James M. Clash

It seems that every driver in this weekend's Indianapolis 500 has an interesting back-story -- good, bad or ugly.

There's the old guard, represented by Helio Castroneves. At 37, the Brazilian has won three Indy 500s for Roger Penske (he also won "Dancing...

If you were to make a list of top 10 scuba dives for history buffs, this one would just have to be near the top.

Far off in the Pacific Ocean, 200 feet below the surface, sit a dozen radioactive warships. The fleet includes the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Saratoga, the...

The Amundsen-Scott Station, a scientific research base, sits atop the most desolate patch of snow on earth: the geographic South Pole.

Carbon dioxide freezes to dry ice at -109 degrees Fahrenheit. By South Pole standards, that's just a nippy day. Winter temperatures have dipped to -117 degrees. It's easily the...

Watching Hollywood celebrate "The Artist" as last year's best picture on Sunday was reassuring and reminiscent of "The Hurt Locker's" win in 2010. Both films are refreshing evidence that the movie business is not always about catering to the least common denominator.

In fact, I was so moved by that...

Mother nature more often than not dictates success or failure for a given outdoor adventure. Extreme temperature, wind and precipitation normally don't bode well for success.

But in classic yacht racing at least one of those things, wind, is necessary.

Officine Panerai, the high-end Italian watchmaker, runs its Classic...

With the final Shuttle landing (Atlantis) scheduled for July 20 -- the 42-year anniversary of Apollo 11's historic lunar landing -- I've been trying to find appropriate words to mark the occasion. As with all Americans, I have mixed feelings, but mostly ones of...

With the last shuttle launch scheduled for July 8, there is uncertainty about the future of America's manned space program. Until private industry develops a Shuttle replacement in a few years, the U.S. will be beholden to Russia, our space opponents, for rides to the International Space Station. The going...

As an American adventurer born in Tokyo, it occurred to me more than once that I should try the Japanese delicacy blowfish (fugu). When I was young (I moved to the U.S. when I was four) I had...

"While on top of Everest, I looked across the valley towards the great peak Makalu and mentally worked out a route about how it could be climbed," Sir Edmund Hillary told me once during an interview. "It showed me that even though I was...

There's a good reason why experts advise against taking the last ski run of the day. Whether from fatigue, carelessness or a sense of invincibility, it often ends in disaster.

In Italy, I found that out for myself. The surface wasn't snow --...

This year is special at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway: It is the 100th anniversary of the first running of the annual 500-mile race there. It is also special because Helio Castroneves, with three Indy 500...

Photo (c) Jim Clash

Sometimes failure is just success in disguise. Perhaps that's what happened to Yves Rossy at the Grand Canyon last week. The Swiss aviation daredevil was scheduled to fly his jet wing-suit over the Canyon on May 6...

Fifty years ago this week, mankind took its first big step into space. On April 12, 1961, Russia's Yuri Gagarin spent one hour, 48 minutes orbiting the earth in Vostok 1. Just eight years later, a human stood on the Moon when Apollo 11 landed.

Gagarin died in an airplane...

In two months, on May 26, astronaut Sally Ride will turn 60. A month after that, the vehicle that propelled Ride into space -- the Shuttle -- is scheduled for its final flight (June 28). And next year, the private company Virgin Galactic Airways is supposed to begin taking tourists...

With the recent devastation in Japan, my heart goes out to Tokyo, where I was born. My father was stationed with the U.S. Army at nearby Camp Drake during the post-WWII occupation, managing the Post Exchange where American servicemen...

With the recent eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea, I am salivating. Not long ago, when the volcano was less active, I took a helicopter ride above it. It was thrilling, even then. But today I'm tempted to rush back to the Big Island immediately to see it in all...

Last year, I plunked down a $20,000 deposit with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Airways for a $200,000 suborbital space flight scheduled to leave in 2013; I am passenger #610 in line. In the meantime, while X Prize-winner Burt Rutan builds and tests SpaceShipTwo, the...

They call it "auto racing in the sky." Every year, aircraft owners gather in Reno to compete on big ovals, like NASCAR, except the tracks are in the clouds.

Buzzing the ground at speeds of 400 miles per hour gives spectators plenty of...

With December's chill comes memories of even colder climes, at the geographic North Pole. A while back, not only did I visit the mysterious place but, sans wetsuit, dove head-first into the frigid water there to join...

Sometimes catastrophe is the perfect catalyst for making lemonade from lemons. Such was the case when I skated with 2006 Torino Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen. A freak accident precipitated a great friendship.

As an adventure junkie, I have done my share of cold,...