Any number of concerns are on our radar as we plan our next trip, from serious issues like how destinations are working to mitigate tourists鈥� environmental impact to inconveniences like months-long passport wait times. In this column, our travel expert addresses your questions about how to navigate the world.

I鈥檓 going to Mexico City and have heard that the food scene is incredible. But a friend of mine just went there and got a parasite, and she thinks it came from a meal at a food truck. I鈥檓 an adventurous eater, but I want to avoid getting sick. How can I protect myself when I鈥檓 traveling and eating out all the time? 鈥擜 Queasy Foodie

Whether you’re having carnitas from a roadside taco stand听in Mexico听or dumplings from a teahouse in Nepal, experiencing local food culture is one of the joys of travel, as it sounds like you well know. But contracting a foodborne illness far from home can be traumatic, dulling even the most adventurous palates and even scaring travelers from returning to a destination.

When Anne Driscoll told friends that she and her family would be visiting Punta Mita, Mexico, she received unanimous advice: be wary of what you eat and drink. At least a half听dozen friends who had already traveled to the small Pacific-coast surf town had experienced gastro disasters. Forewarned, she took every precaution, from increasing her normal probiotic doses before the听trip to avoiding fresh produce while there and only drinking bottled water throughout her stay. However, the听entire family still got听extremely ill. 鈥淚t was catastrophic,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was violently expelling the contents of my stomach through both ends.鈥�

Driscoll was the first to fall ill. She thinks a hamburger she ate at the resort restaurant might have been the culprit. She听assumed it would be harmless if cooked well-done. Her husband and two teenage daughters relaxed their guard听the final day of vacation and had ice in their drinks. The ice potentially could have caused the 24 hours of intestinal agony that, unfortunately, overlapped with their flights home to New Mexico. 鈥淭hey used up all the barf bags on the plane, and my youngest got sick in four different places throughout the Dallas airport,鈥� she says. Driscoll has no plans to return to Mexico anytime soon. 鈥淚 know it鈥檚 not logical, but the experience was so bad that I can鈥檛 imagine going back and risking it again,鈥� she says.

Each year one in six Americans comes听down with food-related illnesses caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Some countries, like Mexico, have a reputation for felling travelers with gastrointestinal bugs (who hasn鈥檛 heard of Montezuma鈥檚 revenge?). Developing countries, especially ones with humid climates where bacteria breed more easily, tend to be dicier, says Dr. Kyle Staller, director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. 鈥淏ut you can get sick from contaminated water or an improperly handled burger patty anywhere in the world, including the U.S.,鈥� he adds.

Causes of GI Distress

Food-related illnesses are caused by , including salmonella,听E. coli, norovirus, and giardia. They often fester on raw or undercooked meat, raw vegetables, food stored at unsafe temperatures, or food prepared in an unsanitary manner or with contaminated water.

鈥淒on鈥檛 drink the water鈥� is a common travel precaution, especially when visiting third-world countries. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 180 countries, including popular vacation spots like Mexico, Thailand, and Belize, have tap water considered unsafe for consumption. Even if it is potable, drinking water听in a far-flung locale can still cause GI distress, cautions Dr. Lynne Ahn, an integrative gastroenterologist in Boston. 鈥淓veryone鈥檚 gut biome is unique,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚f the mineral or salt content of the water in a destination is different from what you鈥檙e used to at home, you could experience discomfort or worse.鈥�

Traveler鈥檚 diarrhea is a common illness, affecting between 30 percent and 70 percent of people on the road, according to the CDC. Depending on the bacteria, parasite, or virus, you could end up suffering a few hours or even a week, and experience vomiting, stomach cramps, body aches, and a fever. People who have irritable bowel syndrome or a compromised immune system are often at greater risk of more serious side effects,听says Staller.

Best Practices

No one wants to spend vacation sitting on or hovering over a toilet. A good rule of thumb is to drink filtered or bottled water (although try to avoid single-use plastics, opting instead for glass bottles or cans) when traveling to a destination with questionable water quality. Ahn also recommends making sure all beverages arrive sealed, and wiping off the container before taking a sip. Even small quantities of dirty water can have serious repercussions, so it鈥檚 smart to avoid ice and use filtered or bottled water to brush your teeth, she says.

If you really want to play it safe, stick to familiar foods, says Kendra Weekley, a gastrointestinal specialist at the Cleveland Clinic. Different diets create different gut flora, which is why locals in Kerala, India, are able to handle a fiery curry but that same dish, even if the ingredients are uncontaminated, may leave an听American traveler with an upset stomach. In high-risk gastro-disaster destinations like India and Nepal, travelers may find it鈥檚 wise to carry听a stash of snacks like protein bars and instant oatmeal, especially if they鈥檙e undertaking an adventure like trekking or mountaineering.

Unfortunately for healthy eaters and vegetarians, fresh, unprocessed, and highly nutritious foods like vegetables and fruits will most likely get you sick in a country without rigorous sanitation standards, says Staller, who advises avoiding lettuce as well as produce that doesn鈥檛 have peelable skin. And like at home, travelers should be wary of raw and undercooked seafood and meat, he adds.

If you鈥檝e been justifying an extra glass of cabernet or vodka and soda, thinking it can help ward off germs, think again. While some studies have suggested that drinking alcohol with a meal can reduce the chance of food poisoning, due to increased acidic content in the stomach, Staller says alcohol cannot kill foodborne pathogens and will most likely just leave you dehydrated.

Where You Can Safely Eat

It may sound like you have to live off packaged snacks, but avoiding gastro issues doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean sacrificing culinary pleasures. Food is one of the best vehicles to explore a culture and can typically be enjoyed without incident if you take proper precautions, says Staller.

In general, eating from street-food vendors is riskier than dining at a restaurant. That鈥檚 because in many developing countries, hawker carts and food trucks aren鈥檛 held to the same food-safety standards. If you do choose to eat street food, however, try to catch听a glimpse of the preparation area. Does the kitchen look clean? Are food handlers wearing gloves? Are raw meat and raw vegetables being听handled separately to prevent cross听contamination?

A long line is often a sign of good quality, says Staller. This tenet applies to restaurants, too. 鈥淲hen there鈥檚 a high degree of turnover with diners, ingredients are being used versus sitting in a refrigerator that might have an unreliable power supply,鈥� he says. Foods left out for long periods, especially in humid environments, are more likely to put the eater at risk of developing food poisoning. Which is why experts always suggest skipping the buffet.

