One of the most unspoiled wildernesses in North America is once again open for oil and gas drilling. On Thursday, Oct. 23, the Trump administration finalized plans to offer the coastal plains of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as drilling leases for oil and gas companies.

The move renews a longtime fight over drilling in this jewel of the American outdoors, which is considered critical habitat for species like polar bears and caribou.

Oil and gas leases will now be sold for the refuge’s 1.5-million–acre coastal plan, Doug Burgum, the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, announced this week. This fulfills a campaign promise from President Trump, who vowed to open many federally protected areas, including the refuge, to new drilling.

In the announcement, Secretary Burgum in Washington, D.C., was joined by Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and members of the state’s Congress. However, it’s unclear whether Trump’s plans to drill in the Arctic will actually come to fruition.

A January lease sale for drilling in the refuge ended with zero bids — the second failed attempt in 4 years. Oil and gas companies have been hesitant to commit to drilling in the area over concerns about the huge expense, as well as public blowback. But with the White House now directly investing in private companies, including a mining operation, the political landscape may finally have changed enough to entice drillers to the area.

Ambler Road: New Era of State Capitalism

Burgum’s Thursday announcement also dropped several other bombshells for conservationists, including a renewed attempt to bring back the Ambler Road.

The proposed 200-mile road through Alaska’s beloved Brooks Range would allow a mining company to reach valuable mineral deposits in the state. Conservationists and tribal leaders have long opposed the road’s construction, arguing it would permanently alter the Brooks Range. Another pristine wilderness area popular among anglers and hikers, the range is a boon for tourism and a critical zone for indigenous tribes.

This controversial project has also been a long-time battle between the Trump and Biden administrations. Biden blocked resource extraction from the Brooks Range last year, only for Trump’s administration to once again put it back on the table this year.

But this time is different. Earlier this month, Trump directly invested the White House in Trilogy Metals, a Canadian mining company that has long pushed for the Ambler Road project.

Since taking office for his second term, Trump has taken the extremely rare step of direct investment in private companies — in the absence of an economic crisis. His administration now holds stakes in at least six companies, including Trilogy Metals.

According to a White House announcement on Oct. 6, the U.S. government will invest $35.6 million to support Trilogy Metals and its proposed Ambler Mining District. In return, the White House has gained a 10% stake in the Canadian company, with options to purchase another 7.5%.

Although Alaska’s governor and many Congressional representatives support the Ambler Road initiative, it remains highly controversial by the vast majority of indigenous Alaskan tribes, as well as hunting and fishing groups and conservationists.

More New Roads Through Wildlife Refuges

Burgum’s Thursday announcement included several other news items for Alaskans and conservationists. He also declared a finalized deal to allow another contested road through another prized wilderness area, this time, a gravel road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Alaska. Although the road remains controversial among Alaska’s indigenous tribes, the King Cove Corporation, a tribal organization, wants to build it.

Burgum did not provide details on the road deal, but the Interior Department is expected to transfer 490 acres of land within Izembek to the tribal group, according to The New York Times. The road would connect the remote town of King Cove to the Cold Bay airport, resolving “life-threatening challenges” for locals in need of medical care, Burgum said.

However, opponents of the road have said it could cause irreparable harm to wildlife and bird species that define their tribal culture.

“I worry every day about what’s going to happen to the brant and emperor geese if there’s a road in Izembek,” Chief Edgar Tall Sr. of the Native Village of Hooper Bay said in a statement. “Our people hunt these birds together so we can learn from each other and teach our children how to hunt and take care of the land.”

“If the birds disappear because of the Izembek road, our community could disappear too,” he warned.

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Wesley Dopkins was last seen in June 2024, paddling a kayak across Jackson Lake without a life jacket. Over a year later, a nonprofit search and recovery (SAR) organization known as Bruce’s Legacy finally located his body using advanced sonar technology.

The organization is one of many regional SAR groups across the country, helping to fill the gaps that law enforcement can’t.

Dopkins, 43, went missing after he and a friend attempted to paddle 3 miles across Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). Their destination was Waterfalls Canyon, but neither man would make it there. When they started, it was a nice day. But vicious winds picked up, catching the two men in 6-foot waves. His partner turned around, but Dopkins continued on out of sight.

Later, his kayak, dry bag, and paddle were found floating off Moose Island. The National Park Service (NPS) initiated a huge search with boats, helicopters, SAR dogs, and ground teams. But after several days, NPS called the effort off.

