Writer Charles Graeber: Ad Hoc Enlightenment on India's Ganges

In an attempt to spread the word about our new, excellent, eminently purchasable anthology, we’ve been reaching out to various contributors, whose superior pieces of journalism appear in the collection. One such is Charles Graeber, who traveled India’s Ganges River in “Being the Boatman.” We asked Charlie if he wouldn’t mind writing something up that would give some insight to his story, and his relationship with the subcontinent. It would be small, amusing, and for the blog, we said. Weeks passed, no word. And suddenly, a few days back, a rambling tale (with footnotes!) arrives in our inbox. It’s funny and sad and true and…pretty long. Sometimes, with writers, and Charlie in particular, you get more than you bargain for. And for that we are so grateful. Enjoy this, and buy the book—because even though it’s not as free, it’s even better. —Ryan Bradley

Photograph by Ryan Bradley 

To read Charlie's tale, see after the jump.

New Everett Ruess DNA Test Raises Questions

A new round of DNA tests has called into question if a skeleton found in the Utah wilderness was actually that of explorer-artist Everett Ruess (read the AP story here). ADVENTURE has been following this story since publishing a feature article by Contributing Editor David Roberts in our April/May 2009 issue.

We are not aware of the details of the new study. But given the strength of the previous evidence, we'd like to know more about the facts and procedures of the new testing before updating our investigation.

Best New Trips in the World: Paddling to the Rescue in Bolivia

For our annual Adventure Travel issue, we scoured the globe to find the 25 Best New Trips in the World for 2010, complete with a Best Trips photo gallery. The world's far corners are now well within reach.

Bolivia: Raft to the Rescue

In the far reaches of Bolivia’s Madidi National Park, what stands between villagers in need of medical attention and the care itself are Class V rapids. It’s a textbook case for North Carolina–based whitewater outfitter Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC), which recently partnered with Medicforce to launch a series of rafting trips to riverside communities cut off from aid. The joint effort, called Boaters Without Borders, will offer its first commercial expedition next year and send clients down the Tuichi River into Madidi. With a team of kayakers, health care professionals, and civilian rafters (note: intermediate experience recommended), you’ll journey to the Cordillera Apolobamba in the eastern Andes, where the Tuichi descends into 4.7-million-acre Madidi National Park in the thick of the upper Amazon Basin—an area so remote it takes a week of driving and trekking before you reach the water.

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Potentially Huge: The Woopy \whoop•ee!\

An inflatable wing—part balloon, part paraglider—used in skiing or snowboarding to extend jumps, ease landings, and pull off absurd leaps over crevasses and ravines. “It feels almost as if you are on the moon,” says Laurent de Kalbermatten, 53, the Woopy’s creator. “You are weightless, like Peter Pan.” Though the Woopy is not yet available in the United States and is still in development for commercial sale, there are two “Woopy Parks” in Switzerland, the wing’s homeland, for test runs. There’s also a Woopy-Fly glider, for making Woopy in the summertime (woopyjump.com). —Anne Hay

Best New Trips in the World: First Descent of Bhutan's Drangme

For our annual Adventure Travel issue, we scoured the globe to find the 25 Best New Trips in the World for 2010, complete with a Best Trips photo gallery. For the next month, we're going to feature one new adventure daily, starting today with a first decent of Bhutan's Drangme Chhu River. The world's far corners are now well within reach.

First Descent: Drangme

The Drangme Chhu River is Bhutan's largest drainage, a spillway for Himalayan snow and ice that roils into turquoise Class IV and V rapids through sheer granite walls. And it has never been run. But this month a team from Bio Bio Expeditions and its U.K.-based partner, Ultimate Descents, will make a first descent of the Drangme into Royal Manas National Park—an area that has long been closed to tourists due to violence in the neighboring Indian province of Assam. If the test run proves a success, the Bhutanese government will grant Bio Bio permission to guide the Drangme's first official commercial whitewater trip through the now peaceful park in 2010.

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Gear Crush: Ellington Wanderlust Weekend Duffel

If a bag doubles as a statement of character, well, you could do a lot worse than the Ellington Wanderlust. Constructed of oiled nubuck leather, the weekend-size duffel is a classic travel piece, improving with every bump, scuff, and overhead bin it endures. Features are clever but subtle, like protective metal feet on the outside and well-placed pockets and sleeves on the inside. And now for the real kicker: It only costs $200. 

Presenting the 25 Best New Adventure Tours for 2010

Now more than ever, travelers want their dollars to do more—for others, for the planet, for themselves. At least that's what we found while searching for the best trips of 2010. From wolf-tracking in Slovakia to rafting a forbidden river in Bhutan, we've found 25 brand-new adventures, all of them just right for right now.

Below, we've posted the list of this year's top 25 trips, which you can read about in detail on our website. Don't miss our photo gallery, with wanderlust-worthy images from some of the world's most adventurous places.

You'll find even more great articles and photography in our special Adventure Travel Issue, on newsstands today.

El Nino Dumps Two Feet of Snow on Tahoe, Launching an Early Ski Season

Need a Halloween costume? Try a snowsuit. With as-predicted El Niño weather patterns already bringing in the powder, Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe is slated to open as early as October 31. Two storms have covered Lake Tahoe with almost two feet of snow in the past week, and forecasts for the rest of the season are promising: Cold temperatures and big snow could keep the season raging through July. If this season measures up to the Little Boy's Sierra tour in 1998, snowfall could surpass 50 ft!

Check out early season deals on skilaketahoe.com.

—Greer Schott; Photograph courtesy of Ski Lake Tahoe

Confessions of a Travel Addict: Ewan McGregor

If Betty Ford treated wanderlust, actor Ewan McGregor would be the first admitted. The 38-year-old gets his travel fix by working on multiple movies (coming up: Amelia—opens this Friday, Oct 23—and The Men Who Stare at Goats), then taking off for extended motorcycle tours across Africa and around the globe. For our annual travel issue, we asked the actor to share his hard-won wisdom. All of it, by the way, applicable to non-movie stars. —Ryan Bradley; photograph by Ron Gaunt/Getty Images

Go Far Out
I’d never considered traveling to out-of-the-way spots before I visited Churchill, Canada, to make a documentary about polar bears. Then I was hooked.

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Mountaineering Takes Manhattan: Explorers Club Hosts Elite Climbers For "Mountain Stories"

On Saturday, October 17th, the Explorers Club in New York City will celebrate those individuals who have braved our planets highest peaks with "Mountain Stories,” a daylong special event featuring presentations by some of the most prominent individuals in mountaineering.

The day starts at 9:00 a.m. with a continental breakfast and coffee followed by a series of presentations from Robert Anderson, Jennifer Lowe-Anker, Ken Kamler, MD, Graham Bowley, Freddie Wilkinson and Janet Bergman, and Kevin Mahoney. A full lunch is served at noon and the day closes with a book signing and cocktail party at five o’clock, which provides an opportunity for attendees to meet with the speakers.

The event is open to the public and held at the Explorers Club's historic headquarters in New York City which is located at 46 East 70th Street. This “not for profit” event is $30 for adults and $25 for students.