Ed and Christy Rossi learned this lesson the hard way on a trip to Marrakech, Morocco. The weeklong conference they attended provided a daily lunch buffet, with dishes heated by warming trays and salads kept fresh with misters. But it wasn’t long before听the couple succumbed to vomiting and bloody diarrhea. 鈥淚 thought we were dying,鈥� recalls Ed. Upon returning home to Colorado,听they immediately went to their doctor for antibiotics and discovered they鈥檇 contracted shigella, a gastro superbug. The experience hasn鈥檛 prevented them from returning to Morocco, but they鈥檝e sworn off buffets in general.

Avoiding fresh fruits and vegetables extends to condiments, something even cautious eaters may overlook, says Staller. A bowl of salsa looks inviting when you鈥檙e noshing nachos, but anything made from raw vegetables or fruits can be trouble. And it doesn鈥檛 hurt to wipe off the opening of that bottle of hot sauce or ketchup before use.

Preventative Measures

Some evidence suggests that taking probiotics two weeks prior to travel, and while traveling, can reduce the rate of traveler鈥檚 diarrhea, says Weekley听of the Cleveland Clinic. However, different strains of 鈥済ood鈥� bacteria affect people differently, so find what works for you and take an effective dose (ask your doctor or pharmacist). Side effects can include bloating or gas. If the thought of getting sick is causing you stress, probiotic pills are a low-risk, potentially high-reward precaution, she says.

But also: travel anxiety can often unsettle your stomach before you even reach your destination.听Says Weekley, 鈥淚f your mind is stressing over packing and getting to the airport, your gut will feel it.鈥澨鼴reathing techniques and free meditation apps like Breethe or Headspace can help calm your nervous system ahead of travel or while on the plane.

And be sure to stay hydrated on the flight. 鈥淧eople don鈥檛 want to get up to use the bathroom and end up dehydrated and constipated,鈥� says Weekley. If you鈥檙e prone to getting backed up from flying or an atypical diet, she suggests traveling with soluble fiber supplements or a stool softener like MiraLax.

Staller regularly works in developing countries and says he has a tendency听to suffer from GI problems. His go-to? That tried-and-true recommendation: Barbie-pink Pepto Bismol. A of students traveling to Mexico showed that those who took two tablets of Pepto Bismol听four times a day were 60 percent less likely to experience traveler鈥檚 diarrhea. Staller says that鈥檚 his regimen the minute he hits the ground and throughout a trip. He notes, though, that Pepto Bismol鈥檚 active ingredient, bismuth subsalicylate, can cause alarming but harmless symptoms such as black stools or a black tongue.

What to Do if You Get Sick

If you contract a foodborne illness, symptoms such as stomach cramps, chills, vomiting, and diarrhea typically start within hours but can also occur several days after ingesting听tainted food or drink. When you鈥檙e ill, your body tends听to lose a lot of liquid, so staying hydrated is crucial. 鈥淚t鈥檚 often dehydration that makes you feel more sick,鈥� says Staller. He recommends traveling with oral rehydration salts, which are absorbed more effectively by the body than water alone. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like the equivalent of an IV,鈥� he says.

Traveler鈥檚 diarrhea is largely resistant to antibiotics, he says, so your best plan is to be close to a bathroom, stay hydrated, and ride it out. If you have severe symptoms, like a fever or blood in your stool, seek out medical care.

If you鈥檙e an omnivore and an intrepid traveler, chances are you鈥檒l be hit with a gastro catastrophe at some point in your journeys. Often disaster strikes when you let your guard down or simply don鈥檛 trust your gut. I tend to have a stomach of steel. The听two times I have gotten food poisoning I questioned what I was consuming yet听proceeded anyway to be polite to my hosts. All it took was the smallest sip of a lassi that had been sitting out in the sun in Varanasi, India, and a tiny bite of goat stew in the Omo Valley of Ethiopia to cause me 24 hours of anguish. Lesson learned: table manners don鈥檛 always apply on the road.

Have a question of your own? Drop us a line at Traveladvice@outsideinc.com.听

国产吃瓜黑料 correspondent Jen Murphy became an omnivore after an eight-year stint working at Food and Wine magazine. She鈥檚 since eaten everything from guinea pig to grasshoppers to fried cod sperm sacs and has remarkably only been hit with two major gastro disasters in all of her world travels.听

The post How to Avoid Food Sickness While Traveling appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

As the earth warms, our mountains, rivers, glaciers, and oceans will change, some in听unpredictable ways. So we pored over听the research and called a few experts. Here鈥檚 a little of what we have to look forward to.

Backcountry Skiing Becomes Bony

In the past 50 years, average snowpack in the western U.S. has declined as much as 30 percent. One projection for the next century has the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada dropping another 60 percent from today鈥檚 levels. Resorts are investing in snowmaking technology to help offset the decline, but backcountry skiers will have fewer and fewer options.

Surfers Have More Giants to Ride

Climate change is contributing to larger, more intense storms, particularly in the tropics. The same systems likely to devastate coastal communities will also create enormous swells for big-wave surfers鈥斅璱ncluding, perhaps, the fabled 100-foot wave.

Rivers Change Course

The Fourth National Climate Assessment, a 听produced by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, reported that heavy rains have increased in intensity and frequency since 1901, though not evenly across the world or the U.S. In the arid Southwest, precipitation is expected to decrease, spelling the end of paddling on some sections of the Salt River and the Rio Grande. In the Northeast, rains may increase, opening up new whitewater in places like the Adirondack watershed.

The Route to the South Pole Shrinks

Antarctica鈥檚 Ross Island is home to Ernest Shackleton鈥檚 hut, the historic launch point for expeditions to the South Pole. Soon, though, explorers starting out here might need a boat. A section of the California-size听Ross Ice Shelf, a frozen mass over the sea that adventurers ski or sled across to reach the Antarctic continent, is losing nearly six feet of ice each year鈥攁 number that鈥檚 only expected to increase.

The Northwest Passage Gets Busy

It took centuries to find a navigable route through the sea ice of the Northwest Passage, and hundreds of adventurers lost their lives along the way. But as the Arctic has warmed, the ice has receded. Now cargo vessels and even cruise ships make regular trips through the widening waterway. Next year, adventurer Karl Kruger will become the first to attempt to paddleboard the passage.

Deserts Are Deserted

Scientists project that entire swaths of the Middle East and northern Africa will soon be nearly uninhabitable for humans, due to drought and heat waves that will spike temperatures to upward of 122 degrees. Areas like Oman鈥檚 Wadi Bani Awf region, long known for its canyoneering adventures, could become too hot to visit, while 惭辞谤辞肠肠辞鈥檚 multi-day 156-mile Marathon des Sables, already touted as the world鈥檚 toughest footrace, might become impossible.