That’s when Dopkins’ mother, Kathryn, contacted Bruce’s Legacy. The 501(c)(3) SAR organization specializes in bringing closure to families impacted by drowning tragedies. It took over a year, and the volunteer team faced challenges it had never encountered before. But on September 7, 2025, the search finally came to an end.

“There were a lot of places I was really worried that if he had landed in some of those areas, we’d never have found him,” Keith Cormican, founder of Bruce’s Legacy, told GearJunkie. “But it paid off by being patient and just working it.”

Bruce’s Legacy: Nonprofit SAR Helps Grieving Families & Communities

Cormican founded Bruce’s Legacy in 2013, naming the organization after his brother, who died during an attempted SAR operation in Wisconsin in 1995. While recovering the body of a drowning victim, a whirlpool sucked Bruce and two other firefighters underwater.

The death of his brother changed the course of Cormican’s life. In 1996, he established the Jackson County Dive Unit to train public safety divers. Then, after learning how sonar could be used to search for and locate remains underwater, he founded Bruce’s Legacy. To date, the organization has recovered 62 victims.

And Cormican said, by far, Dopkins’ recovery was the hardest one he’s had.

“It was the most challenging lake I’ve run into so far, and I’ve done a lot of glacier lakes,” he said.

Finding Wesley Dopkins

Kathryn Dopkins contacted Bruce’s Legacy in September 2024. That October, Cormican and his team initiated its first search. He explained that side-scanning sonar has to be towed behind the boat with a winch. It’s a 30-pound torpedo, he described, and it can scan 100 feet on both sides of the boat.

However, it needs to be suspended 10 to 15 feet above the bottom, which proved very difficult among the glacial ridges and valleys of Jackson Lake.

“It raised hell with my operation,” he said. “I had to leave because I broke stuff … we hit the bottom and broke our winch.”

That ended his October 2024 search effort. In September 2025, he returned for a second try. He ran into many of the same issues, he said, but eventually they found what they were looking for. A mile and a half from where he was last seen, and 420 feet underwater, they found Dopkins’ remains. The next day, on September 8, Cormican, his team, and several GTNP rangers returned and successfully brought Dopkins home.

“It’s always a bittersweet moment,” Cormican said. It’s a triumphant feeling, that’s quickly followed by the knowledge you have to deliver that news to the family. Yes, it’s rewarding, he said, but doleful at the same time.

Never-Ending Work

When Cormican spoke with GearJunkie, he was on the road. After leaving Wyoming, he’d gone straight to Iowa to help a family look for a loved one who was missing on the Missouri River. Then he was headed home to make repairs on his boat and teach a diving class the following week.

“Right after that,” he noted, “I leave to go to South Carolina [to look] for another missing man.”

The organization’s work is never-ending. Like other nonprofit SAR organizations, it’s funded solely by donations. In the case of Dopkins’ recovery, Grand Teton Lodge Company and Flagg Ranch Company supported their stay at the lake. In other cases, people raise money through GoFundMe campaigns to pay for their room, travel, and board. But neither he nor his volunteers receives any wages for their work.

That’s how Cormican wants it, but the nonprofit still has expenses for equipment and operation that rely on public goodwill.

“We need donations just to keep moving forward,” he said.

If you want to contact Cormican, you can find his email on the Bruce’s Legacy contact page or reach out via social media. If you’d like to donate to the organization, Cormican said the best way is through its website.

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Shortly after noon on September 7, National Park Service (NPS) authorities at Grand Canyon National Park received alerts that a vehicle had driven off the rim of the canyon near South Kaibab Trailhead.

According to a press release, park rangers responded “immediately” and recovered the body of one individual, Steven (Drew) Bradley, 27, of Federal Heights, Colo., about 300 feet below the rim. A helicopter transferred the body up to the rim, where it was then taken to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.

An investigation is underway, and authorities have not released any information related to the cause of the incident.

This is not the first time that a vehicular incident has occurred in the park. Individuals have driven their cars off the rim’s edge in 2009, 2021, and in February of this year, all resulting in fatalities. According to NPS data, from 2014 to 2019, there were 103 total deaths in Grand Canyon National Park, and 14 of those were classified as suicides.

GearJunkie reached out to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office, but did not immediately receive a response. When asked for comment, the Grand Canyon Office of Communications declined to provide any additional information beyond the press release.

The NPS news release included a link to the Suicide and Crisis lifeline at 988. We will update this story as more information becomes available.

