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Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 20, 2009 - 11:05pm PT
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alpinist Re-launched by Owners of Backcountry, Telemark Skier Magazines
Jeffersonville, Vermont—January 16, 2009—Height of Land Publications (HOL), owners of Backcountry and Telemark Skier Magazines, closed on a deal today that lays the groundwork for the resurrection of Alpinist Magazine.
Alpinist, a premium quarterly celebrating mountaineering and the climbing life, closed its doors this fall, just prior to the release of Issue 26. The new owners, HOL, plan to release Issue 26 on March 1, and will honor 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."
And at HOL, they feel it's a great time to be bold.
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."
Readers can also look forward to the same quality of paper and a large format size.
"We want to honor what the Alpinist team has done," Jon says. "It's a piece of art. And we plan keep it that way."
Stay tuned to Backcountrymagazine.com and Alpinist.com for more information.
—30—
To subscribe to the new Alpinist at the SPECIAL re-launch price of only $30 for one year, call 888-424-5857.
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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Jan 20, 2009 - 11:13pm PT
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Quarterly?
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Brian
climber
Cali
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Jan 20, 2009 - 11:49pm PT
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Great news!
Everyone out there who wished they had helped to keep Alpinist from folding the first go around, it's time to pony up your money and subscribe. I've got a year or two left on my subscription and I'll still fork over another year's worth to help 'em out.
Brian
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Otto, NC
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Jan 20, 2009 - 11:52pm PT
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If making it a quarterly is what will keep it alive, then I'm all about a quarterly.
Guess CB has to go back to work now though:(
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jfs
Trad climber
Upper Leftish
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Jan 21, 2009 - 01:41am PT
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Yaaaaayyyyy! bump.
=)
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Salamanizer
Trad climber
Vacaville Ca,
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Jan 21, 2009 - 01:53am PT
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I'm not sure if I can hold my breath until March 1.
Awesome!
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TYeary
Mountain climber
Calif.
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Jan 21, 2009 - 02:08am PT
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While I am holding my breath, it is good news.
Tony
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Michael Hjorth
Trad climber
Copenhagen, Denmark
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Jan 21, 2009 - 03:18am PT
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Today is a great day for America - and for the world! On more than one level.
And if there is any truth in the good Alpinist news, I think we should all back the new owners up and subscribe! 9000 was a joke - we can do better!
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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Jan 21, 2009 - 03:35am PT
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Hmmm, I wonder what they paid for it? I've got some money and I have launched magazines (as editor) in California, Britain and Ireland.
Guess I missed out on that one.
I remember about 15 years ago when the Irish Examiner, a daily based out of Cork, was up for sale for around £500,000 (Irish punts at the time). If I had the money or backing I may have gone for it. Thomas Crosbie Holdings bought it and it is now doing okay, in fact I prefer it over the Irish Independent and The Irish Times as they are both 'West Britain' titles. At least the Examiner is Irish-centric, so to speak.
Best wishes to the 'new' Alpinist. Hopefully they can keep the editorial team, or at least the core, on board, as it was a fine magazine.
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dogtown
climber
Cheyenne,Wyoming
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Jan 21, 2009 - 03:39am PT
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Anyone know what company will be printing it?
I may need a job soon.
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fowweezer
Trad climber
Pleasant Grove, UT
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Jan 21, 2009 - 06:55am PT
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The magazine was always a quarterly, so that's actually no change.
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Prod
Trad climber
A place w/o Avitars apparently
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Jan 21, 2009 - 08:02am PT
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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.
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Mick Ryan
Trad climber
Kendal, English Lake District
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Jan 21, 2009 - 08:29am PT
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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.
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Radish
Trad climber
Seki, California
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Jan 21, 2009 - 11:17am PT
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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.........
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TwistedCrank
climber
Ideeho-dee-do-dah-day
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Jan 21, 2009 - 11:21am PT
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I hope they don't forget that they owe me 5 issues on my subscription.
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micronut
Trad climber
fresno, ca
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Jan 21, 2009 - 11:25am PT
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Great news! I felt like a part of me died when they went under. Looking forward to the first new copy.
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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Jan 21, 2009 - 11:26am PT
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Radish, can you imagine shooting knitting needles out of a bow?
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Lambone
Ice climber
Ashland, Or
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Jan 21, 2009 - 11:29am PT
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That's awesome, I hope they can maintain the quality of the original.
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Prod
Trad climber
A place w/o Avitars apparently
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Jan 21, 2009 - 11:36am PT
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Twisted,
The article says that they will honor all existing subscriptions.
Prod.
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Forest
Trad climber
Tucson, AZ
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Jan 21, 2009 - 02:21pm PT
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my subscription had just lapsed prior to the collapse. Where do I sign up?
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