“Sometimes, with high reward, comes high risk.” In the land of Ghengis Khan, Harry ventured with his raft to explore rivers of upper Mongolia. Among the many things he learned, one important lesson? The Mongolian words for ‘backwards’ and ‘fast’.

I had never been in a prison before….I walked with the guard through the wired gates under the yellow glare of the lights to reach the austere auditorium. In a sparse room with plastic chairs, the inmates came to see me speak of an ‘adventure.’ At least that’s how it started out.

In 2009, Harry, Megi, and Tom set out to run the Aniakchak River. But adventure turned epic and ended when their camp was destroyed by 80mph winds. They returned this year to try again. Would Alaska’s rugged wilderness allow passage?

On the rim of the volcano, looking down into the mist, we waited. The same wind that was chilling our sweat whipped the fog into eddies in the chasm below. And then, we saw it; a perfectly circular vent of sand-like ash hundreds of feet high.