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roughster
Jul 28, 2002, 6:17 PM
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I get home from climbing yesterday and the new issue of Climbing magazine is sitting on my table.
I open it up, EVERY major article is on Ice Climbing/Mountaineering.
I will not be renewing my Climbing subscription. Since R&I just changed management I will give them a chance, but my hopes re not high.
Are we ever going to get a viable national ROCK climbing magaize? Notice the emphasis on ROCK. Sport, Bouldering, Trad ---> PERIOD.
I could care less about Big Wall, Ice, or mountaineering. Absolutely wasted pages IMO. I would rather see more ads then more articles of that nature.
Blah!
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gregarion
Jul 28, 2002, 6:43 PM
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If i'm correct the latest issue of climbing was the epics issue, or atleast that's the last one i recieved. It seems to me that it would make sense that you are going to see more and more harrowing epics with big wall, ice climbing , and mountaneering than with sport, bouldering, or even trad, but that is just my opinion.
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roughster
Jul 28, 2002, 6:56 PM
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You would be correct, but even so, wouldn't that particular "focus" edition be better suited for winter release?
I have had my fill of ice/mountaineering/big walls. Many people have quit subscribing to the two major mags because the net gives them what they want: i.e. the equivalent of Hot Flashes. Since that is currently the only thing worth reading in the major mags if your sport/boulderer, most people won't subscribe for endless articles on types of climbing pursuits they don't care about.
There are so many good areas that could be profiled, guides, story/pictorials, etc... but instead we get 2 main articles on winter pursits and 1 on big walling.
If this recipe worked, then why are the National Mags FAILING horribly? Magazines don't change hands frequeently when they are doing well. It is common knowledge that subscriptions are WAY down at both magazines.
Either they will learn to cater to their audience "sport/boulderers/trad" or they will be out of business. For every ice/mountainerr/big waller there are at least 10 (if not more) sport/boulders/weekend trad'ers.
At some point in time the mags will need to learn this, otherwise they won't be around for much longer.
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rock_climbin_06
Jul 28, 2002, 7:52 PM
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I agree with you roughster. I think they really should come out with a pure ROCK mag. They do have rock and ice but the gist of the magazine is on ice. I really enjoy sport and would love to read about some trad but ice really doesn't amuse me. When you live in Texas you don't get too much of that!
-Adam
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biggernhell
Jul 28, 2002, 7:55 PM
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Chill the fu ck out.. I haven't big walled, don't climb ice(yet) and mountaineer very infrequently. This said I would rather read abouth that stuff over cragging and bouldering any day of the week. Epics are fun to read about and its hard to have an epic on a twenty foot boulder. You fall off and you either get hurt or you don't. This does not fill magazine space and makes for piss poor reading. You are of course intitled to your opinion, but represent it as just that, opinion. Don't disqualify everyone elses by saying that yours is the only one that makes sense. just
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roughster
Jul 28, 2002, 11:26 PM
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Big,
Hate to say it, but the numbers are the proof in the pudding. As I said before, if their "recipe" of big wall, ice, and mountaineering is what climbers wanted to read, then both magazines would be doing great subscription-wise.
Simply put, this is not the case. Of the people I climb/climbed with over the last few years, I would say more than 1/2 of them don't subscribe. When they swing by my place they generally thumb through the mags and it just reaffirms their stance that the major mags are crap, and I have to agree with them.
For every person like you, there are many more who have made their statement by simply not subscribing at all or cancelling their subscriptions.
That number just went up by one (me).
[ This Message was edited by: roughster on 2002-07-28 16:27 ]
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topher
Jul 29, 2002, 11:33 PM
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check out Gripped (www.gripped.com) its all on sport bouldering, it has mostly canadian content but its still cool.
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doosh
Jul 29, 2002, 11:50 PM
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www.vboulderingmagazine.com
The mangement of the two main rags SWITCHED.
They both suck.
Write your own story.
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climbinganne
Jul 30, 2002, 2:08 AM
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i love to read!!!!!
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wildtrail
Jul 30, 2002, 2:27 AM
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Also, in my humble opinion, the magazines are only worth getting for the photography. The damn thing is nothing, but spray. They only do stories on the "well known" and they do that far to often. There are climbers out there that climb as well as Ogden, Caldwell, Sharma, etc. I'm not one of them, but being a journalist I can tell you that Climbing and R & I has lost what little quality they had a long time ago. Speaking of other climbers, there are many on this site alone.
Don't get me wrong, Ogden, Caldwell, Sharma, and the like are good climbers and fine athletes. I'm just sick of hearing about them. Not to mention, Climbing doesn't represent the climbing community at all. Only those that have the skills to climb the hardest routes. The majority of the climbing community can't climb 5.14. Where is the fun stuff? Where are the stories of regular people? What about the many people that ascend the great walls of Yosemite daily, that grunt in Gunnison,or travel to Trango? Climbing isn't just about 5.13 or 5.14. There is so much more to it than that. There is so much more to all of us, than that.
Please understand, I am only griping about the piss poor (pardon) quality of the magazines that "represent" us. Not the fine men and women featured in the magazines. It isn't their fault and I would never be the one to put down the fact that they have achieved fame due to following their dreams and passions.
Steve
[ This Message was edited by: wildtrail on 2002-07-29 19:28 ]
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wildtrail
Jul 30, 2002, 2:43 AM
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Thanks, Jeff. I'll check it out.
Steve
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