5 Paths to New Outdoor Adventures

My first time rappelling caught me unawares in France. I was with a longtime friend and her cousin, who only spoke French. He suggested something that I vaguely understood to be an outdoor activity. My friend agreed with gusto for both of us. And that’s how I found myself strapped to a rope and descending off an abandoned railroad bridge to practice. Then it was off to the real adventure on the cliffs of Ardèche. (Yes, big-ass cliffs like in the cover image. But also incredibly beautiful and full of fascinating history from the caveman era to the French resistance in World War II.)

We hiked into the woods for a while before coming to our first real test: a huge hole through which we were going to descend, without being able to see the bottom. All we could really tell is that we were above treetop level. After our practice session, I had grilled my friend intensely about her cousin’s qualifications, and she reassured me that he knew what he was doing. So I put full trust in him and strapped on the rope again. And the descent was glorious.

I’m not saying that everyone should literally jump off a cliff into the unknown. But outdoor adventures get the blood flowing like nothing else. This story from the St. Louis-area outdoors magazine Terrain asked five experts for advice on starting out in hiking, rock climbing, running, paddling, and mountain biking. Extended versions of their tips are at the sport-specific links.