More Avalanches on Mount Everest

In 2018, scientists at the University of Geneva found that over the past 150 years, the number of slides in the Himalayas has increased dramatically. As researchers 听in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, recent warming is 鈥渢he most plausible explanation.鈥� As snowfall remains consistent and temperatures rise, the destabilized snowpack may lead to more frequent releases. In the past five years, 32 people have died in avalanches on Everest.

RIP Great Barrier Reef听

In 2016, high water temperatures caused a massive bleaching event in Australia鈥檚 Great Barrier Reef that killed nearly 30 percent of its 134,634 square miles of coral. A new 听from the Climate Council, an Australian think tank, projected that by 2034, similar bleaching events could occur every two years, 鈥渆ffectively destroying the Great Barrier Reef.鈥�

The post Climate Change Is Transforming Wilderness Exploration appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The narrow, rutted road leading into Imlil, the gateway town to 惭辞谤辞肠肠辞鈥檚 High Atlas Mountains, usually rumbles with activity. On a typical day, sand-colored taxis bringing day-trippers up from Marrakech, 56 miles to the north, share the road with hulking tour buses and snub-nosed vans with Transport Touristique听written in script across their hoods. Taxis crammed with budget-minded backpackers trundle behind luxury SUVs from the nearby Kasbah Tamadot, Richard Branson鈥檚 luxury retreat, where rooms cost more than $600 a night. In warm weather, German motorcyclists riding BMWs laden with gearboxes zoom past cyclists in bright helmets powering up the twisty mountain road.

Imlil, the central town in a valley with around 10,000 inhabitants, was once a sleepy out-of-the-way place, little known even to Moroccans. In recent years, though, as more hikers attempt to summit 13,671-foot Mount Toubkal, northern Africa鈥檚 highest peak, Imlil听has become something of an adventure travel hot spot. For residents, the regular hum of traffic is reassuring. It鈥檚 the sound of more people coming to spend money in a region where most locals now derive their income from tourism.

The town has undergone an astonishing transformation since the first time I visited, in 2006, when I was living in Morocco as a Fulbright fellow. Back then, the valley was adjusting to electricity, which it had just acquired for the first time. Now听it has well over 100 Airbnb listings. This spring, when I walked through Imlil with guide and guesthouse owner Mohammed Idhali, he pointed out the businesses that had opened since my last visit: the argan-oil cooperative, the orange-juice stand, the carpet shop, that guide outfitter, that other guide outfitter, the pizzeria-creperie. 国产吃瓜黑料 a tea shop, a half-dozen local guides wearing North Face jackets and secondhand boots awaited their clients, shouting out greetings to passing friends: Ya, Rashid! Ya, Omar! Muleteers let their animals graze the stray roadside grass before loading them up for treks into the mountains. 鈥淓veryone works, so it鈥檚 better now,鈥� Hassan Azdour, another guide and guesthouse owner, told me. 鈥淎nd everyone works with tourists. Out of every 100 people in the village, only five don鈥檛 work with tourists.鈥�

But on a winter day last year, all that bustling energy came to a sudden halt. On the morning of December 17, vehicles with government insignias sped along the road leading into Imlil, while the center of town remained eerily devoid of action. By midmorning, word of something terrible had begun to spread through the community: hikers鈥攖wo young women, one from Denmark and the other from Norway鈥攈ad been found dead on the trail leading up to Mount Toubkal, less than ten听miles south of Imlil. Phones buzzed with rumors and assumptions. Perhaps, some people thought, the women had lit their camp stove in their tent and died of carbon-monoxide poisoning. But as more information emerged, it became clear that the deaths were not accidental. The women had died violently.

Four law-enforcement helicopters from Marrakech descended onto the rocky riverbed near the Toubkal trailhead. A team of investigators from the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ), 惭辞谤辞肠肠辞鈥檚 equivalent of the FBI, arrived on scene.听Clusters of Imlil locals watched anxiously. The dominant emotion was shock, with a strong undercurrent of fear. They said the kinds of things that people often say when their home is made strange by the sudden incursion of violence: How could this have happened here? Who could鈥檝e done something like this? And what will happen now?

A month earlier, on November 21, Louisa Jespersen, 24, posted a question to her Facebook followers: 鈥淒ear friends, I鈥檓 going to Morocco in December. Any of you guys who鈥檚 around by then or any mountain friends who knows something about Mount Toubkal?鈥�

Jespersen鈥檚 friends called her Lulu, a nickname that suited her playful personality and abundant appetite for life. Jespersen, who was听from Denmark, described herself in a YouTube video as 鈥渧ery enthusiastic about outdoors and outdoor activities.鈥� Her social-media presence bears this out: there鈥檚 Lulu doing a handstand on a beach, and hoisting an ice ax听in the air, and pumping out push-ups, and whitewater kayaking, and diving off a rock into a blue pool of water. She liked to mug for the camera, sticking out her tongue and twisting her face into silly shapes; in photographs听she鈥檚 often captured laughing in a wide-open way. Her former boyfriend, Glen Martin, who remained close with Jespersen even after they broke up, described her on social media as a 鈥渂undle of joy.鈥� She was as tough as she was cheery. On a 2018 trip to Australia, she tried surfing for the first time. 鈥淚鈥檓 ready to fall a thousand more times on this board if it means that I one day will be able to stand on it,鈥� she wrote on Instagram. The year before, Jespersen had applied to be part of a grueling polar expedition sponsored by Swedish apparel company Fj盲llr盲ven. In her video application, she explains her hunger to experience 鈥渢he magnificent, untamed Arctic.鈥�

Like Jespersen, Maren Ueland was听working toward a degree in outdoor life, culture, and ecophilosophy at the University of Southeastern Norway, in Boe. Ueland was from a small lakeside town in Norway, where she spent her childhood immersed in the outdoors. Shy as a child, she grew into an adventurous, idealistic young woman who cared deeply about others. She lived her life 鈥渂oth spontaneously and purposefully,鈥� her parish priest would say later. She dreamed of working in outdoor therapy, according to her mother, a career that would鈥檝e engaged her interest in nature and nursing. (I reached out to friends and family members of Jespersen and Ueland, but they all declined to comment.)

Ueland didn’t care听much for Christmas鈥攁ll that holiday materialism put a bad taste in her mouth鈥攁nd often traveled over winter break. Morocco, with its winter sunshine and abundant trekking opportunities, was an appealing destination for the two frequent travelers and aspiring outdoor guides, who鈥檇 recently become friends. On December 8, Jespersen and Ueland arrived in Morocco. They planned to stay a听month.

