Video: Nat Geo Looks Back at Science and Exploration in 2015

Men's Journal isn't the only outlet that is reviewing the events of 2015. In this video, National Geographic takes a look back at the year that has passed, sharing some of the big stories from science and exploration. As you would expect with a video from Nat Geo, the visuals are spectacular with some great scenery from all over our amazing planet. It was indeed a busy and exciting year.

Men's Journal Looks at the 24 Greatest Feats of 2015

As the final days of the year slip off the calendar, it is a good time to look back and reflect on some of the things that happened in 2015. As usual, it was a busy year, filled with great stories of exploration and adventure. So many in fact, that you sometimes forget everything that happened. Fortunately for us, Men's Journal has put together a great little slideshow highlighting the 24 Greatest Feats of the past year.

Some of the amazing accomplishments that earned a spot on this list include the first winter crossing of the PCT, the longest time spent in space by an American, and Freya Hoffmeister's circumnavigation of South America in a kayak. Scott Jurek's speed record on the Appalachian Trail gets a nod as well, as does Dani Arnold's new speed record on the Matterhorn.

I won't spoil all of the entires on the list, but I will say paging through the MJ slideshow is a bit like taking a walk down memory lane. It reminded me of so many great things that happened this year, a lot off which we covered right here on The Adventure Blog.

For my money, the greatest feat of 2015 occurred all the way back in January. That's when Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson completed the first free climb of the Dawn Wall in Yosemite. For a brief time, the world was transfixed by a pair of rock climbers taking on the hardest big wall on the planet, and they did not disappoint. It was an amazing way to start the year, and it still stands as one of the most impressive climbing accomplishments ever.

With 2015 quickly fading away, now is a good time to look back on these great adventures, before e start looking ahead to those that will come in 2016. It was a great year. Here's to many more!

NASA is Now Accepting Applications for Astronauts!

Have you always dreamed of becoming an astronaut? Do you see traveling through space  as the ultimate adventure? Well, today just might be your lucky day, because for the first time in more than four years, NASA has begun taking applications for prospective astronauts to join the U.S. space program, potentially making a lifelong dream come true for a few lucky people.

You can read the full job description � and start the application process � by clicking here. As you can imagine, there is a lot of interesting information to be found there. For instance, did you know that the salary range for an astronaut candidate is between $66,026.00 and $144,566.00 per year? And of course, the "openings" for this position are in Houston, Texas, which may be viewed as a downside of this job. Still, if accepted you could be in line to go into space and potentially live aboard the International Space Station or take part in another manned mission at some point.

The application indicates that there are now more manned spacecraft in development in the U.S. than at any other time in history. In fact, astronaut candidates could travel not just on the ISS, but two commercially developed spacecraft, as well as NASA's very own Orion deep-space exploration vehicle which could one day take us to Mars.

Obviously the competition for the few astronaut positions that are open will be tough, and the vast majority of us have no chance. But, you never know what kind of people NASA will be looking for to take part in the next phase of manned space flight. Those with backgrounds in science will obviously be best suited for the job, but those with experience in technology, aviation, exercise physiology, and nursing are also encouraged to apply.

There is a lot more to the job description and application process, so if you're interested, I'd encourage you to read more about the requirements. Even if you know you're not bound for space, it still makes for an interesting read.

10 Tough Old School Explorers and Adventurers

You think today's explorers are tough? How do you think they compare to some of the toughest in history? All things considered, modern gear, satellite communications, and better training have all helped to give today's adventurers a leg up on those from the past. But lets face it, some of the pioneers of exploration were incredibly resilient, resourceful, and darned near impossible to kill. You'll find a lot of men who resemble that description on Popular Mechanics' list of the 10 toughest old school explorer and adventurers, including a number of figures that we have written about on occasion on this blog.

I won't spoil the whole list for you, but to give you an idea of the type of man we're talking about here, Ernest Shackleton rightly earns a spot amongst this pantheon of incredibly tough men, as does Douglas Mawson, both of whom are polar explorers of course. Others making the list include Tenzing Norgay, who was with Edmund Hillary when they both were the first to summit Everest, and  Hugh Glass, who is the subject of the new movie The Revenant starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Glass is best known for surviving  bear attack while exploring the American west, only to drag himself 200 miles over open country after he was left for dead by his companions.

Of course, there are other great examples of explorers and adventurers surviving incredibly wild experiences to come back and tell their tales. This list has six others that are certainly worthy of mentioning as well. The article is worth reading just to here a brief synopsis of each of their stories, but you'll probably eventually want to just find out more about each of them when you can.

And who did they leave off the list? As one commenter says, what about Roald Amundsen whose polar journeys are the stuff of legend. Or Thor Heyerdahl who sailed across the South Pacific on a tiny boat called Kon-Tiki? Who got snubbed, and probably should have made the cut?

Video: Go Seek - An Ode to Exploration and Adventure

When I first started The Adventure Blog oh-so many years ago, one of my goals was to hopefully inspire others to get outside and seek adventures of their own. That seems to be the case with this video as well, as it encourages us to  not let the opportunity for exploration pass us by. But instead, we need to look for those opportunities and seize them when they come our way. That message is hammered home in beautiful fashion with some fantastic landscapes that simply beg to be explored. Go seek your adventure, and the rewards will be more than you could ever imagine.

Go Seek // By Live Unbound from LiveUnbound on Vimeo.

National Geographic Announces 2015 Adventurers of the Year

It is that time again. National Geographic has announced their picks for the 2016 Adventurers of the Year, with some familiar faces earning a spot on the list. Many of these men and women are people that we've followed here on The Adventure Blog, with some surprise picks to go along with those that are a bit more obvious and expected.

Falling into that latter category, I'm sure no one will be surprised to hear that Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson made the cut. After all, these two men held the world spell bound last January as they climbed the incredibly difficult Dawn Wall in Yosemite. Their climb took 19 days to complete, and for much of that time rock climbing gained widespread mainstream media attention, something that doesn't happen very often.

Others who earned the title of Adventurer of the Year in 2015 include a female team of cyclists in Afghanistan who are breaking new ground, long-distance kayaker Freya Hoffmeister, who completed her circumnavigation of the South American continent, and skies Chris Davenport, and Christy and Ted Mahon, who became the first people to make ski descents of all 53 14ers in Colorado. Scott Jurek also made the list for his speed run along the Appalachian Trail, as did Ben Stookesberry, Chris Korbulic, and Benny Marr for their first descent by kayak of a river in Papua New Guinea.

As usual, these men and women are incredibly inspiring, and demonstrate a commitment to pushing the limits of what we believe we are capable of accomplishing. They are climbers, paddlers, explorers, conservationists, cyclists, and so much more. You can check out the entire list here, and vote for your pick for the People's Choice Adventurer of the Year by clicking here. The winner of that category will be announced in February.

Also get a look at these amazing people in the video below.