One of the inspirations for Mountain Journal was a magazine that came out of Colorado called the Mountain Gazette. The Gazette lived through various incarnations from the early 1970s onwards and was, in the words of one of its founders, “generally about the mountains”. Quirky, alternative, sometimes very political, and with fantastic writing about life in the mountains and the landscapes that sustain and draw people to that part of the world. It had fantastic covers, with wonderfully evocative art work.

The Gazette stopped publishing in print form probably 5 years ago, but continues an online presence.

I’m a great lover of all things print, including magazines. North America probably has the greatest number of place specific journals and, because of the landscape and large number of people living in mountain country, has more than its share of mountain themed publications. From the quality journalism of High Country News to the beautiful spirit of place you find in Kootenay Mountain Culture magazine, there are many gorgeous and spirited magazines from that continent.

One that I only recently discovered, Highline, has just closed up shop. It ran from 2008 and was primarily intended for an audience living in the Bow Valley and the mountain towns of the Rockies, places such as Canmore, Banff and Fernie. It described itself as being ‘soul food for mountain people’ and I reckon it was, with a nice mix of imagery and stories of people who had made their lives in the Rocky Mountains. It covered environmental politics and climate change, had a lovely journal style design and a strong dose of sustainable culture ethos. It was ‘Indie, Wild and Free’ and also featured art, adventure, creative writing, food, gear and social events as well as running profiles and interviews.

I’m sad that its gone.