Table of contents for May 2019 in Outside

Back in the spring of 2013, we learned about an American woman looking to train and empower a team of young Afghan women by taking them up the war-torn nation’s highest peak, 24,580-foot Mount Noshaq. Outside has spent 40-plus years covering the most significant expeditions in mountaineering, and while the route to the top of Noshaq isn’t considered particularly technical, only three Afghan men have ever stood on the summit. The fact that Afghan women would be attempting the climb, literally risking their lives by flouting the conservative Muslim country’s cultural norms, not only represented something significant in the mountaineering world, it promised a rare opportunity to tell a positive story in a place awash in horrifying news. This month we finally have our story on that historic expedition, led…

ON APRIL 18, 2017, in front of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) road commission in Brussels, Iris Slappendel presented the findings from a survey of the women’s peloton. Slappendel, a 34-year-old retired professional road cyclist and former Dutch national champion, was in Brussels to educate the sport’s governing body about the realities of being a female bike racer. The findings from the survey of nearly 200 riders—roughly half the women’s peloton—were stark. One-third of respondents made $5,670 or less a year, and a majority reported working a second job in order to continue racing. Of those who made a salary, 51 percent paid some of it back to their team in order to compete—for mechanic fees, travel, race kit, event entry fees, and even gas money to get to the…

THE EDGE OF EVERY DAY by Marin Sardy ($26, Pantheon) Sardy roves from Alaska’s mountains to the American Southwest while grappling with her mother’s and brother’s schizophrenia. To mirror the chaos of the condition, she interrupts her narrative with lists of objects (a cup containing a walrus tusk and a rabies tag) and strings of disjointed vignettes (a halibut with an eye migrating around its head, songbirds plucking out their own feathers). “Creativity shares some things in common with mental illness,” she writes. “In order to arrange diverse ideas into something original, something new, the mind must first deconstruct its existing order.” THE DEER CAMP by Dean Kuipers ($28, Bloomsbury) In 1989, Kuipers’s estranged father buys a barren hunting property in rural Michigan to bring game back to the area…

THE CONDITIONS were miserable at the 2018 Boston Marathon: with heavy rain, temperatures in the low forties, and the occasional wind gust of 45 miles per hour, race organizers were mainly worried about hypothermia. But the weather was also a recipe for dehydration. “It was like running in a monsoon, which made it incredibly difficult to hydrate,” says Becca Pizzi, an experienced marathoner in the field that day. “The water was ice-cold, and we just weren’t thirsty.” Fortunately, Pizzi wasn’t waiting until she felt parched—she knew exactly when to take a drink midrace, thanks to a small patch on her left arm. Pizzi was one of about 50 runners at Boston wearing a prototype of Nix, an inexpensive and disposable biosensor that analyzes sweat on the skin and gives real-time…

IN HIS MEMOIR Speak, Memory, Vladimir Nabokov, who was famously prone to insomnia, wrote: “Sleep is the most moronic fraternity in the world, with the heaviest dues and the crudest rituals.” This thought came to mind during a recent visit to the Dreamery in New York City, where a 45-minute nap costs $25. After I checked in and changed into a pair of rental pajamas (night sky themed), a young woman named Kayla led me to one of the Dreamery’s nine sleep pods. If you’re picturing some tech wizardry à la Elon Musk, I’m afraid I have to disappoint. It’s basically a giant wooden cylinder that looks like it could house the world’s largest Camembert. I pulled back the curtain and discovered a duvet-covered mattress and pillow, along with a small…

A. Vans Soft Top sandals $30 Cushy memory-foam footbeds, synthetic straps, and arch support make the Soft Tops comfy enough for the longest of walks to the beach. Grippy outsoles will keep you upright. B. Patagonia Stretch Planing Micro two-inch shorts $49 These water-repellent boardshorts have smooth seams to prevent chafing and stay snug with help from inner and outer drawstrings. The lightweight recycled-polyester fabric moves with you for maximum comfort. C. O’Neill Psycho Tech 4/3 Chest Zip wetsuit $420 The Psycho Tech employs light and stretchy neoprene with glued seams for flexibility. The three- and four-millimeter thickness is great in 50-degree water. D. Slater Designs X Revolwe Competition six-foot leash $29 The surf industry continues to develop more eco-friendly products. Revolwe’s leashes are made with Yulex (a natural rubber)…

If time outside is good medicine, then the national parks, which see some 330 million visitors each year, might just be the country’s most important health care provider. In 2011, the agency launched a program called Healthy Parks Healthy People, which sought to promote the idea that the parks are a national wellness and fitness resource. Now it’s looking to double down on some of the program’s most promising practices, including investments in community gardens and healthy food programs, plus encouragement of nature prescriptions. As part of the initiative, the Park Service is having individual parks host physicians, medical students, and researchers so that staff can collaborate with them to develop health-focused projects and events. The effort comes on the heels of National Park Rx Day, an annual event launched…