In the past decade, Morocco has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Africa. As other countries in the Middle East and North Africa have been riven by political conflict and instability following the Arab Spring, Morocco has traded on its reputation as a safe and tourist-friendly vacation spot. The country鈥檚 sporty 55-year-old monarch, King Mohammed VI, has prioritized tourism, and the country has set the ambitious goal of becoming one of the top 20 travel destinations in the world by next year. In 2018, more than 12 million foreign tourists traveled to Morocco, setting a new record. Most visitors stick to 惭辞谤辞肠肠辞鈥檚 cities鈥擬arrakech, F猫s, Tangier鈥攚hich are justifiably famous for their mazelike medinas and carpet-haggling opportunities. But over the past decade, as tourists have increasingly sought outdoor experiences听and local culture, a growing number have also begun to visit 惭辞谤辞肠肠辞鈥檚 countryside.

Like many outdoorsy adventurers, Jespersen and Ueland were drawn to 惭辞谤辞肠肠辞鈥檚 High Atlas, or Idraren Draren鈥擬ountains of Mountains鈥攁s they are known in the Berber language. The range extends from the Atlantic Ocean toward the Algerian border,听and it鈥檚 rugged enough that Martin Scorsese used it as a stand-in for the Himalayas when he filmed his 1997 epic,听Kundun. The two-day trek up Toubkal is one of the most popular hikes in the region, not only because it offers peak-bagging bragging rights听but also because it鈥檚 a nontechnical climb that鈥檚 accessible to fit hikers. Earlier this year, CNN deemed it one of the world鈥檚 best trails.

Jespersen and Ueland arrived in Imlil by taxi, according to local sources, and soon set off for the hike to the summit. They opted not to enlist a guide. 鈥淚f you have considerable experience reading maps in mountain regions, you may not need a guide from a navigational point of view,鈥� Lonely Planet Morocco advises, 鈥渂ut you should seriously consider engaging one anyway鈥� If for no other reason than to be your translator, your chaperone鈥� deal-getter and vocal guidebook鈥�. If something were to go wrong, a local guide will be the quickest route to getting help.鈥� That said, local guides told me that experienced, well-equipped hikers who were fit enough that they didn鈥檛 need a pack mule to lug their gear鈥攈ikers like Jespersen and Ueland鈥攐ften opted to climb the peak unaccompanied.

In December, wind, snow, and below-freezing temperatures dissuade some visitors from the High Atlas, but Toubkal remains popular. After leaving Imlil, Jespersen and Ueland would鈥檝e first ascended a narrow mule trail that crossed a rocky floodplain near the village of Aroumd, which marks the official start of the trail. From there, the path snakes steadily upward. Despite the sharp-edged mountain faces rising in front of them, the two friends likely wouldn鈥檛 have felt as though they were in a notably remote or desolate place. They shared the path with a number of trekkers, guides, and muleteers, several of whom later remembered the women as smiling and friendly. If they felt a sudden craving for a tin of Pringles or a package of wafer cookies听or, for that matter, a Toubkal T-shirt, they could鈥檝e stopped at one of the small shops鈥攌nown as hanouts, in Moroccan Arabic鈥攕cattered along the lower elevations. After a couple hours of walking, they could鈥檝e paused for mint tea at a caf茅听in the small settlement of Sidi Chamarouche, where the trail briefly levels out听near a series of cascading waterfalls. From there, the path continues another three and a half miles to the Refuge du Toubkal, a mountain hostel at 10,521 feet. Hikers typically spend the night there, taking advantage of its basic restaurant and hot showers, before waking up before sunrise to tackle the summit the next day.

Above the refuge, the hike gets more serious, with crampons a necessity well into April. In December, snow cover can make it easier to navigate Toubkal鈥檚 notorious scree slopes鈥攄ubbed 鈥渉eartbreaking鈥� and 鈥渁wful鈥� by one TripAdvisor reviewer鈥攂ut biting winds make the winter journey more arduous than many expect, although presumably the conditions were nothing surprising for two Scandinavian women with glacier-climbing experience. The broad, rocky summit is often crowded with hikers taking triumphant selfies in front of the pyramidal peak marker. On a clear day, if you squint at the horizon, you might be able to spot the shining dunes of the Sahara Desert.

At the same time Jespersen and Ueland were navigating the Toubkal trail, four men from the outskirts of Marrakech were approaching the peak from the opposite direction. At one of the mountain passes, the men crossed paths with Brahim Baakenna, a local guide who was accompanying two Danish tourists. The encounter seemed unremarkable at the time. Baakenna exchanged greetings with the men, who appeared to be in their twenties and thirties, then pointed out the path leading up to the refuge. Perhaps unprepared for the snowy conditions, the men didn鈥檛 make it to the refuge and remained on the lower-elevation trails. They had a brief, cordial conversation with a hanout owner (who asked to remain anonymous for this story) and, according to Moroccan security services, they also spoke with a British hiker, asking him if he was Muslim. He reportedly said that he was.

According to local sources听(who could not confirm whether the women summited), on their way down the mountain, the pair听didn鈥檛 pass by the refuge until sometime after 4 P.M., significantly later than most descending hikers. Guidebooks note that it takes around three or four hours to make it from the refuge back to Imlil, and starting early is particularly important in December, when the sun sets around 6:30. The man who runs the hanout closest to the trailhead shuttered his store around four, then headed home without having seen the women. By the time Jespersen and Ueland reached his shop, it would鈥檝e been near sunset, if not already dark. If they had continued to walk another half-hour or so downhill, they would have reached the village of Aroumd, where they could鈥檝e rented a room and eaten a hot meal. Instead听they opted to pitch their tent on a flat piece of ground next to the hanout and spend one more night on the mountain.

The men from Marrakech spotted them around 7 P.M., after the women had set up camp. They pitched their own tent a couple hundred feet downslope. They now numbered three, one member of their party having already headed back to the city in order to find a safe house, according to security officials. At midnight, the three men, armed with knives, approached Jespersen and Ueland鈥檚 camp. One of the women (authorities still haven鈥檛 said which) was stabbed to death in the tent and another just outside it. Shortly after the attack, the three men fled the scene, leaving their tent behind.

