🔥 Being there when it happens!

A newsletter for people who’d rather be outside!

Jun 23, 2026

After a few weeks of vacay in España, I am back AF in the Stoke!

This week’s sends are a reminder that the best adventures and sometimes our favorite athletes are temporary... tying together the loss of the most respected and decorated athletes, Sketchy Andy Lewis, with a life well lived and worth living.

Before you scroll and feast, here’s a few shots from the deep water solo scene in June in Mallorca. Not the best season… but also not the worst. And still, a great place to bring the family and have something for everyone!

See you on the other side!

xoxox

Nico in Spain

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🪂 The definition of Sketchy Andy (RIP)

📍Moab, Utah

The climbing and BASE community lost one of its most recognizable characters last week when Andy Lewis—better known as Sketchy Andy—died in a tandem BASE jumping accident. Long before he became famous for slacklining between impossible places, Andy was hucking himself off equally improbable cliffs around Moab.

For me, this triple jump through the Fisher Towers is a masterpiece: launching from Dragon’s Nest, flying to Kingfisher, then Ancient Art, before finally touching down on the desert floor. It’s absurd, creative, and just a little bit terrifying—pretty much the perfect summary of his approach to life.

⛷️ A line that only existed for a moment

📍 Cordillera Blanca, Peru

At over 6,000 meters in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca, Fay Manners and team spotted something local guides thought was impossible: a forgotten line between Ranrapalca and Ocshapalca that hadn’t seen a known ascent since a Swiss team climbed it in 1980. The line is called Acceso Momentáneo because mountain lines aren’t permanent. Glaciers shift, seracs collapse, and what seems unclimbable one decade can briefly open for those willing to look closer.

⛰️ An island, a climber, and a long gone friend

📍Yakushima, Japan

What starts as a climbing trip quickly goes deeper. Belgian climbing legend Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll follows local climber Jumbo to Japan’s wild island of Yakushima, where sandstone sea cliffs rise straight from the Pacific.

Part exploration film, part tribute to a friend who passed away, it’s the kind of adventure story that reminds you the best trips are about the people who show you the way!

⏱️ 16 min

🚵 Summer in the Alps, Kilian Style

📍La Clusaz, France

Most mountain bikers spend winter wishing they could ride more. Kilian Bron spends summer making the rest of us question our life choices. His latest edit from the French Alps turns a steep alpine ridgeline with exposed traverses, and perfectly sculpted terrain into a giant playground.

📸 The guy behind the lens

📍Colorado to Alaska

When Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell set out on a 2,500-mile expedition to Alaska’s legendary Devil’s Thumb, photographer Taylor Schaffer came along to document the journey.

This behind-the-scenes film reveals what outdoor storytelling actually looks like when the cameras stop rolling: long days, uncertain logistics, local connections, and the challenge of creating meaningful images in places that refuse to cooperate.

⏱️ 22 min

⚡ Bonus News

🤖 A humanoid robot successfully climbed Ecuador’s highest volcano, Cotopaxi, reaching over 5,800 meters with the help of a human support team. The future is weird, and apparently it wears hiking boots.

🛶 British endurance paddler Charlie Head completed 3,700 km, the entire length of the Mississippi River, in just 34 days, averaging nearly 110 kilometers a day. That’s a lot of time alone with your thoughts and a paddle.

🌊 The Caspian Sea has lost an area roughly the size of Croatia since 2005 as water levels continue to fall. Scientists warn the shrinking shoreline could have major consequences for ecosystems, fisheries, and millions of people who live around it.

🪐 New research suggests Mars’ tiny moon Phobos is being ripped apart by the planet’s gravity and may eventually become a ring around Mars. Somewhere in the solar system, Saturn is feeling smug.

🚵 French rider, Kimi Viardot, won this year’s Mountain of Hell after launching down a mass-start descent that begins on a glacier and quickly devolves into absolute chaos. If you’ve never seen hundreds of mountain bikers sprinting downhill at the same time, you’re in for a treat.

🧠 Long Reads & Opinions

Heads up, take your time with these ones…

🪂 Sketchy Andy on life, death, and living fully
Before his death this month, Andy Lewis sat down for a surprisingly thoughtful conversation about fear, friendship, risk, and why he believed the opposite of life wasn’t death—it was not living. It’s a powerful watch from one of the most influential characters outdoor sports has ever produced.
⏱️ 15 min
🧗 Imagine livestreaming the hardest thing you’ve ever done
Most climbers hide the failures and show you the send. Jakob Schubert did the opposite, broadcasting his attempts on B.I.G., one of the hardest sport climbs in the world. The result is a fascinating look at what happens when world-class performance meets complete transparency.
⏱️ 54 min
🥾 Building the Colorado Trail
The Colorado Trail is one of America’s great long-distance adventures, but it didn’t just appear out of thin air. This documentary tells the decades-long story of volunteers, dreamers, and trail builders who stitched together nearly 500 miles of mountains, forests, and high-alpine terrain into one continuous route.
⏱️ 27 minutes
⛰️ Climbing Marmolejo in the Central Andes
If you need a dose of mountain stoke, this is it. Part travel film and part love letter to the Andes, it delivers stunning landscapes, good vibes, and the kind of panoramic views that make you immediately start checking flight prices.
⏱️ 33 minutes
🚵 Tiny bikes, giant mountains
Two dads, two kids, tiny bikes, and six days crossing the Swiss Alps. What starts as a family bikepacking trip becomes a surprisingly honest look at adventure, patience, parenting, and why the best trips rarely go according to plan.
⏱️ 22 minutes