The Right Stuff
What an awesome issue! [June, No. 231] This is why I subscribe to Climbing Magazine. “Right Mate, Let’s Get On With It” was an outstanding article. It was delightful to read about these Antipodean alpinists who climb merely for the love of it. The article offered some powerful statements by Whimp and Lindblade, and served to psych me into reading Lindblade’s book.
I also really enjoyed “Scree For All.” It’s a nice change to read about “ordinary” North American mountain exploits on moderate climbs. The article was as much about adventure as it was about climbing.
Both of these articles were not too long, but also not so short as to tease you then let you down so quickly. I’d love to see more articles in this vein. Thank you, Climbing.

— Michael Gordon
Long Beach, CA

Eastern Bloc Blind?
I’m disappointed. An entire article [“K2: The First Fifty Years,” July, No. 232] about K2 without ever a mention of the name Jerzy Kukuczka. Instead, in the 1986 timeline entry, simply “two Poles” made the South Face first ascent, while there is no mention whatsoever that another “two Poles” made the first ascent of the Magic Line that same summer, even though Messner gets credit in the 1979 entry for simply attempting it. Oh, and that Magic Line ascent had one of those, what do you call them ... oh yeah, Czechs.
Speaking of Czechs and Poles, Josef Rakoncaj is listed under “Multi-summiteers” as being a Pole. He is not — he is a Czech.
Aside from that, I enjoyed the feature.

— Bruce Geryk
Champaign, Illinois

Vindicated
The first time I read about Akira and its chipped hold, I imagined some ego-driven, sponsor-seeking, wannabe 5.15 climber with bad ethics breaking out the chisel rather than doing his route. “The Truth About Fred Rouhling” [July, No. 232] told me the story behind this route and the climber behind it. It was the most informative and interesting story that I have seen in a rock magazine, and it had great photos. Yeah for Pete Ward and Tim Kemple.

— Will Stattman
Princeton, New Jersey

Familiar ground
I love to see articles in climbing magazines about places I’ve been. I don’t know why it’s so cool but it is. Don’t get me wrong, the pictures of huge walls in Alaska and the Himalaya are totally cool, but sometimes it’s still better to see a pic of some dude working the same problem or climb in Cali or Moab that I worked on for two days during a road trip.
Your article on Fred Rouhling was cool. He seems like a good enough guy. But guess what? That Alexander Huber sounds like a real elitist prude. Hearing him bitch about people who say they can climb harder than he can is getting old.

— Matt Kime
via email

Keep It Real
I’m a climber of eight-plus years and have enjoyed your magazine almost as long. After reading the editorial in this last issue [July, No. 232] I realized that this long time I’ve never written and expressed my gratitude for your publication. I have always enjoyed the rawness of your writers. I don’t feel as though your stories are too dolled up or commercialized like [your competitor’s].
Please, Please, Please don’t sell out! I love the new changes — I did notice! I will always continue to buy your magazine.

— Robert A. Phippen
Mesa, Arizona

In my room
Your editorial about Climbing scaling back on ads while adding more content came as a “told you so” for me. After flipping through the mag, I mentioned to my wife that it seemed a lot beefier than usual. A normal Climbing lasts through about eight toilet readings; this one made a record 11. You might take a financial hit immediately with ad reduction, but I bet you gain loyalty in the long run with more subscriptions. Change is good, and I think your shift proves this … nine out of 10 toilet critics would agree.

— Tim Turner
Parkersburg, West Virginia

Editor’s Note: Thanks to all of you who responded to the July editorial and decided to write. We really do listen! — JA

Corrections

Turns out you’re getting an even better deal on the La Sportiva Mamba and Tora and Acopa Aurora rock shoes than the $105 price tag we listed for each in the June issue. The Mamba and the Editors’ Choice Tora retail for $90 and the Aurora goes for $89. The charts did have the correct prices.
We made an embarrassing error in our K2 article in the July issue. On page 46 and 47 we ran a “never-before-published” summit photo from the first ascent of the peak. We (and our archival contributor, Ed Webster) were mistaken. This photo, by Herbert Tichy, shows the great Sherpa climber Pasang Dawa Lama on the summit of Cho Oyu in the fall of 1954. Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse — not located in the Karakoram — are clearly visible at the left edge of the photo. Thanks to Robb Briggs for pointing out the mistake.