In Sept. 2017, Heather Lea stepped off her BMW G 650 GS in Magadan, Russia, the final stop in a 58,247-mile motorcycle ride through 40 countries. Seven years later, her book about the journey will soon be released, detailing the trials and rewards of embarking on the trip with a man she had started dating only 27 days prior. 

By all accounts, Lea’s life has been one of well-weighed risk versus reward. She says she’s “more inclined to whimsically agree to stuff and then worry about it later,” a way of living that has taken her solo backpacking in Africa and cycling from Paris to Istanbul.

Her 2-year motorcycle trip around the world was born in the same way: a serendipitous match on a dating app and a suggestion to ride down to Patagonia — and then keep going.

Lea sat down with GearJunkie to chat about the experience, including an excerpt from the book below. 

‘Riding Full Circle’: Excerpt

I follow Dave down the dirt track we came up last night, and out onto the logging road, where the morning sun lights up the dust disturbed by his rear tire.

We come to a junction and Dave turns left. After crossing a bridge over the St. Joe’s River we’re back on the Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route. As soon as we hit the double track made for all-terrain vehicles, Dave’s off like a flash. He’s the only person I know who speeds up when he sees a dirt road, whether he’s in a 4×4 truck, or on two wheels.

I ride carefully. Ahead on the trail I see two boulders as large as woodstoves that I’ll need to squeeze through, but I’m concerned about my hard-case panniers fixed onto luggage racks on both sides of my bike. Am I too wide to fit between them?

Slowing to twenty-five miles an hour, I look where I want to go.

Just when I think I’m past the rocks, an abrupt impact slams into my body and my motorcycle starts veering out of control. I take in the Ponderosa pines above me, the river to my right, and the ditch on my left. Look where you want to go. Half a second later, I’m stuck under my motorcycle, where it has come to rest in a pine-cone scattered gully.

My brain elbows through the last few minutes of memory. I was off-center and hit one of the boulders with the hard aluminum pannier on my right side. The collision was so jarring, it sent me into the ditch.

Sound comes flooding back to my ears once the white noise of alarm has quieted. I hear the river and listen for Dave. No sign of my boyfriend. Even his dust has settled on the track ahead, which follows a curved line of deciduous trees dropping golden leaves to the ground. If the stars were aligned any different, I’d be face down in the St. Joe’s river right now. Luckily, I’d swerved left instead of right, toward the ditch, not the drop off.

A gulping cry-laugh bursts from my mouth.

Shit!

When Dave suggested we ride our motorcycles around the world, one of my biggest fears was crashing. Now, less than two weeks into a two-year adventure, I’d done just that.

Finding my point-and-shoot camera in the tank bag strapped between my handlebars, I walk up the trail for a good perspective of the accident scene. In 20-plus years as a freelance writer, I know a good story is nothing without photos. Snapping off a couple shots, I return to zip the camera back into my bag.

It’s then a searing pain shoots into my wrist at the base of my right thumb. Adrenaline—nature’s morphine—is clearing out and boiling blood rushes up and down my arm. Dizzy and frantic, I sit, cradling my hand.

Please don’t be broken, please don’t be broken.

It’s September 25, 2015—my 41st birthday.

Author Interview: Heather Lea

GearJunkie: Let’s jump right in. Can you tell me about how this trip came to be?

Lea: I had been online dating for about a year and went into my account to actually shut it down because of too many weird experiences. That was when I saw Dave as one of my “matches.” His profile was different from any of the others I had seen, so I decided to send him an email. 

And then 27 days into dating, Dave suggested we ride motorcycles to Patagonia together. I said yes before he even finished the question.

Wow, so a serendipitous start to you two meeting, and then you decided to plan this big trip with someone you met only a month prior. 

Yes, and Dave didn’t even have a motorcycle yet, but he always wanted one. I hadn’t considered getting into long-distance riding until Dave suggested it.

We were in his room looking at a big world map, and he said, “If we’re going to ride to Patagonia, why don’t we just keep going?”

Which turns into a 2-year ride around the world …

We planned the trip for over a year. We wanted to wait until we took off-roading courses, and I wanted to learn Russian and Spanish, but if we waited for all that to happen, we never would have gone.

We actually ended up leaving in September 2015, a year earlier than planned.

Tell me about your experience with riding motorcycles. Is this something you’ve done your whole life?

