Video: Traveling the Andes Mountains - Spine of the South

In 2015, photographer Eric Hanson spent seven months traveling the length of South America along the spectacular Andes Mountains. Starting in Ecuador and ending in Patagonia, he captured thousands of photos of the landscapes that he encountered along the way. The very best of those images can be found in this breathtaking video, which give us an incredible look at these amazing mountains. Sit back and enjoy this clip, it is gorgeous.

Spine of the South from Overland Collective on Vimeo.

Video: Ultrarunning - The Pleasure and the Pain

"If you're going to be an ultrarunner you need to embrace suffering." So says 65-year old ultrarunner Errol "The Rocket" Jones, the subject of this excellent video from REI. In the 5-minute clip we get to meet Errol, learn about his philosophy of running, and watch him as he trains on the spectacular Bay Area Ridge Trail near San Francisco. Over the years, he has picked up quite a bit of wisdom about the sport, and it can serve as inspiration for the rest of us, even if we're running more modest distances. This is a story of perseverance and persistence, which can see you through just about any challenge in life.

Video: Acadia National Park in 4K Timelapse

Acadia National Park is one of the hidden gems of the U.S. national park system. Tucked away in a beautiful corner of Maine, the park offers some of the best wilderness area in the eastern part of the country. This video captures the landscapes found there in a wonderful fashion, using high-resolution imagery and timelapse photography to show off this incredibly special place. Throughout the clip, you'll catch glimpses of the northern lights and the fantastic night skies, which are a hallmark of any visit to Acadia. Sit back and enjoy this all-too brief look at a wonderful outdoor playground.

Acadia National Park - 4K Hyperlapse/Timelapse from Mark Irion on Vimeo.

Video: Mountain Biking Down an Active Volcano

Back in 2000, a volcano on Japan's Miyake Island erupted, prompting the entire population to be evacuated for nearly five years. Since then, the villagers that lived there have slowly returned, although the threat of the volcano still remains. Recently, pro mountain biker Stevie Smith traveled to the remote island to explore that volcano from the back of his bike. He took a small film crew with him to the summit, who captured his epic descent down the spine of the mountain. The results of that effort can be seen below, as he rides along a unique and technical trail through some surprisingly great landscapes.

Video: Snowboarder Xavier De Le Rue Paramotors into the Alaskan Wilderness

Extreme mountain snowboarder Xavier De Le Rue is well known for going to great lengths to reach some of the most remote areas of the world. In this video, he shows that spirit once again as he and his team use paramotors to fly into the Alaskan wilderness to reach places that no one has ever snowboarded before. This is certainly a unique way to travel, and very different from taking a helicopter into the backcountry, which is the way many of these videos are shot. In the clip below, you'll fly along with Xavier and his crew through some beautiful landscapes before they drop off and snowboard down some incredibly steep slopes. It is an impressive display all around.

Video: Meet the Nomads of Mongolia

Life on the Mongolian Steppe is hard, but it is also steeped in tradition. The nomadic people that live there have been wandering that part of the world for centuries, and while modern amenities have made their life a little easier, they still very much continue to live as their ancestors have. In this beautiful video, you'll travel to the Steppe, where you'll get an up close and personal look at these nomads. They are an amazing people living in an amazing part of the world.

Nomads of Mongolia from Brandon Li on Vimeo.

Video: Life on an Arctic Expedition

Ever wondered what it is like to be a part of an expedition to the Arctic? This video will give you an idea. It was shot during a five month long journey through the Arctic by a team of researchers who simply turned the engines of their ship off for that time period and drifted with the ice. Their goal was to record the loss of ice and to study how that would impact the rest of the world. The results of their study will take some time to analyze, but as you'll see, the expedition itself was quite an experience.

Video: Traversing Iceland by Mountain Bike

We'll wrap up the year in fitting style with a fantastic video of a true adventure. This ten-minute clip takes us to Iceland, where we'll follow pro mountain bikers Hans Rey and Steve Peat as they traverse the country by bike north to south. Along the way, you'll get a chance to see some of the amazing landscapes that the country is so famous for, and since this is the last video of the year, let is serve as a good inspiration to get your 2016 off to an adventurous start too. Happy New Year!

Video: A Visit to the Amazing Galapagos Islands

Located 620 miles off the coast of Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands are one of the most famous and intriguing destinations on the planet. It was there that Charles Darwin first formulated his ideas of natural selection and evolution as he observed unique wildlife, some of which exists no where else on Earth. This video takes us to the Galapagos and gives us a glimpse of those creatures, as well as some of the wonderful landscapes that exist there. If you've ever wanted to visit this place for yourself, this short film might finally convince you to make that happen.

GALAPAGOS from irenaVision on Vimeo.

Video: Climbing Castles in the Sky

Rock climber Sonnie Trotter recently put up a stunning new route in the Canadian Rockies near Banff. Climbing on Castle Mountain, he completed a five-pitch, 5.14-rated climb that he named Castles in the Sky. In this fantastic video, we join Sonnie on the wall, as he goes up this tough, but beautiful route for the first time. And when you've finished watching the video, head on over to National Geographic Adventure to read a recent interview with Trotter about the climb as well.

