Once upon a time, print magazines represented the height of journalism. They offered a glimpse into places most readers would never see, and the innate impermanence of stories on paper lent glossy, high-concept magazines an intrinsic value.
So, it’s no small thing that the resurrected Summit Journal — one of rock climbing’s most storied publications — has just debuted a gorgeous online archive of 40 years of magazine covers. Stretching from the publication’s first issue in 1955 to its eventual closure in 1996, the archive allows you to soar through a virtual tour of mountaineering history.
Like Life Magazine or National Geographic, Summit long served as must-read journalism for the country’s climbers. That’s clear from the 300+ beautiful covers included in the interactive archive, which also offers descriptions of the many iconic photographs as well as highlights of the articles contained within.
The archive celebrates Summit Journal‘s 70th anniversary, and its current return to print since writer and editor Michael Levy brought it back to life in 2023. Levy said he wanted the archive to approximate the feeling of flipping through stacks of old magazines.
“You get to see the covers not only in space — fluttering, movable — but in chronological sequence and in relationship to what came before and what came after,” Levy told GearJunkie this week.
“It lets you experience the story of this magazine — which, in its own way, is basically the story of 20th-century American climbing — as a whole. And that’s key, I think. Looking at any one of these covers individually, they’re quite fun and cool. But looking at them as one part of this much bigger whole, the evolution of the design and aesthetic, is something else entirely.”
A Return to ‘Summit’
In the archive, you’ll find many iconic photographs from Bob and Ira Spring, whose mountain images dominated the sport for decades. There’s a cover about the 1,395 Soviet climbers who pulled off a mass ascent of Mount Elbrus in 1965, and also a lovely portrait of Ang Dawa IV, one of the most accomplished Sherpas of the 1950s. There are also many hand-drawn illustrations and the art deco designs so popular in the 1950s and 1960s.
“Resurrecting an old title like Summit is cool, basically, not just because of the ability to use the name and logo, but to continue a tradition,” Levy said. “I think this interactive archive helps keep that tradition alive.”
The magazine hadn’t published in 30 years since closing down in 1996, but Levy believes “there’s a dearth” of powerful storytelling, and Summit can help fill the gap.
His point is underscored by the recent controversy over layoffs at Outside Magazine, and the functional death of National Geographic Magazine in 2023, when parent company Disney laid off all remaining full-time writers and editors.
So, an exploration of the new archive is more than a tour through climbing history. It’s also a reminder of what’s still possible, as Levy and others try to instill the restarted Summit Journal with the same sophistication and storytelling that defined the original.
Interested in checking out the new Summit Journal? The publication is currently offering 35% off cover prints with a new subscription, allowing you to support the future of outdoor journalism — while still celebrating its past.
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