It started when I was 12 years old. My dad had a motorcycle, and it always scared the shit out of me. But he was selling his bike, and said, “This is your last chance to ride,” so I went with him.

I was blown away and thought, “This is amazing. I love this feeling!” But my mom worked in emergency rooms, and because I was a “good daughter,” I put off getting a bike and just had that one ride until later in life.

So you fell in love with riding at 12 years old, but then decided not to get a motorcycle?

When I was turning 40, I decided I wanted to do something really cool for my birthday, so I learned how to ride. My dad had another motorcycle at that point, and I thought he and I would ride around together and maybe take some trips.

But I really loved going out on forest roads and camping, so I knew I needed a different bike than the Harley cruiser-style bike my dad had. After passing my license, I got a Kawasaki Super Sherpa, and then eventually a BMW G 650 GS.

What about the layout of the trip: Where did you go, and how many miles did you cover? 

The trip began in Revelstoke, British Columbia, in September 2015. I ended up crashing my bike 1,000 miles into the trip and breaking my wrist, which caused a 3-month delay.

After that, I met Dave in Arizona, and we were in Mexico by December 2015. 

By April 2016, we had traveled from Mexico down to the southernmost road accessible point in the world in Ushuaia, Argentina. 

In May 2016, we went back to Canada and then rode to the Yukon and Alaska. After that, we had to go back home until January of 2017 to wait for our Russian visas, because you can’t leave your country without a passport.

Finally, in February 2017, we flew ourselves and the bikes to Cape Town, South Africa, and traveled up through Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, and Kenya. In May, we headed for Europe and rode from Scotland to Ukraine.

By June 2017, we were in Russia, and dipped down into Kazakhstan and Mongolia before ending the trip in Magadan, Russia. 

In 2016, we rode through 15 countries. and in 2017. we rode through 25 countries, totaling 58,247 miles.

A trip like this is a huge undertaking. What did you do to prepare for it?

Dave sold his house, and I sold my business. We really wanted to not have strong ties to anything back at home that might be distracting. 

After talking to some other long-distance moto travelers, we budgeted about $75,000 total for the trip. Which equals about $18,000 per person per year, or $100 per day.

Some days we blew through that, especially when we did off-bike excursions, like boating around the Galapagos Islands or hiking up volcanoes.

Obviously, a trip like this is going to involve a few snags, and you allude in the excerpt to a major fall and wrist injury. What happened?

I fell off my bike 2 weeks into the trip, and I broke my wrist. It felt like such a big deal because I’d been getting all these comments online, mostly from men, about how my bike — the G 650 GS — was too big for me. 

So, in my head, I’m thinking, “Everyone was right. I’m too weak to muscle this bike. I can’t even get 500 miles from my house. How am I going to get around the world?”

That’s a huge setback, physically and mentally. How did you handle the situation?

I had to go home for 3 months until it healed. Dave stayed out and did some riding on his own, and then I met him in Arizona, where my motorcycle had been trailered to. 

The first time I got back on my bike after the hiatus, I was scared shitless. What if it happened again? What if this time, I broke my leg, or worse? I didn’t want to just stick to paved roads, but that was where I felt safest.

Riding off-road terrified me, but the places we wanted to go — mountains, beaches, Baja, Mongolia — none of those were paved. I had to dig deep and basically become an entirely different person who didn’t care what people said and could control my inner thoughts about fear and failure. 

Can you describe the experience of taking this huge trip with someone you just started doing life with?

It was a huge challenge. I am clear in my book Riding Full Circle: What the World Taught Me About Motorcycles, Risk, and Someone I Barely Knew that my relationship with Dave was rocky in the beginning. I felt he resented me for taking 3 months away from our trip to heal a broken bone. 

He felt like I was too stuck in fear to advance in my riding. I was so slow, he often had to wait for me to catch up, and I felt like he was too fast for my comfort level. 

At times, I wished he were more sympathetic, but eventually, the road ahead helped us start accepting each other. We had to if we wanted to achieve this goal together. 

What were some of the other highlights of the trip?

Along with the incredible scenery and places we got to see, the top highlights of our entire trip were the people we met. When I broke my wrist, an older couple whom we’d just met for a few minutes at a gas station in Idaho invited us to stay on their ranch for part of my recuperation. 

More than once, we were given free fuel from people at gas stations who heard what we were doing and offered to fill our tanks. People who had no clue who we were offered to let us stay in their homes. 