Castles In The Sky from MOONHOUSE on Vimeo.

Nat Geo Picks the Best Adventure Films of 2015

2015 was a good year for adventure filmmakers. Over the course of the past 12 months we've seen some of the best outdoor and travel focused films ever, and thanks to a proliferation of excellent tools – such as low-cost, high-quality cameras and affordable drones – it looks like this trend of fantastic guerrilla filmmaking won't end anytime soon. With that in mind, National Geographic Adventure took a look back at the very best adventure films from the past year, and revealed their picks for the seven best.

The subjects of these films vary wildly, with some focusing on climbing and mountaineering, while others are all about exploration, skiing, dogsled racing, and even our complex relationships with our canine friends. Some of the short films that earned a spot on Nat Geo's list include A Line Across the Sky, which documented Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold's historic climb of the Fitz Traverse in Patagonia, as well as The Great Alone, which takes us into the Alaskan wilderness with Iditarod champ Lancey Makey, and Unbranded which features an epic journey across the U.S. with wild mustangs.

Of course, one of the most high profile adventure films of the year was Meru. This stunning mountaineering film follows Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk as they climb the Shark's Fin on Mt. Meru in India. This is one of the few movies of this type that actually had a theatrical run, which makes it stand out all the more. Check out the trailer below, and try to catch it on DVD or iTunes if you can.

I'm sure 2016 will bring even more interesting adventure films. I can't wait to see what is in store for us.

Video: The Day Everest Shook

Without a doubt, one of the biggest events of 2015 was the earthquake in Nepal. That seismic event rattled the entire country, and continues to have an impact on that nation months after the tremors have died down. This video is a full-length documentary film that takes us to the Himalaya to show us what happened on the day of the quake, demonstrating the forces at work there. It also contains some sobering footage of the mountains, and the impact of this disaster, which will take years to fully recover from.

Video: Rare Footage of a Giant Squid Captured in Japan

One of the rarest creatures on the planet was spotted in Toyama Bay in Japan last week, where a diver captured this footage of a giant squid that was swimming close to shore, and in shallow waters, something that they seldom do. The squid is believed to be about 3.7 meters (12.1 ft) in length, which is impressive in size, but far from full grown. It is believed that the largest of these animals can grow to be over 13 meters (42.6 ft) in length, although those titans are generally only found at great depths. Still, it is impressive to see this animal up close.

Video: The New River Gorge in Timelapse

West Virginia's New River is considered to be one of the oldest river systems in the world, stretching back more than 300 million years. In this video, we travel to that place to explore it for ourselves, with timelapse imagery bringing us some amazing views of a place that remains on the wild side, even in the 21st century. The New River Gorge is even home to one of the largest bridges in North America, which features prominently in the film.

MELANCHOLY GORGE from Harun Mehmedinovic on Vimeo.

Video: The Year in Review with GoPro

It was another good year for GoPro. Not only did the company release a series of excellent new cameras, the footage that was captured on those devices continued to improve and become more refined. This video takes us on a 4+ minute look review of the year as seen through the lens of a GoPro camera, with some fantastic shots of some amazing places to remind us of all that took place in 2015.

Video: A Slice of Autumn in Colorado

Winter may be finally upon us, but that doesn't mean we can't look back at the autumn that has just past and enjoy some of the season's lovely colors. In this video we take a tour of Colorado in the fall, where the golden hues of the aspen trees spread out across the alpine landscapes in spectacular fashion, while snowcapped peaks loom high overhead. Colorado is a place that is beautiful all year long, but in the fall it is particularly special. Sit back and enjoy this one. These colors won't be back for another year.

A Slice of Colorado's Autumn from Toby Harriman on Vimeo.

Video: Slacklining Over Kanangra Falls in Australia

Slacklining a few feet above the ground seems challenging enough, but what about 100 meters up, and over a massive waterfall no less? That's exactly what the team of adventurers in this video did when they made the first slackline crossing over Kanangra Falls in Australia's Blue Mountains. Along the way, they also made a beautiful video that captures not only the landscapes around them exceptionally well, but spirit of their challenge too. Attempting something like this is a bit too far out of my comfort zone, but watching them do it is an amazing sight to behold.

SLACK from The Runaways Production House on Vimeo.

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.

Video: Climbing in Angola with Alex Honnold

This video comes our way courtesy of Vice Sports. It is a 27-minute short documentary that follows the amazing Alex Honnold as he travels to the African country of Angola in search of new climbing challenges. As usual, Alex can find things to climb just about anywhere, including in the middle of a busy city. As usual, it is impressive to watch Alex go to work, particularly in an environment where climbing is not a common activity.

Video: Falling Drone Nearly Hits Skier

We all know that drones can be great tools for filmmakers, and that their potential is fantastic. But what about when they malfunction? Yesterday, Austrian skier Marcel Hirscher was taking part in the Alpine Skiing World Cup in Italy when he was nearly struck by a drone that was filming the competition. As you'll see in the video below, the small, unmanned aircraft plummets to the ground a split second behind Hirscher, who narrowly escapes disaster. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Well, except for the drone owner, who probably wasn't too happy with the crash.