The next morning, two French tourists staying in Imlil set out for an early-morning hike. After about an hour, they reached the hanout听and discovered the two bodies. They ran down the mountain to report the crime. 鈥淲e saw a tent and that it was open, and we saw the two girls,鈥� one of the hikers later told . 鈥淚t was horrible. They were broken. We warned everyone we saw in Imlil not to go up there. I did not want more to see what we had seen.鈥�

Soon the mountain was swarming with emergency medical technicians and forensic investigators. Residents of Imlil clustered near the trailhead, trying to make sense of what had happened. Some surmised that the killers had come from Sidi Chamarouche. The small community on the mountain is centered around听a shrine honoring a saint reputed to cure mental illness. Perhaps someone mentally unwell had caused what they were all starting to call, with horrific understatement, 鈥渢he problem.鈥� It was unthinkable to imagine that such a crime had been committed by a member of their close-knit community. An attack on a tourist was also an attack on the underlying economy of the entire valley. 鈥淵ou would rather hurt yourself than hurt a tourist,鈥� Mohammed Idhali told me, 鈥渂ecause if you hurt a tourist, you hurt everyone.鈥�

By Wednesday, two days after the bodies were discovered, a disturbing video was circulating on Facebook. Over the course of its 76 seconds, it purportedly showed the stabbing and decapitation of one of the women. In the background, a man declares that the murders are revenge for ISIS defeats in Syria. When the video popped up on local guide Baakenna鈥檚听feed, he realized that he had met the killers on the hiking trails above Imlil. 鈥淚 was crying,鈥� he told me. 鈥淚 was very afraid.鈥�

Moroccans were stunned by the murders, which the prime minister called a 鈥渟tab in the back of Morocco and Moroccans.鈥� For some, they provoked flashbacks to the country鈥檚 last terrorist attack, a 2011 bombing at a popular caf茅听in Marrakech鈥檚 central square that left 17 dead, most of them European tourists. 鈥淚 was in Marrakech in the immediate aftermath of [the 2011 attack], and that was quite striking,鈥澨齭ays Amine Ghoulidi, a researcher at King鈥檚 College in London听who focuses on geopolitics and security in North Africa. 鈥淭he city was very much deserted, the hotels were empty, the mood was down. That was not a good sight for a city that鈥檚 usually pretty vibrant听and that鈥檚 very dependent on tourist activity.鈥�

The Saturday after Jespersen and Ueland鈥檚 bodies were discovered, hundreds of Moroccans gathered for candlelight vigils outside the Danish and Norwegian embassies. In Marrakech, tour guides convened to collectively condemn the murders. (All this despite the fact that Morocco has had notably fewer domestic terror attacks than the U.S. or most EU听countries.) Nonetheless, the gruesome details of the murders鈥攁nd the visceral horror of the video鈥攚ere fodder for racist agitators. On Ueland鈥檚 Facebook memorial page, some people uploaded photos of her bloodied body alongside comments advocating that all Moroccans be expelled from the EU.

惭辞谤辞肠肠辞鈥檚 security forces moved quickly in the wake of the attack. A few hours after the bodies were discovered, law enforcement arrested a 33-year-old plumber named Abderrahim Khayali in Marrakech. Three days later, three other suspects were arrested as they attempted to travel by bus out of Marrakech, with the murder weapons still in their possession, according to investigators from the BCIJ. They allegedly hoped to travel to Libya to join ISIS.

The four men, aged 25 to 33, lived in neighborhoods marked by high rates of poverty and unemployment on the outskirts of Marrakech. That city, 惭辞谤辞肠肠辞鈥檚 biggest tourist destination, 鈥渋s a victim of its own success,鈥� Ghoulidi told me. 鈥淚t attracts millions of people every year, and it鈥檚 become quite gentrified. Prices are not accessible to the average Moroccan, so families move more toward the periphery of the city, which creates more isolation and stimulates grievances that might have shaped these people鈥檚 perception of 鈥榯he other.鈥欌€�

The men had low educational levels and marginal jobs, , a Moroccan intelligence spokesman. Abdessamad Ejjoud, the alleged ringleader of the group, had previously been caught attempting to travel to Syria to link up with ISIS, and he spent a year in prison. Afterward, he became part of this plot closer to home, one allegedly targeting 鈥渟ecurity services or foreign tourists.鈥� A week before the murders, the four men filmed themselves pledging allegiance to the Islamic State, although Sabik insists that they were 鈥溾€� who did not coordinate in advance with ISIS. (ISIS has not taken credit for Jespersen and Ueland鈥檚 murders, although the group doesn鈥檛 tend to claim attacks when the perpetrators are in custody.)

The men 鈥渨ere part of a terrorist cell meeting regularly to plan attacks in Morocco,鈥� Abdelhak El Khiam, director of the BCIJ, told me. The group鈥檚 strategy allegedly included potential attacks against a synagogue in Marrakech and the Gnaoua World Music Festival, in the coastal city Essaouira. 鈥淏ut the four men decided to detach themselves from the rest of the group and take action immediately,鈥� El Khiam says. The men suspected correctly that their group was being surveilled by Moroccan security services, and 鈥淚mlil was the perfect remote location to evade the surveillance and finally take action,鈥� he says.

鈥淲e鈥檝e already dismantled some terrorist cells that were much more dangerous and more organized, with many more resources than this one,鈥� El Khiam says. 鈥淭here is a change in the terrorist profile, not only here in Morocco听but everywhere else in the world. They鈥檙e now taking action with only their own small resources. That was the case in Imlil鈥攋ust four people and cheap knives.鈥�

The three main suspects who were present for the murders admitted to the crime in a trial this spring. On , while Khayali, who鈥檇 reportedly left before the attack, was sentenced to life in prison. Twenty-one other Moroccans, allegedly part of the terrorist cell, remain on trial. The group includes a Spanish-Swiss citizen named Kevin Zoller Guervos. Guervos had a number of run-ins with the law as a teenager before converting to Islam in 2011. Guervos, who now goes by Abdellah and lives in Marrakech, was accused of recruiting the four men and teaching them how to use encrypted communications and fire a gun. According to investigators, he targeted 鈥渋gnorant people who have nothing.鈥� (Guervos .) In Denmark, 14 people鈥攊ncluding two children under age 15鈥攚ere charged for sharing the video filmed at the scene of the crime.听That听video,听, was subsequently used as ammunition to condemn Islam and even to mock the victims鈥櫶齮olerant views.

After the arrests, the murders continued to trouble the small community where they took place. The hanout owner, disturbed that his shop had been the site of such brutality, left it shuttered for more than two weeks. To guide and outfitter Mohamed Idhali, the valley he knew so well felt suddenly strange, full of unseen menace. For the first time in his life, he was scared to walk home in the dark. The fear coursing through the Imlil Valley wasn鈥檛 just visceral; it was also economic. A family from Denmark had reserved Idhali’s entire guesthouse for three days over New Year鈥檚. After the murders, they cancelled, as did other groups. Imlil鈥檚 economy was increasingly entwined with tourism, and it seemed possible that the attacks, and the international publicity they received, could shatter the town. 鈥淚 worried! I worried about the future,鈥� Idhali听says.

