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New Rock magazine

Tim_1964

25-Jul-2012
10:18:47 PM

What about that fabulous story on Cradle (ok, loaded question, be nice to me!) lol

Will_P

26-Jul-2012
9:59:07 AM

Granted, that was a pretty good read, and an impressive and fun-sounding trip, but it could've used better editing (not a criticism of the writer, the magazine alledgedly has an editor). The Cradle article, and Monique's, were the only things in there worth reading, but some of the rest was so bad it detracted from the good. As someone else mentioned - the Golden Carrots. The size taken up by the announcement on the cover was bigger than the area taken by the actual 'awards'. And what were they for? Why would you bother going through the whole process if you're not even gonna say why the person won? Faark...

One Day Hero

26-Jul-2012
10:21:34 AM

Fark, stop pissing around with details. If you print a magazine without having it proofread by somebody who actually engages in the activity (to check for retarded shit which will make the entire readership groan), then your magazine is on the way out.

Have a look at the stupid Kachoong article on their website, it's just embarrassing. Unless they start paying a climber to filter the bullshit, I wouldn't bet on Rock lasting another year.


IdratherbeclimbingM9

26-Jul-2012
1:12:13 PM

On 26/07/2012 One Day Hero wrote:
>If you print a magazine without having it proofread by somebody who actually engages in the activity (to check for retarded shit which will make the entire readership groan), then your magazine is on the way out.
>
In the past Rock Editor logged onto Chockstone from time to time, and as a consequence got feedback amongst their other needs that involved (usually), requests for photos, or gear/book reviews.

They haven't logged on for some time now, not that they need to in order to get feedback, but it makes me wonder if the present Rock management even knows that according to some they are potentially running off the rails, ... which they would become aware of in a more timely fashion by reading posts here?

Will_P

26-Jul-2012
4:07:14 PM

On 26/07/2012 One Day Hero wrote:
>Fark, stop pissing around with details. If you print a magazine without
>having it proofread by somebody who actually engages in the activity (to
>check for retarded shit which will make the entire readership groan), then
>your magazine is on the way out.

A pretty succinct summary of the problem.

>Have a look at the stupid Kachoong article on their website, it's just
>embarrassing. Unless they start paying a climber to filter the bullshit,
>I wouldn't bet on Rock lasting another year.

See, I think that 'article' (which is in the magazine verbatim) shows that they either don't know what 'news' is in Australian climbing circles, or were just looking to fill space. I've met the guy, Harro, who wrote it (about himself on Kachoong), and he's a great guy. But Harro, if you're reading this, while I'm stoked for you that you sent it, and sure, it's a cool photo, and the Rock Hardware add using it by Steve was a nice touch... you've gotta admit, it's not significant enough to the national climbing community to be included in a publication.

[Rock Editors, if I'm wrong about the above, let me know, because I'm doing some pretty impressive pre-dawn enduro laps and link-ups at Burnley that I reckon you might be interested in)


nmonteith

26-Jul-2012
4:51:02 PM

OMG - that Kachoong article actually made it into the print magazine? I thought it was some kind of online joke.

maadness

26-Jul-2012
5:22:28 PM

mmmmm, that Kachoong article was very sad indeed. I think it said more about the people of Bendigo than tradies.


shortman

26-Jul-2012
9:20:50 PM

On 26/07/2012 nmonteith wrote:
>OMG - that Kachoong article actually made it into the print magazine? I
>thought it was some kind of online joke.

What do u mean?

Your all farked! Everyone who posted on this page is just full of whingy shit.

And you all still read it ya wankerz.

Don't buy it, then the guys at ROCK will figure it out.


vwills

26-Jul-2012
9:35:03 PM

I just renewed my subscription, but only for 1 year, not 3 and I wonder whether there is any long term commitment to Rock by PCM, or whether it is being run down. The most recent issue is really poor. Perhaps it reflects the quality of what they have been sent , but as outlined above, the editing, accuracy and content is laughable.
The issue before that looked like it had good reading but was soaked in my letterbox and most of it was indecipherable. I enquired about getting another copy and have had no reply....

climberman

27-Jul-2012
9:55:56 AM

On 26/07/2012 shortman wrote:

>Don't buy it, then the guys at ROCK will figure it out.

well, that's a tick from my end. It's like as thin as a CD !

I love a good printed mag, and subscribe to a few, but if they don't feel value for money I don't get em.

Great mags: Alpinist, Surfers' Journal.

Good: Flylife, Surfing World.

I subscribe to the digital edition of Climbing, to the hardcopy of Alpinist and Flylife, and I read my old man's Surfer's Journal when I go there every few months. SW I buy at the newsstand about 80% of editions.

Digital freebies I like are VL, so far (and their paddling stablemate), This Is Fly (awesome). TIF is the frikken bomb, but I guess you have to like flyfishing....

One Day Hero

27-Jul-2012
11:44:36 AM

On 26/07/2012 shortman wrote:
>
>Your all farked! Everyone who posted on this page is just full of whingy
>shit.
>
Yer wrong Shorty, Rock has evolved into a steaming turd........trying to brush the problem under the rug will just result in little poop-worms getting extruded up through the weft.
>
>Don't buy it, then the guys at ROCK will figure it out.

