Willow Koerber (Patrick Fraser)
Mountain biker Willow Koerber takes some rare downtime before prepping for another season. 5 Photos

Taylor Kitsch (Jeff Lipsky)
The Friday Night Lights star takes a break in Austin, Texas before heading out on a flyfishing trip. 8 Photos

Black Diamond (Michael Kelley)
Photographer Michael Kelley takes you for a rare look behind the scenes of the company's Salt Lake City factory. 15 Photos

Mike Rowe (Sam Jones)
The host of Dirty Jobs takes a break in San Francisco for a shoot with photographer Sam Jones. 5 Photos

Hugo's World (Patrick Symmes)
Patrick Symmes went looking for adventure in the world's most hostile environment for Homo Turisticus. He came back with a tale that will haunt him forever, and candid snapshots of the strange and scenic land of Chavez. 12 Photos

Shark's Fin (Jimmy Chin)
Last fall, photographer Jimmy Chin set off with Conrad Anker and Renan Ozturk to attempt an unclimbed 6,500-foot route up India's Meru Peak. 14 Photos

Surf Trek (Mark Anders)
Correspondent Mark Anders and friends set off for a week-long jaunt along one of Europe's last empty coastlines, with surfboards in tow. Along the way they found a 20-minute ride, primitive camps, and plenty of empty beaches. 11 Photos

Ready, Aim, Sushi (D.J. Struntz)
Two of the world's best spearfishermen hunt for fish the size of offensive lineman. *Caution: These photos contain pictures of a sensitive nature, including the death of a large shark. The kill was made in self-defense. 8 Photos

Amber Heard (Kurt Markus)
Photographer Kurt Markus took these candid portraits of Hollywood's newest "it" girl on the set of the fly fishing movie The River Why. 6 Photos

Jenny Fletcher (Jeff Lipsky)
The 33-year-old model/amateur triathlete is poised to go pro in 2009. Jeff Lipsky caught up with her in Malibu, California. 6 Photos

Chamonix (Tim Neville)
Outside correspondent Tim Neville traveled to France to profile ski and climbing guide Michael Silitch, an American trying to gain full access to the most exclusive guiding outfit in the world, the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix. 19 Photos

Katie Brown (Chris McPherson)
Climbing's new it girl takes a break from Yosemite for a relaxing photo shoot in Berkeley. 8 Photos

Vintage Jeans (Lynn Downey)
A collection of the oldest, rarest, most expensive jeans on the planet, as compiled by Levi Strauss & Co.'s historian, Lynn Downey. 8 Photos

Freighter Journey (Donovan Hohn)
For his January 2009 feature, Monsterwellen, writer Donovan Hohn risked a watery grave by traveling across the Pacific on a colossal freighter. 12 Photos

Your Best Shots: Reader Selects
After you read our photo guide, you sent in your best shots. Here are our favorites. 9 Photos

Malia Jones (Jeff Lipsky)
Pro surfer and model Malia Jones travels 300 days a year to ride the world's choicest breaks. Photographer Jeff Lipsky caught up with her in Malibu. 9 Photos

Brazilian Amazon (Stephanie Pearson)
While traveling with conservation guru John Cain Carter (November 2008), contributing editor Pearson took candid snapshots of village life in the Amazon. 8 Photos

The Wooden Bike Classic (Ryan Heffernan)
Almost fifteen years after the genocide, photographer Ryan Heffernan traveled to Rwanda to take pictures of the Wooden Bike Classic and the country's emerging cycling scene. 10 Photos

The Last Voyage of the Cúlin (Ryan Heffernan)
Photographer Ryan Heffernan (www.ryanheffernan.com) traveled with writer David Vann to the lawless, empty coast of Chiapas to investigate the death of sailor John Long. 13 Photos

Amanda Beard (Steven Lippman)
The seven-time Olympian just made her fourth Olympics. Photographer Steven Lippman caught up with her while she trained in Los Angeles. 7 Photos

Burma (Patrick Symmes)
Before Cyclone Nargis hit and killed at least 78,000 people, contributing editor Patrick Symmes got out with these snapshots. 13 Photos

Groover Boy (Kurt Markus)
While Kevin Fedarko piloted a latrine raft down the Colorado, Markus snapped epic shots of the Grand Canyon and candid portraits of the writer. 10 Photos