In 1962, Fidel Castro banned professional boxing in Cuba, calling it exploitative and corrupt. But amateur boxing has continued to flourish—to the tune of 73 Olympic medals—thanks in large part to training facilities like the Rafael Trejo boxing gym, which is known for producing Olympic champions. “It’s an open-air facility in Havana that’s basically behind a wall,” says photographer Brendan Burden. “It’s pretty bare-bones.” When the 32-year-old Canadian traveled to Cuba in 2014, the gym was hosting a youth tournament, and a swarm of kids ages eight to 11 had descended on the city to compete. —EMILY REED…

Bulls Island SOUTH CAROLINA The alligators were hard to spot at first. But as soon as my nine-year-old twins, Cooper and Addie, saw one, they couldn’t stop seeing them. Sometimes it was just their eyes and snouts poking out of the water. Other times the lazy dinosaurs were full-out tanning on the sand. In theory we came to this uninhabited barrier island 25 miles north of Charleston for its beach, seven miles of undeveloped white sand facing the Atlantic Ocean. But it was this inland hike, where suddenly we weren’t the top of the food chain, that had the biggest impact on us. Bulls Island is part of the lush 66,000-acre Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge and is accessible only by private boat or Coastal Expeditions’ daily ferry from the…

1909 James E. Sullivan of the U.S. Amateur Athletic Union warns marathon runners not to drink during a race. This “nil by mouth” concept for athletes lasts well into the 1980s. 1945 The National Academy of Sciences publishes its first hydration recommendation, suggesting that adults drink 2.5 liters of water a day, without having conclusive research to support it. (Today it suggests 2.7 to 3.7 liters.) 1996 The American College of Sports Medicine releases an official recommendation advising athletes to “drink as much as you can tolerate.” 2015 A panel of sports-medicine specialists issues guidelines warning of drinking to excess during physical activity, citing research showing that 35 percent of ultramarathoners who had been studied were overhydrated, putting them at risk of hyponatremia.…

BEER HAS LONG enjoyed a reputation as a recovery drink because of its carbs and water content. Unfortunately, various studies have found that the alcohol outweighs any potential nutritional benefits—and it only gets worse as the ABV increases. But recent research has shown that with a bit of clever chemistry, cracking a cold one might not be so bad: a 2013 study suggested that increasing beer’s electrolyte content can boost fluid retention, while another study found that consuming nonalcoholic suds might reduce post-activity inflammation. Enter the athlete beer, a growing sector of low-alcohol brews enriched with electrolytes, antioxidants, and other nutrients. Here’s a sampling of the best offerings. Sufferfest Beer Company FKT Pale Ale (not pictured) Sufferfest claims to make the first-of-its-kind “electrolytic, nutrient-rich beer.” Its FKT pale ale is…

Insurance providers offer all kinds of incentives to get us to make better choices. Anyone on an employee medical plan has gotten used to prods from HR to take advantage of gym discounts or earn a goodie bag by getting an annual checkup. But more recently, a handful of health companies have begun investing in efforts to get us to spend more time outdoors. Kaiser Permanente, based in Northern California, has been helping to upgrade parks and improve park access on the West Coast, particularly in low-income areas. Since 2015, the company has spent more than $7 million on 25 local park and open-space projects in Northern California alone, building new playgrounds and a fitness court, launching a mobile van that supports urban gardening and farming in the city of…

Among the many studies linking time spent outside with health benefits, one of the more intriguing new areas of research is the role awe plays in our well-being. According to findings published last summer in the journal Emotion, the kind of amazement we experience during outdoor activities has a singular ability to predict lower stress and higher levels of well-being and life satisfaction. Craig L. Anderson, a postdoctoral fellow in psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco, and his coauthors designed two studies looking at different contexts for awe. In the first study, they followed youth from underserved communities and military veterans suffering from PTSD on one-to-four-day whitewater-rafting trips, asking them to complete daily surveys and journal entries, then checked up on them a week later. The results…

RECENTLY, AN OLD friend of mine took an evening walk on a quiet road near his home in the Southwest. He was carrying a camping lantern. Near the end of his stroll, an outdoorsy couple we both know drove by, said a quick hello, then went on their way. The hazing came via e-mail a short time later. “Nice lantern, bro,” wrote the outdoorsy guy. The woman followed up, gearsplaining that “there are these things called headlamps.” My annoyed friend later griped to me that hardcore outdoor folks, who are supposed to be above base fashion concerns, are in fact the world’s most merciless fashion critics. To which I say, No duh, Lantern Boy. Sure, a lantern lights your way as effectively as a headlamp, but we have never judged…