Nope, they'll be all "uhhhh, people have stopped buying our magazine, I wonder why?.......lets do a survey to find out"

We've cut to the chase here, this is the fuchin' survey. Climbers aren't buying rock because a whole bunch of the content is written by people who don't know the first fuching thing about the activity they're trying to describe. This can't work, more time won't solve it. They need to employ an active "proper" climber to proof for bullshit, and probably write a fair bit from scratch too.

Also, here's a list of topics which are done, and should never see the light of day in an aussie climbing mag ever again;

-Kachoong- no more photos, no more 'tales of gallant conquest'........ever!!!

-Nowra articles by Matt Adams featuring Attack Mode - wtf? I think that's 3 in as many years now........fyi, nobody in their right mind would travel to do that route, it just isn't a global mega-classic. Sorry Robbie and Matt if that hurts your feelings.

-".......Then in the mid 70's the 'New Wave' crashed in and blew the previous generation away with their daring and improbable ascents.........blah blah blah". I've read that same story from so many writers that I can pretty much recite it from memory. This shit goes on with the Yanks and their whole Stonemaster cult too. Great times, great yarns, but now done to fuching death. Ya gotta find a new tune to whistle.

Here's some things I'd like to see (but fuched if I'd write any of it and submit it for editing by kooky non-climbers)

-'How to' articles for first time visitors to; ACT, Moonarie, Bungonia, Ben Lomond, some of the newish crags in Queensland.......probably a bunch of other spots too. Doesn't have to be "news", but good info to get people psyched on visiting these cool and somewhat neglected areas, rather than another Nowra article when 100 climbers already frequent Nowra every bloody w/e.

-Interviews with significant (and interesting) Aussie climbers who were not part of the "New Wave". The last interesting interview I read was the one with Roland Pauligk, that was cool. I'd be keen to read interviews with; Humzoo, John Smart, Joe Friend, Giles, Tony Barten, Fants, the Shepard Bros., even Chocky's favorite word-masher Dave the Dude seems to have been involved in some pretty interesting episodes in aussie climbing. Who cares if a couple of them are bat-shit crazy? It'll make for interviews which aren't the same old formulaic garbage.

Matt Adams

27-Jul-2012
12:57:57 PM

Yeah, wtf! I'm sick of those Nowra articles from that guy aswell, what a joke!


cruze

27-Jul-2012
1:05:09 PM

Yeah I'd probably subscribe for 3 years just for one in-depth interview with Fantini.


IdratherbeclimbingM9

27-Jul-2012
1:10:09 PM

On 26/07/2012 shortman wrote:
>What do u mean?
>

I think that shortman raises a valid point.

I don't deny that proof-reading the mag would improve its accuracy, or that a minor article on Kachoong is hardly newsworthy entertainment; but reckon that Rock is caught between themselves and a hard place!

It wasn't that long back that they tried to aim articles towards their readership base, and the common perception was that this constituted the gym/boulder/competition/sport sector mostly...
The consequence was that for a very long period, adventure/trad/mountaineering and historical based articles were few and far between.

I also distinctly remember that one of the criticisms levelled at it, was that it pandered to the elite, ... in that unless you climbed (or aspired to), grade 30+ then you were not catered for, and given that the bulk of their readership was a long way off those grades they wanted more of the common-climber themes presented so the readership could relate, as well as be inspired by the elite sector.

A quick perusal of the last few editions shows me that the content is more diverse now than it has been for ages, and I would think that satisfies a wider audience, though none of those sectors is over-indulged!

We are living in changing times and technology may hasten the transition of Rock Mag into something different again, but on balance, and especially given the constraints of present editorial input, I think they are doing a pretty good job.

Yeah, I am an old fart who likes the tactile experience of paper, and who commiserates with the hard to read caption comments, but still reckon it would be a shame if it goes under, as I for one appreciate the diversity it offers and will continue to subscribe to it.

Having said that, I also enjoy Vertical Life and look forward to it's tactile Journal when it comes out!

~> We really are spoilt for choice.


IdratherbeclimbingM9

27-Jul-2012
1:16:06 PM

On 27/07/2012 One Day Hero wrote:
>-'How to' articles for first time visitors to; ACT, Moonarie, Bungonia,
>Ben Lomond, some of the newish crags in Queensland.......probably a bunch
>of other spots too. Doesn't have to be "news", but good info to get people
>psyched on visiting these cool and somewhat neglected areas, rather than
>another Nowra article when 100 climbers already frequent Nowra every bloody
>w/e.
>
I recall (without linking them), some posts that you made on the theme of lamenting the fact that people are popularising climbing...
In fact you reckoned that Nowra being flogged was a good thing, as it kept the masses away from-
;-)

One Day Hero

27-Jul-2012
1:36:13 PM

On 27/07/2012 IdratherbeclimbingM9 wrote:

>I recall (without linking them), some posts that you made on the theme
>of lamenting the fact that people are popularising climbing...
>In fact you reckoned that Nowra being flogged was a good thing, as it
>kept the masses away from-
>;-)

Yeah............there's a fine line. I'm not really interested in encouraging douchbags to visit cool climbing areas, but most of these spots could handle a fair few more visitors without becoming overcrowded. You just have to pitch the articles in the correct way, and besides, the need to place gear filters out most of the real tools straight away.