It seemed every time we were having a bad day, someone would come out of nowhere with such genuine kindness and make us smile. You just don’t get that in everyday life at home. 

There are probably so many different versions of this book you could have written, but tell me what this version is all about and why people should read it.

I wanted to write a book that told the truth about traveling as a new couple doing something extremely hard but also beautiful together. 

Riding Full Circle was what we called ourselves online for social media. Originally, it was because we were going to start in Revelstoke, British Columbia, and end up back there 2 years later, completing a circle of sorts. But after I got home and started writing this book, I realized the trip had brought me full circle back to myself.

A self that — at the beginning of the trip, with all the insecurities that come from dating someone new and dealing with extreme physical and mental challenges — started to get lost. But because of those experiences, at the end of 2 years, she was back and stronger than ever.

You do not need to even like motorcycles to enjoy this book. There’s far more to it than that. Anyone with a partner will resonate with the experiences we had on the road while getting to know each other, both the good and the bad times. 

Riding Full Circle was successfully crowdfunded and will be released soon. Reserve your copy at HeatherLeaWriter.com.

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On July 21, Emily Keddie became the first athlete to finish the Oregon Volcanic Skyline Trail, setting the route’s fastest known time (FKT). The 420-mile trail involves summiting 15 of Oregon’s tallest volcanoes and scaling 69,000 vertical feet.

Keddie, 39, completed the route with a support team in 12 days, 17 hours, and 12 minutes.

Keddie is a Psych PhD turned endurance athlete and running coach with 32 FKTs under her belt. She developed the Oregon Volcanic Skyline Route on her own, as a technical test for herself and a way to reclaim and close a long personal history with these peaks.

It’s an open route that can be approached however athletes want, as long as it’s in one continuous connected push and they reach each summit.

Keddie started at the trailhead for Mount Hood (the highest peak on her route, with an elevation of 11,249 feet) on July 7 and finished at the trailhead for Mt. McLaughlin on July 19.

Oregon Volcanic Skyline Trail FKT: The Route’s Origins

Keddie first fell in love with endurance sports and the Pacific Northwest when she completed the Pacific Crest Trail. After the thru-hike, she dove headfirst into ultrarunning, completing a 50K before she ever did a marathon. Keddie began developing the Oregon Volcanic Skyline Trail as part of a personal journey.

“It symbolized my growth from that time nine years ago, being a thru-hiker [on the PCT], mentally and emotionally. I had a rough thru-hike with a relationship that I was in at the time, and there were just parts that were very difficult and painful,” Keddie said.

This new trail would be a reclamation of that experience, and a sign of how far she’d come. In designing the route, Keddie thought about her favorite peak in Oregon, Broken Top.

“From the summit, you can see every volcanic peak in Oregon from north to south,” she said. “It’s such a beautiful aesthetic line that’s very unique because it’s not a mountain range — it’s a cascading arc of volcanoes.”

Of the 15 peaks, Keddie had summited 13 of them before embarking on this route. Some, like Three-Fingered Jack, she had done multiple times, while others were parts of past completed FKTs. Putting all of these peaks, which had been so crucial to Keddie’s development as an ultrarunner, on one route was a fitting tribute to her love of the area.

A Technical Test

The Oregon Volcanic Skyline Trail route requires a lot from anyone attempting it, especially for an FKT. Endurance alone isn’t enough. Some peaks require ice tools and mountaineering skills, while others mandate sure-footed confidence while free soloing on Class 5 terrain.

“I felt like it was a really worthy project, combining all of my skill sets, from hiking to ultrarunning to climbing, and kind of mashing it all together and doing it all at once,” she said.

Due to snow and unstable conditions, Keddie summited three peaks (Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, and North Sister) with protection and the help of a climbing partner.

“There are bodies on those peaks,” she said. “You have to have respect for the route. And not have a sense of bravado, but be very brave.”

As a result of the terrain, the route was an exercise in mental acuity as well. Even while utterly exhausted, Keddie had to lock in and be extremely focused while she scrambled up loose rock, for example.

“The mental game is huge. My brain was exhausted and compromised as it became an endurance effort,” Keddie said.

‘The Route Was Ridiculous’

While Keddie hopes others will attempt to repeat her route, she also wants them to know it’s not for the faint of heart.

“I didn’t go into it thinking it would be fun. And it wasn’t fun. There were joyful and humorous aspects, but the route was ridiculous,” she said. “Each day seemed to be hard in its own unique, torturous way.”

