Hello, and welcome to our first 2021 Edition! 

First up, Happy New Year! We hope you stayed as safe, happy and non-bloated as Christmas allowed. 

We’re stoked to be back with stories showing the power of adventure in light of the challenges we face. This year we will be publishing an Edition every two months - March, May, July, September and November - on the first Thursday of that month. Far from scaling back, this is to free up time to produce better Editions and other types of content, to be announced in due course …

This Edition consists of nine pieces, each corresponding to a New Year’s Resolution we’d love to see the adventure community - including us! - uphold this year.

Photo: Palmer Morse of Spruce Tone Films

Demand more radical adventure brands

To demand this, we must demand more of ourselves. So here at AU, we have been reflecting on the values and goals that will help us be a better, more impactful organisation. We’ve outlined a whole bunch - including some hints at plans to come - and will report transparently on our progress every quarter. We’d love for you to help hold us to account.

Value urban adventure

Adventure is often equated with ‘the outdoors’, with urban environments - teeming with life and social issues - typically omitted. This should change. We spoke with photographer, parkour practitioner and builderer Andy Day about the potential of these modes of urban exploration to reshape power relations in contemporary towns and cities.

Encourage local adventure

One silver lining of lockdowns has been our reacquaintance with local places. We hope this continues, for the sake of our planet and our local relationships. This Edition features a piece by Frankie Dewar who, feeling the absence of older adventure role models, embarked on a cycling tour of the UK to speak with older womxn living adventurous lives.

Explore how adventure can support environmentalism

Responsible adventure is one thing, but we can do more by actively supporting the fight for systemic environmental change. Kurtis Baute is a YouTuber and environmental activist in British Columbia with a penchant for playful experiments and adventurous direct actions, from sealing himself in a biodome to occupying a treehouse. We went on a socially distanced walk to chat about his work, direct action and how to support change.

Value the adventure perspectives of artists from inside and outside the adventure community

We think some of our most thought-provoking pieces in 2020 involved artists and thinkers who wouldn’t necessarily consider themselves as ‘in the adventure community’. To continue this line of enquiry, we interviewed Booker Prize longlisted author Diane Cook about her novel The New Wilderness, which follows a community of research participants living in society’s last remaining wilderness. 

Learn more about Indigenous perspectives on adventure and the environment

One of our favourite films from this year’s Kendal Mountain Festival was Water Flows Together, a portrait of Navajo river guide Colleen Cooley. It reminds us of the valuable but often marginalised perspectives Indigenous communities have to offer on the natural world. We reached out to Colleen to learn more.

Promote political adventure

Adventure is always political. Yes, we often use it to clear our minds and ‘escape’, but the idea that adventure is somehow removed from society is dangerous. Nevertheless, some adventures are more political than others, and intend to platform adventure discussions that are directly, explicitly political. Accordingly, Hannah Parry’s piece introduces us to some of the refugees making their way to Europe, and asks why their journey is so stigmatised despite sharing many characteristics we typically celebrate as adventure. 

Celebrate communities coalescing, as well as pioneers pioneering

Celebrating pioneering adventurers from marginalised communities is vital work, but so is celebrating those pioneering adventurers forming strong, sustainable communities. An awareness of this evolution reminds us that stories of determined individuals is never the final chapter. A superb example of community building in this sense is the UK’s Women's Trad Festitval. We chatted with Hetty Key to learn more about how the team thoughtfully designs the festival to foster inclusive community. 

Pay more attention to masculinity and adventure

There has been increasing gender discussion in the adventure community in recent years. This is a welcome, but discussions of masculinity are often absent. No conversation around gender and equality is complete without this, so we think it deserves more coverage. To get the ball rolling, we put together a list of seven(ish) things to watch, read and engage with as provocations and conversation starters.

Photo: Hetty Key from the Women's Trad Festival

We rounded off this Edition by doing as we often do for Editions, and asked people from across the adventure community - including the authors and interviewees from our twelve favourite AU pieces of 2020 - to propose resolutions for the adventure world. Their responses take all shapes and sizes (as ever, we offered no prescriptions) and are full of wise words.

As ever, thank you for reading. Your support means everything, and we can’t wait to grow by your side through this year and beyond. 

The Adventure Uncovered Team.

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Want to help us build a more inclusive, sustainable and impactful adventure culture? Find out how you can support our work through Patreon.