I was talking to an Irish climber at the Point, who has been travelling around oz for a couple of months. All he had heard about the A.C.T. was that it has some bouldering...............fuch! We've got the best granite crag on the mainland, and it's completely vanished from the collective australian climbing consciousness. I think that's a shame. Same with Moonarie, it's better than araps, hands down, but most australian climbers haven't been there to have a look. New guidebooks would help, but I reckon some re-introduction articles would be a great first step.


BlankSlab

27-Jul-2012
1:53:43 PM

I spend a lot of time reading the trip reports on supertopo and other sites. i think thats what inspires people to visit somewhere else.
I love reading about off the beaten track routes.

ODH mentioned re introducing the old spots. Blue lake will probably be one of these. Think there will be a larger number of people up there then the past few years.

Only bought rock twice i think. Quick flick through and found some useless training crap and diet stuff (desnt interest me), something about the ten longest climbs in aus or something and no real info on them other then the name, then a few outdated gear reviews that i can get better info online. and besides all the gear manufactures put all the new stuff on facebook befor it hits the shelf.

One Day Hero

27-Jul-2012
2:00:19 PM

Here's some more ideas for climbing mag articles;

-A regular moderate classics feature. One of the seppo mags has a '5.10 and under' article which give you the full rundown and sales pitch on an obscure mega-classic which is within the grasp of most of the readership. There's 2 pages filled every issue, which help keep the grade balance, and will be of interest to most climbers.

-Good milage days. Have area locals write up 10 pitches of a similar grade which can be strung together into a great day. Give suggestions on order, getting between the routes, and rack required. I've met folk such as Wendy (araps of course), CJ (araps), Mikl (Cosmic, an eon ago), and Fants (pretty much every single day he climbs) on these missions, and raving about how it's as good as climbing gets.

You could run that as a regular feature for a couple of years too, here's a few to begin with;

Sth buttress of Booroomba- 18 to 22...........I'm probably the person to write this one
Windjammer Wall - easy; 16 to 20, hard; 21 to 24.........maybe Rick, or Rob who wrote the guide
Frog - at least two, a 16 to 19 day, and a 20 to 22 day.......I nominate Steve Peckman, who's getting super keen up there
Araps - I reckon an easy one in the Organ Pipes, medium in the Bluffs, hard in Yesterday Gully.......Wendy needs something to do while her shoulder heals
Thommos - There'd be a good one up to 21, excellent day from 21 to 24...........Neil or Bundy?
Cosmic- easy; 18 to 21, hard; 21 to 24.......probably Mikl, in honour of him introducing me to the idea at that crag


BlankSlab

27-Jul-2012
2:15:42 PM

On 27/07/2012 One Day Hero wrote:
>Here's some more ideas for climbing mag articles;
>
>-A regular moderate classics feature. One of the seppo mags has a '5.10
>and under' article which give you the full rundown and sales pitch on an
>obscure mega-classic which is within the grasp of most of the readership.
>There's 2 pages filled every issue, which help keep the grade balance,
>and will be of interest to most climbers.

I hate nothing more then half a mag being filled by grade 25+ climbs and pics.
Doesn't do much to inspire me or the average punter who is clmbing up to grade 20.

Both your ideas would make for an intersting read. Could just imagine everyone linning up at the first climb of a milage list the weekend after the mag hits the shelf.

Edit: Would make a good thread here atleast....

technogeekery

27-Jul-2012
4:59:33 PM

I like all of ODH's suggestions here (never thought I'd say that...). I'm interested in new areas, and will travel to "destination" areas just for the adventure. I recently got up to Booroomba - fantastic spot - and articles introducing different destination areas would be of great interest. Chuck in some info about access, local camping, wierd & wonderful local lore, a few mega classics from super easy to tough, and info on the best guidebooks - and I'd be buying the mag just for that.

Ditto on the grade balance. I like to see the super hard & spectacular stuff as well, but its purely of academic / aesthetic interest... anything above 20 is moving out of aspirational and into delusional territory for whole chunks of the climbing community. More long easy adventures / stories / routes etc would be of real interest.

I'm a gear freak like many climbers and love to look at the latest shiny gear - but in order to have any interest at all, a magazine needs to have more credible reviews than regurgitating press releases. Why not get testing / reviewing done specific to Australian conditions, by named Aus climbers with some credibility, or otherwise try to make it more interesting / relevant to us?

Mikl's 2-pager on fixed gear was more like it - relevant, something for most people to learn from, by a guy with local climbing and materials credentials.

I'll probably buy the magazine from time to time, I really want to support a local mag - and hope some of the comments in this thread are taken on board.

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