He had reason to be concerned. 鈥淭unisia used to be the example in the region, the 鈥榞ood student鈥� that everyone looked to,鈥� Amine Ghoulidi told me. 鈥淭he quality of hotels was outstanding, the service was impressive.鈥� More than 400,000 British tourists visited Tunisia in 2014, but after a handful of widely publicized terrorist attacks, that number plummeted to just 28,000 in 2017. Egypt, where tourism was a cornerstone of the economy, saw visitation drop by two-thirds after the Arab Spring and subsequent political unrest. 鈥淭ourism is an extremely fragile industry,鈥� Ghoulidi says.

On January 21, Maren Ueland鈥檚 funeral was held at her hometown鈥檚听local parish church in Norway. Her family鈥檚 dog, an enormous Leonberger named Alf Herman, sat quietly in the front row.听The country鈥檚 minister of health, Bent Hoie, addressed the gathering. 鈥淲e must continue to climb the mountains and paddle in the rivers,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e must continue to move freely and fearlessly into the world鈥ike Maren did.鈥�

By April鈥攈igh season in the High Atlas鈥攆ears of a decimated tourism industry seemed unfounded. The Berber Family Lodge, Idhali鈥檚 guesthouse, was at capacity, and its owner bustled around the living room, stressed but smiling, a man keenly aware that he was at the mercy of TripAdvisor reviews. His guests that week included a pair of fit, efficient Germans; two Romanians working in Canada; and a Russian 鈥渄igital nomad鈥� who, after living in the Yucat谩n for the past five years, now identified as Mexican. Most of them had booked their trips before Jespersen and Ueland鈥檚 murders.

鈥淏ad things happen all the time,鈥� says Octavian Grecu, one of the Romanians. But he also admitted that he鈥檇 become preoccupied with the women鈥檚 murders. 鈥淚 started reading a lot about terrorist cells and ISIS,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t got stuck in my head a little.鈥� He鈥檇 decided to bring his bear spray with him from Canada to Morocco 鈥渇or people, not bears. It鈥檚 good to have it on me. It makes me more relaxed.鈥�

Grecu and several others had planned on hiking Toubkal the next day without a guide听and were alarmed when Idhali informed them that they would not be allowed to climb the mountain without official accompaniment.

鈥淚t should be free, it鈥檚 an open mountain!鈥� Grecu said.

鈥淎n open mountain鈥ith cutthroats,鈥� another guest chimed in darkly.

鈥淏ut if you want to dare it,鈥� Grecu replied.

Idhali shook his head. There were officials stationed at all the mountain approaches, he explained. Everyone in the village knew one another. If the guards saw an unaccompanied foreigner, or a Moroccan they听didn鈥檛 recognize, they鈥檇 call the gendarmerie. A guide was an absolute necessity.

鈥淪ince when?鈥� Grecu asked.

鈥淪ince鈥he problem,鈥� Idhali said.

In recent years, Morocco has responded to threats against tourists by ramping up security. The police鈥檚 Brigade Touristique听, checking identity cards and arresting Moroccans for public drunkenness, theft, begging, and not having a guide license.听After the murders in Imlil, authorities decreed that any foreigners who wanted to walk the Toubkal path would have to enlist a guide, even for short day hikes. There are now four checkpoints along the trail to the summit, mandatory stops where a uniformed official records your passport information and confirms your guide鈥檚 credentials. It鈥檚 also no longer possible to sleep in a tent on the mountain as Jespersen and Ueland did.

The strictness isn鈥檛 limited to Toubkal; there鈥檚 a new police checkpoint on the road leading into town, where gendarmes hand out听tickets to people who aren鈥檛 wearing their seat belts. The stepped-up police presence has made Moroccans more conscientious about conforming to local laws lest they face hefty fines.听The new requirements were causing headaches, with many more visitors than available guides. That night, Idhali was on the phone for hours, attempting to line up a guide for Grecu and the others. (He finally found someone at 10 P.M.)

Generally speaking, the residents of Imlil preferred not to discuss the murders that had shaken their small community. 鈥淲e try all the time to forget,鈥� guide Lahcen Amerda told me.听Even if it wasn鈥檛 spoken of, though, Imlil has changed in other, more subtle ways since 鈥渢he problem.鈥� Locals admitted to feeling a new wariness toward unfamiliar Moroccans. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like we were sleeping before,鈥� says听Amerda. Now听鈥渋f you see someone and he is not from the valley, you see where he is going. If you see something that鈥檚 not normal, you can call the police.鈥� I heard a story about a couple of Moroccan men on motorbikes who stopped a local man. They explained that they didn鈥檛 have the proper registration for their bikes and wanted to know if there was a way to evade the checkpoint at the entrance to听town so they wouldn鈥檛 get a ticket. The local man demurred. When the strangers were out of sight, he called the cops on them.

On a bright spring day, I traced Jespersen and Ueland鈥檚 steps from Imlil to Sidi Chamarouche. As per the new regulations, Idhali agreed to act as my guide. The path was packed with hikers of various ages and abilities, as well as mules laden with bags of gravel鈥攃onstruction materials for another new police checkpoint being erected along the trail.

There was no marker or memorial commemorating the place where the women had been killed, just a few tables where a handful of hikers sat drinking orange juice and looking out over the valley where birds swooped down between very old mountains. Idhali chatted with the hanout owner as I sat and thought about the last time I had been on this path. In 2007, when I was the same age as Jespersen, I spent a year living in Morocco. The most eventful moment of my hike up Toubkal that summer was when my two friends and I witnessed the birth of a baby goat. We rushed ahead to alert the goatherd, who seemed听amused at our wonder. I remember the slowly dawning realization that goat births were not as momentous for Moroccan goatherds as they were for American tourists. It was one of those travel moments when the world, in all its mundane dailiness, seemed suddenly new. Sometimes it felt as though I spent that whole year learning over and over again that I knew less than I thought I did.

Idhali stood up, ready to press on down the path, but I wanted to stay and think a little bit longer about Jespersen and Ueland鈥攈ow open they seemed to the world, and how the saddest legacy would be if their deaths left the world more rigid, more suspicious, and more unlike them.

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Starting on June 17, Brazil will join the ranks of countries that don鈥檛 require a tourist visa from Americans. This will save travelers from having to track down one of only ten Brazilian consulates in the U.S. and pay the听$40 fee (which we recommend putting toward post-swim caipirinhas, the country鈥檚 tart national cocktail).

The change in policy has been a long time coming. For the past several years, Brazil has experimented with streamlining entry requirements for citizens of the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Japan, four countries deemed a significant source of tourism revenue.

