Britney or Christina, Frappuccino or half-caf vanilla latte, Maxim or FHM, trad or sport—our world is full of crucial, life-defining choices. Your sling choice, however, truly is life affecting. Read on to find out why.

Chasing ghosts on Hawaiian sea cliffs.

Jeff Jackson and Jose Miranda overcome ghosts, storm and altitude to make the first ascent of Colorado's Crystal Tower.

Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. died of heart failure on January 10, at the age of 96, in a retirement home in Lexington, Massachusetts. His legacy, however, as a mountaineer, photographer, cartographer and all-around adventurer extraordinaire will live on.

The scorched desert expanse surrounding Las Vegas smears together into one terrible brown color as Chris Sharma, Dalia Ojeda, Miguel and I whiz along at 90 miles per hour in an old Jeep Grand Cherokee. The American West, this celebrated frontier, as tame as it has become with commercialism and super highways, is still the last good place I know of for real adventure.

The Phantom 45D is a fully featured lightweight bag, the only model with a down baffle in the hood and neck, and a down-filled zipper draft tube.