Extreme sports, adventures, equipment

Skydiving

Skydiving in 2026: From Tandem Jump to USPA A License and the Gear Rules

A tandem jump is only the start. Here is the real progression from AFF or static-line training to a USPA A license, plus the FAA packing and AAD rules that matter.

BASE Jumping

Bridge Day 2026: The One Saturday You Can Legally BASE Jump the New River Gorge Bridge

Bridge Day returns to West Virginia's New River Gorge Bridge on Saturday, October 17. Here is who can jump, what spectators can bring, how the shuttles work and where the official sources disagree.

Red Bull Rampage

Red Bull Rampage 2026: The 2001 Mountain, a 678-Foot Drop and What to Watch For

Red Bull Rampage returns to its original 2001 hillside in Utah for the 25th anniversary, with the women's final on 8 October and the men's on 10 October. Here is what the venue changes, how runs are scored, who to watch and when to tune in.

Whitewater Kayaking

Gauley Season 2026: What West Virginia's Six Weekends of Dam-Fed Whitewater Actually Demand From You

Six weekends a year, the Army Corps opens Summersville Dam and turns a flood-control reservoir into one of the hardest commercial whitewater runs in the country. Here's what it actually takes to run it this fall.

ultra running

Tor des Géants 2026: Record Run, Historic Women's Leap

At the 330km Tor des Géants across Italy's Aosta Valley, Jiaju Zhao broke the men's course record while Katharina Hartmuth erased roughly twelve hours from the women's mark — in a race that still eats 40% of its field.

adventure racing

Adventure Racing: The Team Sport That Turns Mountain Biking, Trekking, and Whitewater Paddling Into One Unbroken Race

Adventure racing strips out sleep and satellite navigation and forces teams to combine mountain biking, trekking, and whitewater paddling into one non-stop race. Here is how the disciplines, team strategy, and gear actually work — and how to get into your first event.

freeride skiing

Dryland Training for Freeride Skiers and Snowboarders: The September Conditioning Plan Before First Snow

The riders who avoid early-season injuries aren't the fittest on the mountain — they're the ones who spent September building the eccentric strength and balance a squat rack alone can't give them.

canyoning

Canyoning in Europe: Why September Is the Best (and Last) Month of the Season

Snowmelt drops, water clears, and canyons across the Alps and Pyrenees open up to their most technical descents right before the season ends.

Coasteering

Coasteering in 2026: Britain's Own Extreme Sport of Cliff Jumps and Sea Scrambles

Cliff jumps, sea swims and rock scrambles along Britain's coastline — how coasteering works, why it isn't tombstoning, and where to book a session.

trail running

UTMB 2026: The 46-Hour Cutoff That Beats More Runners Than the Mountains Do

UTMB looks like a distance problem. It's actually a clock problem — and the 46-hour, 30-minute cutoff decides more races than the Alps do.

Big Wave Surfing

The 2026 Big Wave Challenge Nominees: Nazaré Sweeps Three Categories While Teahupo'o and Mullaghmore Split Ride of the Year

The 2026 Big Wave Challenge nominees are in, and ten nominations across four categories all trace back to Praia do Norte at Nazaré -- while Ride of the Year skipped Nazaré entirely for Teahupo'o and Mullaghmore Head.

Wingsuit Flying

Wingsuit Proximity Flying in 2026: Terrain-Following Lines, Flocking, and the Margin for Error

A wingsuit pilot skims a Norwegian ridge at 200 km/h with metres to spare — here's the suit tech, terrain-following lines, and altitude math that separate a clean pass from a fatal one.

Freestyle Motocross

Freestyle Motocross in 2026: How Riders Actually Learn to Backflip a 250lb Bike

Freestyle motocross looks reckless from the stands, but every backflip a rider lands is the end product of a foam pit, a precise ramp angle, and months of repetition most spectators never see.

Freediving

Törőcsik Reclaims Freediving's Free Immersion World Record at 107 Metres

Hungarian freediver Zsófia Törőcsik reclaimed the women's Free Immersion world record on 6 August, diving to 107 metres in Croatia's Adriatic Sea — the third time the mark changed hands in 2026.

Extreme Sports

Lauterbrunnen's Deadly Math: Inside the Valley That Never Banned BASE Jumping

Lauterbrunnen has never banned BASE jumping, and its cliffs have claimed 64 lives since 1994 — more than half of all BASE jumping deaths worldwide.

surfing

Teahupo'o 2026: Inside the World's Heaviest Wave and the Reef That Makes It Deadly

The 2026 Outerknown Tahiti Pro returns to Teahupo'o, the reef break behind five deaths since the 2000s, as the World Surf League's leaders chase results on the heaviest wave in competitive surfing.

ultra running

Badwater 135: Inside the World's Toughest Foot Race Through Death Valley at 130°F

The Badwater 135 runs through Death Valley in July heat that softens shoe soles on the asphalt. Here's how finishers actually manage the heat, the climb, and the sodium math.

Extreme Sports

Downhill Mountain Biking in 2026: World Cup Line Choice, Suspension Setup, and Why the Best Riders Brake Less Than You Think

Elite downhill racers walk a track for hours before riding it once, and the fastest among them brake far less than you'd expect. Here's how World Cup-level line choice, suspension setup, and braking technique actually work, plus what it costs to start properly in the UK.

Hard Enduro

Hard Enduro in 2026: The Rock-Garden Technique and Gear Setup That Separate Finishers From Quitters at Red Bull Romaniacs

Rock gardens, gearing, tyre choices and the pacing lessons from Red Bull Romaniacs 2026 — what actually separates hard enduro finishers from the riders who quit in the first hour.

Deep Water Soloing

Deep Water Soloing in 2026: No Rope, No Pad, and a Fall You Have to Get Right Every Time

No harness, no chalk bag full of options, no crash pad — deep water soloing strips climbing down to a single question: can you fall well? Here's what that actually requires.

trail running

Trail Running Your First 50K: A 16-Week Training Plan That Actually Works

A 50K punishes marathon fitness in ways road runners don't expect. Here's the 16-week base-build-peak-taper framework, the fueling numbers, and the gear choices that actually separate finishers from DNFs.

cliff diving

Cliff Diving in 2026: What a 27-Metre Fall Does to a Body, and Why the Entry Matters More Than the Height

Elite divers fall 27 metres in under two and a half seconds and hit the water near 85 km/h — here's the physics, the training path, and the 2026 competition season.

speedflying

Speedflying in 2026: The Fastest Way Down a Mountain, and Why So Many Pilots Are Buying Wings They Aren't Ready For

A speed wing gets you off a ridge and moving at 50 mph in under four seconds — no altitude to fix a mistake if something goes wrong. Here's what the sport actually demands before you buy one.

Wingsuit Flying

Wingsuit Flying in 2026: What It Actually Takes to Fly a Suit Off a Cliff

Two hundred skydives is the real floor before anyone teaches you to fly a wingsuit — here's what the training path, gear costs, and risk data actually look like in 2026.

Freediving

Freediving in 2026: Why the Real Danger Isn't the Depth, It's the Final Ten Feet to the Surface

Freediving has no engine, no rope and no tank — just one breath and a body that will happily lie to you about how much air is left. Here's what getting into it properly actually looks like.