Brazil鈥檚 Ministry of Tourism听first tested the waters with visa waivers during the 2016 Rio Games. Then in January 2018, it introduced an electronic visa program for the four countries mentioned above and slashed the fee to a quarter of its original cost, from $160 to $40. The move paid off, helping contribute to a听 in travelers compared to 2017. Now听you鈥檒l be able to enter and stay for up to 90 days鈥攚ith the possibility to extend to 180 days total鈥攚ithout having to do any paperwork.

鈥淭his is one of the most important achievements of the Brazilian tourism industry in the last 15 years,鈥� said Marcelo Alvaro Ant么nio, the country鈥檚 minister of tourism, in a听. 鈥淲e are confident that it will be extremely beneficial to the country.鈥�

Meanwhile, if you鈥檙e looking for this kind of hassle-free international adventure, you鈥檙e not limited to Brazil. Americans have long been able to visit our closest allies, like Canada and the European Union, with only a valid passport, and globally there鈥檚 a fairly even split between nations that require visas听and ones that don鈥檛. Here are six听other outdoor meccas for Americans that don鈥檛 require a visa in advance. 听

Thailand

Want to deep-water solo this Southeast Asian nation鈥檚听? You鈥檙e in luck. You can vacation in Thailand for up to 30 days without a visa鈥攑lenty of time to climb in the famed Railay Beach area, then hightail it to the country鈥檚 southern islands to dive world-class coral gardens among angelfish, manta rays, and whale sharks. Just ensure you have a passport that鈥檚 valid for at least six months past your date of entry, as recommended by the U.S. State Department. 听

Guatemala

While this is not the only Central American country that lets you duck the red tape鈥攖he whole region is pretty much fair game鈥攊t鈥檚 a rising听hub for mountain biking and a longtime surf mecca. As long as you have a return ticket booked, you鈥檙e free to ride its jungle singletrack and catch consistent surf at at El Pared贸n for up to 90 days.

New Zealand

It may take 12 hours or more on a plane to get there, but trust us鈥攊t鈥檚 worth it. New Zealand鈥檚听jaw-dropping scenery provides an epic backdrop for hiking, biking, and backpacking, and from the听famous Milford Track in the South Island鈥檚 Fiordland National Park to the rugged Tongariro Alpine Crossing up north, adventuring in Kiwi country is unlike anywhere else. And you鈥檒l have 90 days to play as long as your passport is valid for three months after your date of departure.

Morocco

This North African nation is famous for its Atlantic coast, which is lined with year-round surf spots in places like Taghazout and Imsouane. Morocco has great climbing, too. Head inland to the听, a 1,300-foot-tall rift between the High Atlas Mountains and the Sahara, to send听. There鈥檚 a 90-day limit on your stay, and you鈥檒l need a passport that鈥檚 valid for six months and has one empty page.

Japan

If you get depressed scrolling through the proliferation of posts on Instagram every winter, know that a quick trip to Hokkaido is actually pretty easy鈥攅xcluding the international flight. Lift tickets often cost less than elsewhere in the world, too. Once you鈥檙e there, you can stay for three months sans visa. Just make sure there鈥檚 at least one blank page in your passport for the entry stamp before packing your bags.

Tahiti

Voyaging to French Polynesia may seem like a pipe dream, but it鈥檚 relatively easy to get there these days. Not only is there the standard 90 days of visa-free travel, but with the introduction of a new direct route to Tahiti from San Francisco, courtesy of the budget airline听 (from $329 one-way), a direct last-minute trip is within the realm of possibility.

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Aziza Raji grew up running with her brothers, but when they refused to race her, she turned her focus to marathons. This episode of fabric company 鈥檚, 听profiles her rise in听Morroco鈥檚 budding distance running community.

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Don鈥檛 get us wrong, we love winter. But sometimes you need a break from the frostbite-inducing temperatures and layers and layers of wool and down. Plan an escape to a warmer locale听and the sunshine, clear trails, and empty beaches will give you the strength to make it through to spring.

Todos Santos, Mexico

Todos Santos overlooks the Pacific Ocean, on the western side of the . Visiting in winter means swimming with whale sharks, snorkeling with sea lions, and sipping mezcal on the beach, with a chance to spot humpback whales and hundreds of fish species. Fly into and reserve an oceanfront casita at (from $145). Through the hotel, you can book daylong guided hiking trips into the nearby Sierra de La Laguna range or overnight glamping trips in the Sea of Cortez on , a UNESCO World Heritage site that you鈥檒l reach by boat.

Nelson, New Zealand

A reminder: When it鈥檚 winter here, it鈥檚 summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Hop a flight to New Zealand for a complete seasonal shift. Abel Tasman National Park, on the northern edge of New Zealand鈥檚 South Island, is known for its multiday treks and golden beaches. Stay in one of three guest suites at the (from $724)听for access to isolated beaches, saltwater pools overlooking Tasman Bay, and five-course tasting dinners. Or sleep on a nearby sheep farm in the (from $131), built of reclaimed timber and with mountain biking out the door.

San Diego, California

You鈥檒l surf in a wetsuit midwinter in 鈥攖he water can get chilly鈥攂ut air temperatures听hovering听in the 60s mean听you can run in a T-shirt and shorts. Head to this laid-back coastal city for surfing, hiking trails, and a thriving year-round triathlon training scene. The (from $159) has a private marina, evening fire pits with s鈥檓ores fixings, and local bands on weekends. You can rent bikes, paddleboards, and sea kayaks directly from the hotel.

Essaouira, Morocco

You鈥檒l come to the charming seaside town of Essaouira, on 惭辞谤辞肠肠辞鈥檚 Atlantic coast, for windsurfing, a legendary music scene, and seafood dinners with ocean views. Book through and a savvy travel agent will arrange everything from private surf lessons to a camel ride on the beach. Or check out for gear and guidance on everything from kitesurfing to stand-up paddleboarding. The big summer music festivals here draw thousands of people, but you鈥檒l still find quality live music and fewer crowds during the winter months.

Naples, Florida

Retreat to the white-sand beaches of , along the Gulf of Mexico, for sea kayaking, paddleboarding, and reading on the beach. 听(from $247)听offers a frostbite-relief package with discounted winter rates and a $50 nightly resort credit toward things like dinners on the beach and Himalayan salt-stone massage treatments. While there, you can take yoga and strength-training classes, charter a fishing boat, or have cocktails delivered to your beach chair.

Ruaha National Park, Tanzania

Head to in January or February and you stand a good chance of having much of the place to yourself鈥攎ost safari-bound tourists from Europe and North America drop in during summer holidays between June to September. (from $820听per night per person), a new safari lodge that opened in September inside Ruaha National Park, has eight high-end suites built into granite boulders, an infinity pool and spa, and three-course dinners under the stars.

