In an interview, filmmaker Wes Anderson discusses his boyhood fascination with Jacques Cousteau, the inspiration behind his new movie, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.

Ed Viesturs has summitted 13 of the 14 highest mountains in the world without the aid of supplemental oxygen—thanks to his alpine skills, mental focus, and near freakish physiology.

Earthbound adventurers outfitted with special kites and harnesses are using wind power to reach some of the most remote spots on the planet.

Aron Ralston, the climber who spent five days pinned beneath a boulder in a Utah canyon last year, reflects on his lifesaving self-amputation.

The fear that drives many of us away from the risks of extreme sports maybe the same ingredient that keeps top athletes coming back for more.

A rafting team could soon join the select few to navigate the Nile River from its source to the sea. Traversing wild rapids and rebel-held territory en route, the paddlers recently crossed into Egypt and expect to reach the Mediterranean later this month.

Last month, an aircraft with a largely oxygen-fueled engine hit a velocity of 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) an hour—more than seven times the speed of sound. But one thing was missing during the milestone: the pilot. (A related story airs Wednesday on our U.S. cable TV program Dangerous Jobs.)

Never mind its chilly name—as a travel destination, Iceland is hot. Visitors to the North Atlantic island, known as Europe's "land of fire and ice," topped 300,000 last year, more than Iceland's entire population.

In North America, avalanches have claimed the lives of at least 29 skiers, snowboarders, and other backcountry users this year. In an interview with National Geographic News, avalanche expert Janet Kellam describes the risks posed by snow slides—and recalls her own near miss.

For hundreds of years, Nepalese men in the Himalayan foothills have risked life and limb to harvest the honey of a native, cliff-dwelling bee. Now a team of scientists is racing to keep the bees and the honey hunter's traditional livelihood alive.

By disrespecting the Pashtun tribal culture in Afghanistan, the United States may have failed to gain a vital ally in its search for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to National Geographic Adventure magazine's Robert Young Pelton (pictured) and other Afghanistan experts.

A natural eye and the ability to go where most photographers can't have vaulted 30-year-old climber Jimmy Chin into the elite ranks of the world's adventure photographers. But five years ago, Chin didn't even own a camera.

The Three Flags Ceremony marking the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase was held on March 14 in St. Louis, overlooking the Mississippi River under the Gateway Arch. It replicated a similar ceremony two hundred years ago, when the flags of Spain, France, and the U.S. were raised and lowered to mark the transfer of power over a vast portion of North America—and launched the locomotive of U.S. expansion to the West.

Wide-ranging predators found in isolated pockets of the Rocky Mountains, wolverines rarely respect the wilderness boundaries drawn on maps. The animals help spotlight the potential benefits of a bold—and controversial—environmental plan known as the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.

Bill Stone's got one thing on his mind these days—going where no one has gone before. For the past four weeks, he and 39 international teammates have been rappelling, hiking, and digging day in and day out in hopes of breaking into Cheve Cave.