
I've been working on a little side project for the past few weeks: a new website called
The Alpine Briefs. This site is the brainchild of
American Alpine Journal senior editor Kelly Cordes; I provided some grunt work, along with
AAJ editor John Harlin. In our work as
AAJ editors, we receive lots of very cool reports, photos, funny stories, and other material that doesn't fit into the
AAJ's relatively rigid format. Some of this info ultimately will appear on expanded
AAJ web pages, but while those are in the works Kelly inspired us to launch the Alpine Briefs, and, once inspired, we took it much farther than we ever expected.
The site is still new and will build slowly, but we think it eventually will become a much-needed voice for international alpinism, especially in the wake of
Alpinist magazine's passing. (Devoted Alpinist.com readers will notice some subtle influences on the Alpine Briefs.) We'll also be sending an e-newsletter to
AAJ contributors and American Alpine Club members every couple of months, with updates on the latest content.
On a semi-related note, a new outdoor-sports magazine is launching in Colorado—something of a surprise in this economy, but definitely a niche waiting to be filled.
Elevation Outdoors will launch in February as a free bimonthly, edited by
Doug Schnitzspahn, longtime executive editor of the late, much-underappreciated
Hooked on the Outdoors.