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is one of those lucky few who travels to exotic places for work鈥攊t comes with the territory of being a director of photography for a rad company called . That said, even in the most beautiful locations, when he's working, he's working. So, Max took some time off to travel to Morocco with his brother. Unsurprisingly, his go-to gear setup for traveling made its way into his pack, allowing him to create this breathtaking visual time capsule of their trip. You can follow Max on Instagram and Virus on Facebook .

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鈥淲ould you send your elderly grandfather across the desert?鈥� Rory Coleman, Britain鈥檚 marathon maestro, asked me this in February as we discussed Sir Ranulph Fiennes鈥檚 entry in the . The six-day ultramarathon, which winds 155 miles through the Sahara in southern Morocco, has been called the toughest footrace on Earth. Coleman, a performance coach, holds 11 finishes to his name and has trained over 100 registrants this year, most prominently, Fiennes.

Fiennes, the 71-year-old explorer whom Guinness World Records calls the world鈥檚 greatest living explorer, is attempting to become the oldest Brit to complete the race. He is the first person to have reached both poles by surface travel and is the most senior Brit to have summited Mount Everest. He once suffered extreme frostbite on a solo trek across the Arctic and .

鈥淭he only thing he hasn鈥檛 done is go across a desert,鈥� Coleman said.

Fiennes'听participation is in support of , a foundation for terminally ill patients in Britain, for which he鈥檚 raising funds. On Sunday, Fiennes toed the start line alongside Coleman and 83-year-old Frenchman Joseph Le Louarn, the most senior finisher of all-time.

国产吃瓜黑料 chatted with Fiennes about his upcoming ultra, avoiding beauty in the Arctic, and recovering from near-death.

OUTSIDE: In 2003, you . What did you learn from that challenge and how has your training for MDS differed?
SIR RANULPH FIENNES: It鈥檚 a fact of life, and it鈥檚 a pain in the neck, but it鈥檚 called geriatric status. You have to fight very hard to keep going at all. When we did the marathons [in 2003], I could still jog at a reasonable rate. I think back to the days when I could do a reasonable London Marathon in about three and a half hours, and now a marathon seems to take about seven hours. So you can see the big difference. And it could be disastrous during this Marathon des Sables, but I won鈥檛 know until I try it. I just want to try and complete it. I do not want to be removed by French helicopters or whatever they have, like vultures, waiting for geriatrics to be removed.

I know you鈥檙e a big fan of Sugar Puffs and chocolate, which appear at odds with a runner鈥檚 diet. How have you managed this?
In the days when I used to do a lot of ultra stuff, I obviously listened to what the editor of Runner鈥檚 World said, 鈥渆at lots of pasta.鈥� Everyone ate rice and pasta and was drinking orange juice. Now, it seems that pasta is described as near sugar, and people like me who have pre-diabetes have to steer clear of it. I鈥檓 told there鈥檚 more sugar in fresh orange juice than Coca Cola. So everything is the opposite of what it used to be. I鈥檝e never been involved with heroin or other drugs, but I can really understand why it鈥檚 very hard to give up. I certainly intend to give up [sugar], but my hands get out of control. You know, you鈥檙e paying for gasoline and you can鈥檛 pay for gasoline without being surrounded by chocolates. I find it very, very difficult to stop.

What gear adjustments have you made for the Marathon des Sables?
I like to wear big spikes or mud claws, but Rory said, 鈥淣o, in this race you must just use low running shoes.鈥� So, of late, I鈥檝e been slipping and sliding all over the damn place because they don鈥檛 grip.

The expansion of air travel in the 1980s and '90s has made remote excursions much more accessible. As you鈥檝e said, 鈥減retty much everybody鈥檚 granny鈥� goes to Mount Everest nowadays. How has this changed your approach to expeditions and your perspective on what it means to be an explorer?
I never call myself an explorer, and only one of the expeditions I鈥檝e done in the past forty years has genuinely explored. I call myself on my passport a travel writer or expedition leader, not an explorer. The expedition which did explore was probably the last terrestrial mapmaker鈥攊.e. we were in an area where there were no satellites making maps. When in 1979-1980 we did the first complete one-way crossing of Antarctica, we used Aneroid barometers to map the area from where we spent the winter to the pole. It was about 800 miles, which was unexplored. Nobody had been there, no satellites, nobody knew how high it was above sea level. Nothing was known. We crossed it and mapped it.

You鈥檝e visited so many nooks and crannies of the world that most people will never visit. What鈥檚 the most startling thing you鈥檝e ever seen?
The active volcano in Antarctica, . Seeing the flames and the steam coming out of a place of ice and snow is interesting. We didn鈥檛 look for anything other than whiteness. In Antarctica, any beautifulness or wonderful views mean problems. If it鈥檚 just white, you won鈥檛 get crevasses and that鈥檚 good because it means we can continue without problems. In the Arctic Ocean, the same is true, only the ice is on the sea, not on land. Because if you get color, it will mean either that the ice is split or that two million ton ice loads have come together and they create big ice blocks that are difficult to cross. So to get beauty means problems from our point of view.

It can be easy for people to make the excuse that they don鈥檛 have enough time to exercise. How do you fit in your runs and plot your day?
I run when my [nine-year-old] daughter is in school. When I鈥檓 lecturing, I will take running shoes, and when I get to the hotel, I find out from the reception a local place for an hour鈥檚 run. The very worst thing is a hotel gymnasium or a machine. I don鈥檛 like them. Now, I鈥檓 running about four days a week. If Rory says it鈥檚 gotta be more than that, then it will be more, but generally speaking, four one-hour sessions per week. For the last six months, Saturday has become a four-hour jog instead of a one-hour jog.

What do you consider uncovered ground in terms of your explorations?
There鈥檚 really only one left, and that鈥檚 to cross Antarctica during the polar winter. We have not managed to do that, largely because of the governmental rules, which prohibit UK citizens from traveling down there in winter because there鈥檚 no rescue facility on or near the continent during the winter. Therefore, if you run into trouble, you won鈥檛 get rescued and will become an embarrassment to your country.

Some people get carted off to nursing homes at your age. You鈥檝e had your own health scares鈥攎ultiple heart attacks, double bypass surgery, and a cancer operation鈥攏ot to mention the dangers of your expeditions. What鈥檚 motivated you to keep going?
I would consider life not worth living if there weren鈥檛 some form of challenge of a physical nature. It鈥檚 just what I鈥檝e always done since I can remember, and it would be pointless existing without a challenge

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