Mountains

Above the foreboding Arctic landscape, the Cessna glides away from Fairbanks and out of the 20th century. Except for the Alaskan pipeline snaking its way across the landscape like a giant, cockeyed chalk mark, the mountainous world below is free of human meddling. Our destination is the settlement of Bettles, a 90-minute flight from Fairbanks. Bettles, population 81, is 50 miles north of the Arctic Circle. There are five of us aboard the aircraft: four close friends since college days and the pilot.

The 2011 Tour de France has been rolling through the countryside for more than a week now, still hasn't encountered its first serious climb, still hasn't offered a clue as to the winner of the thing, but already has witnessed almost unprecedented carnage on the road. What happens when the route goes into the clouds on Thursday for three massive climbs in the Pyrenees, capped by an uphill finish at Luz-Ardiden, the scene of one of Lance Armstrong's greatest triumphs, is anyone's guess, but it can hardly be more bloody than what has transpired so far. Entering Stage 11 on Wednesday, 20 of the 198 riders who pushed off from the Brittany coast for the start of the race had been knocked out of contention.

State police yesterday arrested the "mountain man" they had been looking for in connection with the shootings of two Appalachian Trail hikers, charging him with murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault. The shootings in the Michaux State Forest near Gettysburg May 13 left one woman dead and her companion seriously wounded. Taken into custody yesterday morning after an intensive manhunt was Stephen Roy Carr, 28, described as a well-known "mountain man" by Adams County residents who had tipped off police.

When the Denver Broncos battle the Giants on Sunday in Super Bowl XXI, the heaviest warfare may be waged inside, by the team's Great Outdoorsman. He is Rulon Jones, the Broncos' 6-foot-6, 260-pound defensive lineman, whose versatility is rivaled only by his stamina, and whose quiet demeanor off the field stands in marked contrast to his blatant aggressiveness in competition. A clean-living athlete who spends his off-hours hunting, fishing, skiing and riding horses, the 28-year-old Jones has started every game for the AFC champions this season, playing both ends of the line as well as nose tackle in Joe Collier's brainy defensive alignments.

It was a beautiful Rocky Mountain afternoon. Snowy peaks were visible in the distance. Shadows fell across the faces of the Twin Owl cliffs. The sun was shining, the grass was green, the aspen and oak trees swayed. And from the back seat of the rented Nissan Sentra came the unmistakable sounds of Younger Daughter Rachel: "Daddy, I don't feel good. " "What's wrong?" I asked. "I have a headache, and my stomach hurts. I think I have to throw up. " This was not a good situation.

Adios, Arizona. No way, New Jersey. Move over, Minnesota and Jesse "The Wimp" Ventura. You're all about to be bypassed by the Philadelphia mayor's race in one increasingly important facet of modern elections: money. Judging by the sums generated so far, total spending by candidates in the Philadelphia race - one of the nation's most captivating in this off year for elections - could easily reach $12 million for the Democratic primary alone. That's a lot more than is spent in many states.

"Anything you're uncomfortable with, don't do," instructor Mark Kern tells us. Six of us are lined up shoulder to shoulder, straddling clunky mountain bikes. With our helmets in place, we look like a phalanx of warrior mushrooms, preparing to do battle. In the field ahead we grimly face a six-inch-diameter log, which, for the time being, is the enemy. Nobody admits - yet - to feeling uncomfortable about bicycling over a six-inch log. Nobody admits - yet - to wondering why we are bicycling over the log rather than around it. It's the first day of class at the Mountain Bike School in southern Vermont, at what may be the nation's first school founded expressly to teach mountain biking skills.

As I climbed out of the steaming hot water, a matronly woman wrapped me in a white cotton bed sheet to preserve my modesty and led me to an operating room-like table between two partly drawn curtains. My heart beat faster - probably because of having soaked for 20 minutes in 106-degree water and realizing that a total stranger was soon to lay hands on my naked body. I closed my eyes. The first thing that Alice McCumbee did was pour a generous dose of cool, oily liquid along my right arm. It made sense to break someone into her first massage by starting with the arm. Alice, whose diploma, displayed in the changing room, indicated that she had received her degree in scientific Swedish massage from Dr. Esther C. Swanson in 1966, quickly demonstrated her 20-plus years of experience.

Da'Sean Butler scored 22 points in his final home game as No. 10 West Virginia beat No. 19 Georgetown, 81-68, in Morgantown, W.Va., last night. The Mountaineers (23-6, 12-5 Big East) clinched a double bye into the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Devin Ebanks added 15 points, Kevin Jones scored 14, and Darryl Bryant had 11 for West Virginia. Butler was introduced last among West Virginia's three seniors before the game and received the loudest ovation. He has 1,936 points and will end up in third place on the school's career scoring list behind Jerry West (2,309)

Something seems off-kilter in Philadelphia, as if a crane had taken the statue of Billy Penn from its place atop City Hall. After five decades as a towering figure in the public life of his city, state, and nation, Sen. Arlen Specter is in the strange position of counting the days until the likely end of his political career. Specter, 80, famous as an electoral Houdini, finally found himself in a tight spot he could not escape - standing for election in a year of voter hostility to Washington incumbents.