In 1989, Wallace White profiled Sylvia Earle, the renowned marine biologist and deep-sea diver, in The New Yorker. At the time, Earle was the world’s best-known marine scientist; her dive to twelve hundred and fifty feet in a Jim suit, near Oahu, set a women’s depth record and earned her the nickname Her Deepness. She also became legendary for her fearlessness—at one point delivering a sharp kick to the snout of a shark that happened to swim a bit too close while she was scuba-diving. Earle’s bold, enterprising nature has influenced several generations of female explorers. This week, we’re bringing you a selection of pieces on intrepid adventurers and remarkable feats. In “The Man Who Walks on Air,” Calvin Tomkins writes about the high-wire artist Philippe Petit and contemplates his astonishing acts of wire walking. In “No Obstacles,” Alec Wilkinson explores the birth of parkour, in France. In “Musher,” Susan Orlean profiles Susan Butcher, who, in 1986, became the second woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, in Alaska. Francis Steegmuller examines the fascinating career of a trapeze artist who served as a muse for Jean Cocteau, and Mark Levine reports on the striking exploits of the skateboarder Tony Hawk. Namwali Serpell revisits the legacy of a Zambian schoolteacher and “Afronaut” who dreamed of bringing his country into the space race. In “The White Darkness,” David Grann chronicles Henry Worsley’s arduous and monumental treks across Antarctica. Finally, in “Top of the World,” Lauren Collins recounts the life of Barbara Hillary, the first African-American woman to reach both the North and South Poles. Taken together, these pieces offer an intriguing look at the lives of those who dare to venture beyond the ordinary.
— Erin Overbey, archive editor
Sylvia Earle’s underwater explorations.
Philippe Petit is about to perform the greatest show of his life. Is it art?
Navigating the world by leaps and bounds.
Susan Butcher, Iditarod champion.
How Barbette and his trapeze once dominated vaudeville.
Tony Hawk—part Michael Jordan, part Evel Knievel—is the star of a multimillion-dollar industry that still can’t shake its outlaw image.
At the height of the Cold War, a schoolteacher launched the Zambian Space Program with a dozen aspiring teen-age astronauts. Was he unfairly mocked?
At fifty-five, Henry Worsley began a solitary trek across Antarctica. It became a singular test of character.
A seventy-five-year-old explorer returns from the North Pole.