Although they did not hamper her FKT attempt, weather and wildfires are unpredictable factors. Conditions can change quickly in this area. No matter what time of year it is, some peaks will have snow and ice.

In the summer, thunderstorms and rain are common. Even the bugs can pose a challenge. Keddie quipped that at some points, the mosquitoes were so bad it felt like they were immune to DEET.

Keddie also suffered from a leg and hip injury during her attempt. She has not received an official diagnosis yet, but the pain was so severe that it forced her to change her plans. She switched from doing 8-hour running days to 14-hour hiking days.

“It was a major bummer, but I had to just accept that it was the only way I would be able to preserve myself and still be able to finish,” she said.

Keddie originally planned to try to hit a lower time, but finishing itself was a momentous victory. “I moved as well as I could for as long as I could, and then when I couldn’t run anymore, I moved relentlessly forward because I just wanted so badly to be able to complete it.”

Wrapping Up the Oregon Volcanic Skyline FKT

While Keddie isn’t hanging up her trail runners any time soon, she does feel that the completion of the trail closes a chapter for her.

“This project highlighted for me just the enormity of risk more than ever before,” she said. “I don’t think there’s anything bigger I could do in this set of mountains. It was a way for me to wrap it up and tie it up.”

Keddie has not only remade a place of sorrow into a place of triumph, but she’s also established a technical test piece for the sport and a place for herself in the world of endurance running.

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With an elevation of nearly 20,000 feet and treacherous routes to the summit, Mt. Artesonraju in the Peruvian Andes rarely sees ascents. The tragic deaths this month of an experienced climbing party show why it remains such a dangerous mountain.

Several weeks after their initial disappearance, three climbers — including National Geographic photographer Edson Vandeira — were found dead on the Peruvian mountain this week.

Vandeira, 36, a Brazilian native and resident of Peru, set out for the summit on May 29 with Efraín Pretel Alonzo, 34, and Jesús Manuel Picón Huerta, 31, two Peruvian mountaineers. When they did not return on June 1 as planned, volunteers began a rescue operation using drones and helicopters.

After 10 days with no results, the search ended, and on June 22, the Association of Mountain Guides of Peru confirmed that they had found the climbers’ bodies using drone reconnaissance. Speaking of the survivors’ families, the association wrote on Facebook: “We share the pain of their loss and renew our commitment to accompany them through this process with respect and humanity,” (translated from Spanish).

The exact timeline of events is not clear, but large falling blocks of ice likely caused the accident.

The mountain has been the site of other accidents, including in 2006, when three American climbers died after falling into a crevasse. In 2018, three mountaineers perished from an avalanche. Conditions can change quickly on the mountain and the risk of avalanches is high. 

A Skilled Mountaineer

With 17 years of alpine experience under his belt, Vandeira was a skilled mountaineer, The Minnesota Star-Tribune reported. In fact, Vandeira was attempting to summit Mt. Artesonraju as part of his training to become a certified mountain guide. 

National Geographic has featured Vandeira’s photography, including this feature story on jaguars in Brazil.

His work was also featured in the History Channel’s Andes Extremo, a series following ascents of six of the Andes’ highest peaks. Vandeira’s photography ranged from capturing the peaks of Everest to showcasing voluntary veterinarians attempting to help wildlife in Brazil during wildfires. Other major projects included documenting Brazil’s science program in Antarctica. Vandeira lived in Minnesota for several years, and there was an outpouring of support and grief in the local climbing community following the tragic news.

“Beyond being an extraordinarily skilled mountaineer and climber, he is an incredible human: Kind, passionate and inspiring,” Sayyed Saif Alnabi wrote in the Minnesota Climbers Facebook group.

Vandeira’s former wife, Natalia Mossman Koch, launched a GoFundMe to pay for recovery efforts and help Vandeira’s family travel to Peru. As of Wednesday afternoon, the fundraiser had only reached about $3,500 of its $7,000 goal.

Check out Vandeira’s photography portfolio on his website. Vandeira’s family and the Association of Mountain Guides of Peru did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

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Patagonia this week announced a “milestone” for its brand, unveiling a historic site that will serve as its very first location in the mountainous region for which it was named. Casa Frey, located in Bariloche, Argentina, had once been the home of explorer, conservationist, and the director of South America’s first national park, Emilio Frey.

Since it went up for sale in 2014, the 6-acre property was under threat of being demolished to make way for condominiums — until the Ventura, Calif., company stepped in.