Snowkiting Across North Dakota (Blake Gordon)
Three buddies snowkite across farms, ranchlands, and frozen lakes to raise awareness about wind power. 11 Photos

Bolivian Confluence (Paolo Marchesi)
On a hunt to bag a confluence, photographer Paolo Marchesi captured Bolivia, with candid portraits of Aymara Indians and fish eye views of its salt flats. 11 Photos

Reader Travel Photo Contest Winners (Outside Readers)
Hundreds of you sent in your best travel photos for a contest that ran with our 2008 Travel Issue. Here are the best of the best. 7 Photos

America's Next Top Racer: Julia Mancuso (Gordy Megroz)
We head to Maui to cliff-dive with Olympic gold medalist Julia Mancuso, who's shedding the tiara in favor of war paint as she trains for a historic World Cup ski title. 10 Photos

Greenland and Iceland (Sian Kennedy)
While touring rapidly defrosting Iceland and Greenland with Wells Tower's feuding family for "Meltdown", photographer Sian Kennedy snapped some otherworldly scenic shots. 12 Photos

River at Risk: Grand Canyon
Head down the Colorado River with explorer Wade Davis and friends in a wooden dory, and enjoy these jaw-dropping images from the book Grand Canyon: River at Risk. 10 Photos

Quest for Shambhala (Seamus Murphy)
Seamus Murphy trains his lens on the Far East as he and Symmes search for the lost city of Shambhala for "The Kingdom of the Lotus.". The duo pass travel among nomads, sheep herders, and pilgrims in this gallery. 15 Photos

Castaway: Isla Pargo (Thayer Walker)
For the July 2007 feature story "Me. By Myself. For a Long Time. (Very Long.)", we sent Thayer Walker to the uninhabited island of Isla Pargo with little more than a dive mask, a knife, and the clothes on his back. 11 Photos

Nicaragua (Jason Florio)
When a local beauty turned up dead in Nicaragua's San Juan del Sur, the dream of paradise became a nightmare for one expat American surfer. Here, see Jason Florio's photo outtakes of the town of San Juan del Sur from the June 2007 feature story, "The Boomtown, the Gringo, the Girl, and Her Murder" by Tony D'Souza. 13 Photos

Papua New Guinea: Chasing Ghosts (Philipp Engelhorn, www.philippengelhorn.com)
Tangled jungle, rushing rapids, native ceremonies. See Philipp Engelhorn's photos from his trip with James Campbell along the Kapa Kapa Trail for the May 2007 feature story "Chasing Ghosts" here. 17 Photos

The Malloy Brothers
It becomes pretty clear in our May 2007 cover story, "Nine Reasons to Buy the Malloy Brothers a Beer" that the surfing, filmmaking, gear-designing Malloys—Chris, Keith, and Dan—have it made. See them in action here. 11 Photos

China's Yangtze River (Jed Weingarten)
In the April 20007 feature story, "Leaping Tiger, Drowning River" writer Patrick Symmes travels with Mountain Travel Sobek down the remote granite gorges of China's Yangtze. See photographer and guide Jed Weingarten's photos here. 16 Photos

The Cousteaus (© Carrie Vonderhaar, Ocean Futures Society)
Water warrior Jean-Michel Cousteau is the patriarch of the first family of the sea. See him in action with his son Fabien and daughter Céline. 13 Photos

The Ultimate Eco-Chic Crash Pad (Gregg Segal)
Get an insider's tour of the Ryker/Nave house, featured in the April 2007 feature "Home Improvement" and see a slew of cool eco-finds like denim insulation, sunflower-seed plywood, and wheat-board cabinetry. 14 Photos

Out of Bounds: Make Like a Tree (Eric Hansen)
For "School of Sap" Eric Hansen traveled to Georgia to get up close and sappy with an unlikely group of artists: 50 Leyland cypress trees. See Hansen's photos of the artsy trees and their keeper here. 10 Photos

The Philippines: Beached in the Danger Zone (Antonin Kratochvil)
Writer John Falk and photographer Antonin Kratochvil braved terrorists, ornery mosquitos, and Philippine soap operas to report the February 2007 feature story, "This is the War on Terror. Wish You Were Here!" See more of Kratochvil's photos here. 12 Photos

Skiing Mount Everest (Jimmy Chin)
See photographer Jimmy Chin's shots of Kit DesLauriers's history- making ski off Mount Everest, featured in the January 2007 story "The No Fall Zone." 16 Photos