Alpinist Re-launched - The press release from the new owners

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Prod

Trad climber
A place w/o Avitars apparently
Jan 21, 2009 - 08:02am PT
Very happy to hear this. Sure would be nice if they did some re-prints of older issues as well. There is a Issue 0 on ebay with a buy it now of $69, the last 0 went for $90+/-. I could care less if I get a re print or an original, I just want to have and read them.

Great mag.

Prod.
Mick Ryan

Trad climber
Kendal, English Lake District
Jan 21, 2009 - 08:29am PT
Good piece here by our Editor on the climbing media.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/older.html?month=01&year=2009#n45578

Jan 21: Alpinist Magazine Set to Rise From The Ashes
by Jack Geldard - Editor - UKC

Height of Land Publications (HOL), owners of Backcountry and Telemark Skier Magazines, have finalised a deal that lays the groundwork for the resurrection of Alpinist Magazine.

Alpinist closed its doors last November, just prior to the release of Issue 26. The new owners, HOL, plan to release Issue 26 on March 1, and have stated that they will honour all current subscriptions.

"Alpinist fits perfectly into our family," says HOL president and publisher Jon Howard. "We feel climbers, mountaineers, and backcountry and freeheel skiers all share the same DNA. It's, at times, about being bold; at times about being cautious. Kind of like how we do business."

Jon and HOL partner and Backcountry editor Adam "Howie” Howard are currently in negotiations with the editorial staff at Alpinist to determine who will be at the helm.

"We've asked Christian Beckwith to stay on as Editor," Adam says. "I reached him in Mexico where he's doing some non-profit work. After seven years of grinding, he's enjoying some relative downtime. But he's genuinely excited that we're carrying his creation forward. We'll be meeting in person in the next few weeks. Should he not come on full time, Alpinist readers can be assured that someone of comparable skills and pedigree will fill his shoes."

Their plan is to keep the magazine size and paper quality to the same high standard.

"We want to honour what the Alpinist team has done," Jon says. "It's a piece of art. And we plan keep it that way."


The interplay and roles of the climbing media were really hammered home to me in a recent international meeting of climbing editors in the USA. Meeting and climbing with the staff of Alpinist, Desnivel, and many other publications, I became acutely aware that each media fills a very individual role.

The American Alpine Journal (AAJ) and, to a smaller extent, the British Alpine Journal, do a fantastic job of maintaining the historical record of world mountaineering, but after the sudden announcement of the closure of Alpinist, I wondered who would take over in bringing that information to climbers on a more regular basis? The Alpinist website was kept up to date by the tireless efforts of Erik Lambert, and with his work gone, an information gap could occur.

Step in Mr Mountain Info himself, Lindsay Griffin. Lindsay is a walking mountain encyclopaedia, well known for his guidebook work and of course the monthly feature in Climb Magazine - Mountain Info. Lindsay has taken a role with the BMC, keeping their website hot with news of world class mountaineering ascents.

Alex Messenger of the BMC commented: "Hopefully Lindsay is a permanent thing. We've signed him up to write detailed news items to build up a reliable source of mountaineering news."

In the UK, guidebooks, magazines and websites do a great job of keeping the historical record of our rock climbing up to date. We have a wealth of information, literally at our finger-tips. The load is shared between various types of media. No magazine or website takes on the responsibility of being a comprehensive record of all activity, but between us all, we seem to do okay. But what if one of us were to close?

Climber Magazine have just announced that they are looking for a new editor (UKC News Item), which shows how quickly things can change in the climbing media world. So while we at UKClimbing.com are looking forward to the return of Alpinist, we are also aware that in the current economic climate, anything could happen. We wish them the best of luck.
Radish

Trad climber
Seki, California
Jan 21, 2009 - 11:17am PT
I remember when Climbing magazine got sold to some mass media publication company who also handled bowhunting and knitting. Something got lost in there somewhere. I hope that not only the quality of the photos and the format are the same, but also the choice of photos and articles. I think I'll wait and see.........
TwistedCrank

climber
Ideeho-dee-do-dah-day
Jan 21, 2009 - 11:21am PT
I hope they don't forget that they owe me 5 issues on my subscription.
micronut

Trad climber
fresno, ca
Jan 21, 2009 - 11:25am PT
Great news! I felt like a part of me died when they went under. Looking forward to the first new copy.
Patrick Sawyer

climber
Originally California now Ireland
Jan 21, 2009 - 11:26am PT
Radish, can you imagine shooting knitting needles out of a bow?
Lambone

Ice climber
Ashland, Or
Jan 21, 2009 - 11:29am PT
That's awesome, I hope they can maintain the quality of the original.
Prod

Trad climber
A place w/o Avitars apparently
Jan 21, 2009 - 11:36am PT
Twisted,

The article says that they will honor all existing subscriptions.

Prod.
Forest

Trad climber
Tucson, AZ
Jan 21, 2009 - 02:21pm PT
my subscription had just lapsed prior to the collapse. Where do I sign up?
Chris McNamara

SuperTopo staff member
Topic Author's Reply - Jan 21, 2009 - 03:55pm PT
from the press release

"To subscribe to the new Alpinist at the SPECIAL re-launch price of only $30 for one year, call 888-424-5857. "
Phil1465

Trad climber
Brooklyn
Jan 21, 2009 - 04:13pm PT
Thats very good news about the Alpinist!

Now if they can only bring back "The Montain Yodel"

Ahhhhhhhhhh now there was a climbing mag
looking sketchy there...

Social climber
Latitute 33
Jan 21, 2009 - 06:05pm PT
Great news. The only climbing mag the Mrs and I read anymore.
10b4me

Ice climber
the sads
Jan 21, 2009 - 06:10pm PT
fyi, for those of us that are backcountry skiers, Backcountry recently bought Couloir magazine. There are now only two bc magazines out there. Backcountry, and Telemark. both onwed by Backcountry.com
Thorgon

Big Wall climber
Sedro Woolley, WA
Jan 22, 2009 - 12:42am PT
That is stellar, I know I have read
a few cracks about Alpinist, but I
thought it was a niche that nobody
was filling! Big walls in remote
places, that is interesting to me,
call me crazy, O.K. don't!

Thor
Chris McNamara

SuperTopo staff member
Topic Author's Reply - Jan 22, 2009 - 12:42pm PT
I spoke with Christian Beckwith today, and he said he is committed to transferring the Alpinist experience to a viable medium but that won't necessarily be with the new owners at the new Alpinist mag.

So, at the moment its not clear who will be editing the Alpinist going forward.
gee double

climber
victor idaho
Feb 7, 2009 - 06:53pm PT
I am a subscriber...Where is my new issue?
TYeary

climber
Feb 7, 2009 - 09:22pm PT
fyi everyone,
I spoke with Denise, in subscriptions at HOL, and was told all subscriptions will be honored. They will start with #26. She told me I had four issues left on my current subscription, which was correct. So it seems they are on the up'n'up.
Tony
Handjam Belay

Gym climber
expat from the truth
Feb 7, 2009 - 10:23pm PT
KELLY FUQN CORDES FOR EDITOR
Brian

climber
Cali
Feb 7, 2009 - 11:15pm PT
I second Kelly, if he wants a "full time" job that is.

Brian
Michael Hjorth

Trad climber
Copenhagen, Denmark
Mar 1, 2009 - 03:49am PT
Today is March 1st, and it's been a while since the announcement of "Alpinst to be re-launced".

Any news out there?

Should I wait for my prepaid 10 issues, or is it more likely that the S.T.-published issue 13 will come first?

Michael
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