The company bought the house and hired local experts to oversee the lakefront property’s renovation — including its famed garden and roses, and nearby buildings.

Patagonia lauded Casa Frey as part store, part museum, and company founder, Yvon Chouinard, was on hand to celebrate the opening.

“This land inspired me to create the company, and four years ago, we started looking for a place to open a store in Bariloche,” Chouinard said at a media event to announce the opening. “I didn’t know Emilio Frey’s story, but when I learned that he was one of Argentina’s first skiers and mountaineers, with such a strong legacy in conservation and love for nature, there was no doubt.”

More Than a Store

Emilio Frey was an Argentine geographer and one of the country’s first environmental advocates. His descendants had been looking for a buyer who would conserve the 1916 home, known as “Los Cipreses” or “Casa Frey.”

“When Patagonia revealed their plans for Los Cipreses, it was a relief to see how beautiful it was,” said Isabelle Bovey, Frey’s granddaughter. “It perfectly matched our dream. They weren’t going to destroy anything; the abandoned garden was going to flourish again. So, like in a children’s story, you could say it all ended well.”

Chouinard said that his wife insists every new Patagonia store must add value to the community and serve as a gathering space. The store, Patagonia’s 14th location in Latin America, offers on-site garment repair with its Worn Wear brand, an event space for workshops and talks, and a marketplace for organic producers.

For all its history, however, Casa Frey is not a unique undertaking for Patagonia. The brand said it often restores historic buildings using local materials in its retail locations worldwide, including in Alexandria, Va., and in Portland, Ore.

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National Park Week starts on Saturday, April 19, this year, and entrance fees to all National Parks will be waived. With more than 400 National Parks across all 50 states, there are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of that free pass. And that is just to kick things off. The week-long holiday extends to April 27.

This year, National Park Week’s theme is “National Park Playlist,” celebrating the connection between the parks, music, and American history. Every day coincides with a different genre. The full list can be found on the National Park Service (NPS) website for National Park Week.

Annually, National Park Week is held around Earth Day — this year on Tuesday, April 22. It’s a celebration organized by NPS to celebrate our vast system of parks, their beauty, and the people who maintain them.

The scale of our park system is immense, from Yellowstone to Rocky Mountain, the Everglades, Olympic, Acadia, and Gates of the Arctic National Park. Visit any of them for free on Saturday, April 19, and get involved throughout National Park Week. There will be a lot to see, do, and learn.

Schedule of Events

April 19 (“Greatest Hits”) will be one of six fee-free National Parks days NPS offers throughout the year. Sunday, April 20 (“Alternative”) encourages park visitors to download the NPS App and try an alternative experience, like a new trail or activity.

Monday, April 21 (“Pop”), is the main event: Earth Day. Make a “playlist” of volunteer opportunities to lend your time for Earthly Stewardship. You can also consider trying a popular park activity or visiting a popular spot.

Then, on Tuesday, April 22 (“Nature Songs”), will celebrate the sounds of nature. Not only is NPS encouraging people to soak in and absorb the sounds they hear on the trails, but also to use the NPS Sound Gallery to create your own natural symphony.

Wednesday, April 23, is all about “Classic Rock.” People can learn about (you guessed it) rocks. Study up on geologic formations, caves, karst, and more on the NPS website. The parks are also encouraging people to make photo albums of classic family trips to National Parks and share them on social media.

April 24 (“Heavy Metal”) is for people to visit National Park historic buildings, sculptures, bridges, and other metal structures, and April 25 (“Rhythm& Blues”) is a day to learn all about the parks’ history.

The following weekend wraps up the festivities. “Dance Music” is on Saturday, April 27, to highlight NPS performances and events. The last day of National Park Week, Sunday, April 28, is “Walkup Songs” to get hyped. Share videos of your park experience using #NationalParkWeek and #NationalParkPlaylist.

For more information about National Park Week, visit the NPS website.

More Free National Park Entry Days

Throughout the year NPS waives fees for park entry. It’s a gesture of acknowledgment for service, public figures, holidays, and anniversaries. It’s also a great way to encourage people to get outside and enjoy the spectacular resource that is our National Parks.

Here is the full list of free entry days for 2025:

• January 20: Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
• April 19: First day of National Park Week
• June 19: Juneteenth National Independence Day
• August 4: Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
• September 27: National Public Lands Day
• November 11: Veterans Day

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