Feature and Advertisement

Feature: Climbing Magazine is a monthly-issued magazine that caters to the interests of climbers from all backgrounds of the sport. The magazine features stories written by climbers, ranging from articles documenting their own climbing trips to eloquently written opinion columns regarding certain trends in the climbing world, safety guides and tips, asclimbing is potentially a very perilous sport, gear and product descriptions and ratings, among numerous other issue-specific material. Robust and colorful images riddle the publication from back to front, capturing the attention of not only just climbers, but anyone who happens to pick it up.Slang is a commonplace, profanity prevalent, and climbing terms and technical jargon run rampant in every dimension of the magazine. The magazine is amazingly entertaining and informative, full of tales of rea
l climber's triumphant adventures, newest equipment, unveiled climbing destinations, fads and trends within the climbing community... honestly, if it has to do with rocks, it is in here.

The feature article I have chosen is entitled "Northern Exposure", which is a photograph-driven piece. The photos were taken by Anne Skidmore, with an accompaniment of words written by Pat Bagley. It showcases the top ten sport routes that have received a 5.10 grade of difficulty in the New England region. Every page of the article is a massive blown up picture of the route with a climber climbing it. Inset is a description of the route, as well as instructions on how to get to it and local insider techniques for the route, called 'beta'.

Advertisement: This ad is also from Climbing Magazine. It's a sort of public service announcement from the Access Fund, an organization dedicated to preserving climbing areas from development or privatizing of land. The advertisement reads"What if fear of liability runs amok?" One of the major reasons for closure of climbing areas is the risk that the land owner is taking letting people potentially injure themselves on their land, and this ad is trying to broadcast that this shouldn't be a worry for land owners. The use of a rhetorical question leaves a lot to be answered, and encourages readers to do deeper research on their own.