches of Kauai.

Robert Earle Howells is a longtime Outside contributor and the editor of Outside's annual Buyer's Guide, and he knows more about travel bags, gear, and gadgets than anyone we know. He reviews the best in travel clothing, trekking gadgets, seaworthy essentials, and must-have travel bags. He also guides us through the wilds of Grenada.

Amy and Jane McConnell are sisters who frequently share assignments on travel-related subjects. San Francisco-based Amy is a former editor of Fodor's Travel Guides who recently joined the staff of Sunset magazine as a senior editor. Jane, of Boulder, Colorado, is the former editor of Women's Sports & Fitness. They lineup 10 of the world's greatest beaches.

Karen Karbo of Portland, Oregon, is the author of Big Girl in the Middle with Gabrielle Reece. An avid scuba diver, she has promised herself never to dive in waters colder than 75 degrees. Her story about diving with sea turtles in the acceptably warm waters off Maui appears in this issue. She also takes us to Palau.

Jeff Greenwald is a contributing editor of Wired and the author of four books, including The Size of the World (Ballantine Books) and Future Perfect: How Star Trek Conquered Planet Earth (Viking). In this issue he writes about his trek through Dogon Country in Mali, his experiences tracking tigers in Nepal, and an interlude at a Tibetan gompa. For more details of his adventures, check out his web site at www.jeffgreenwald.com.

Tony Perrottet, an Aussie who divides his time between New York City and the Australian Outback, is the author of Off the Deep End (HarperCollins Flamingo). Tony chronicles his adventures in the Outback and entertains us with his E-mails from the field.

Copyright 1998, Outside magazine