MYANMAR’S GOVERNMENT has been in the news for the persecution of its Muslim minority, the Rohingya people. This has left many questioning whether they should visit the reclusive Southeast Asian nation. While traveler safety isn’t a concern and the burgeoning tourism industry provides much needed employment, visiting the country remains a complex personal decision, says Mika Itavaara, a Finnish expat, Myanmar travel expert, and the owner of tour operator Discovery DMC. “In my opinion, you should visit for the people, not the government,” he says. If you do go, the country is packed with hidden gems, like the new Wa Ale Resort, one of the first hotels to open in the 800-island Mergui Archipelago. Its founder, American Chris Kingsley, has laid the groundwork for responsible tourism in the region. Wa…

PLEASURE IS definitely a part of my diet, and I regularly eat delicious whole foods. But my main priority is to eat in a way that nourishes and protects my body and the planet. Everyone’s dietary needs are different, and it has taken me decades to develop nutritional habits that work for me. Here’s what I eat and drink in a typical day. Breakfast I wake up early and start my day by turning my coffee into a meal. I’ll pull three or four shots of dark-roast espresso and add one scoop of my custom-blend coconut-milk creamer, one scoop of turmeric creamer, a teaspoon of ghee or raw butter, a half-teaspoon of fair-trade red palm oil, a teaspoon of raw coconut, and a mushroom blend that includes shiitake, maitake, lion’s…

THE MECHANICAL wristwatch is a model of longevity and sustainability—a tool built to last generations in almost constant movement. No wonder then that Breitling collaborated with Kelly Slater’s apparel brand Outerknown to create the Superocean Héritage II Chronograph 44 Outerknown. Slater, who turned 47 earlier this year, is not only still competing on professional surfing’s world tour against men less than half his age, but he recently built the world’s best man-made wave so he can always catch a ride. The watch features a 200-meter water-resistant steel case rendered black by a diamond-like hardened carbon coating and topped with a scratchproof ceramic timing ring. The woven strap is made with nylon fishing nets pulled from the oceans, a nod to the fact that both Breitling and Outerknown partner with the…

A. Lululemon Outpour $248 BEST FOR: Office outings. Cut from a stretchy, waterproof-breathable fabric, this slim-fitting urban shell proved itself on both rainy Paris walks and long hikes around Mont Blanc. Reflective accents on the hem and nape boost safety in the streets, four pockets provide ample storage, and back and chest vents enable airflow without the bulk of pit zips. 15.7 oz (men’s) B. Columbia Outdry EX Reign $150 BEST FOR: Everlasting downpours. Crafted by a team living under Oregon’s constant drizzle, the Outdry EX Reign stays drier longer than any other shell we’ve tested. Its durable waterproof-breathable membrane is placed on the outside rather than behind a face fabric, so the jacket never wets out. Plus, Columbia eschewed environmentally harmful fluorocarbon DWR coatings and added pit zips to…

485+ Approximate number of published studies linking time in nature to better health. ONE Number of nature-prescription programs in the U.S. in 2006. 71 Nature-prescription programs in the U.S. in 2018 (in 32 states). NINETEEN Programs expected to launch in the U.S. in 2019. $1 MILLION Support pledged by REI in October 2018 to fund the Nature for Health research initiative at the University of Washington. 1,200 Approximate number of nature prescriptions written by physicians in the past year in the 17 states actively using the Park Rx America app.…

Nathan Smith has it all planned out. On June 15, 2017, the 41-year-old climber will pull out of the driveway in Salt Lake City and head 25 minutes to a trailhead in Little Cottonwood Canyon. From there it’ll be an easy approach to the South Ridge of Mount Superior, a 2,800-foot scramble with Class 4 and some Class 5 climbing. Most locals do the route in a few hours before or after work, so there’s little chance of running into anyone midday on a Thursday. Wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and an ultrarunning hipbelt, Smith will climb until reaching the knife-blade ridge, with its treacherous loose rock and exposed no-fall zones on either side. The South Ridge is considered an easy climb, but a memorial plaque in this spot serves as…

“OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD.” Hanifa Yousoufi speaks only a little English, but the words she knows she repeats over and over again. She’s a member of an all-woman Afghan mountaineering group called Ascend: Leadership Through Athletics, and along with three of her teammates, she is attempting to climb 24,580-foot Mount Noshaq, the country’s highest peak. So far, Hanifa’s journey has consisted of a four-day trek to base camp, at about 15,000 feet. This is her first test climbing higher on the mountain, and her eyes are filled with terror. She’s gripping a large rock band, looking down 800 feet at the steep, icy slope beneath her. Emilie Drinkwater, the 41-year-old American mountain guide leading the expedition, is a few feet ahead, hacking steps into the…