WTF Wal-Mart ad in Climbing Mag!!!

What a bunch of sellouts! Making money how and where they can so they can try to keep paying their employees and publishing magazines that (at least some) people still enjoy reading. If they had an ounce of respect for themselves, they'd only take advertising dollars from small, independent gear shops. And if that didn't work they'd fire everyone and start printing the magazine in their garage!!

Seriously. You guys sound like a bunch of 15 year olds bitching that their favorite band sold out by putting a music video on MTV. I bet that if you were trying to keep people employed and keep putting out a product, you'd do whatever it took too. Now return to taking a break from your job that you do to get paid and bitch about other people trying to get paid and go back to typing on your mass-produced, made-in-China computer to keep bitching about giant corporations.

I like WalMart and REI.

Ryan Nevius wrote: Why would you ever to this, when there are so many better (and equally inexpensive) places to bivvy?

On the east coast at least, almost all land is privately owned. It's pretty difficult sometimes to find a spot besides Walmart, especially if traveling without pre-planned destinations/campsites/parks in mind.

Note: After this weekend, I cannot recommend a Walmart bivvy on Thanksgiving night/Black Friday morning. Though it did provide some good people watching!

Wow...saw this as a comment on Facebook, on a page they posted in which they spelled Honnold "Honnald."

They are a pretty shitty magazine it seems...Alpinist is the best.

I've been a subscriber since the start , only missing a couple issues over their lifetime. Agree it's getting weak, I've got maybe 10 issues paid for yet, and not sure if I want to re-up anymore. Rock and Ice is slightly better and I will keep that going, but it's costly and then sad to see ads like WalMart. Felt the same way when rustic and backcountry first years of Backpacker mag, then sold out to full page ads of jeeps and off road vehicles. That is a mockery of the outdoor backpacking attitude I say.

Kind of like all the ads on this website? If this site needs money so bad ask the community don't put hydro-fracking ads and all this other bullshit on here. What a joke this place has become.

Climbing Mag doesn't serve a purpose anymore so stop producing it. People can find other ways to continue their debt slavery, like getting a job at Wal-mart.

"There are ads on Mountain Project? I don't remember the last time I saw an advertisement on a website."

- Said every moderately tech savvy Chrome and Firefox user ever

Ryan Nevius wrote:"There are ads on Mountain Project? I don't remember the last time I saw an advertisement on a website." - Said every moderately tech savvy Chrome and Firefox user ever

X2. Ad Block Plus is king.

'X2. Ad Block Plus is king.'

Many expect services like the crag and route database (a fantastic resource for climbers here at MP) to fund themselves. They'll use the database and the forum, look at photos, read news but put up ad blockers. Short sighted!

All the best,

Mick

JMo wrote:Rock and ice is still readable. Climbing isn't - didn't renew. There is no content.

Exactly, Climbing has no articles. I guess they can't afford to pay writers and photographers. It is just a matter of time before the fold.

Brian wrote: Exactly, Climbing has no articles. I guess they can't afford to pay writers and photographers. It is just a matter of time before the fold.

BOLT WARS, lol

rags will be rags, I only look at the pictures anyways

the internet has all print publications scrambling to reinvent themselves. too bad it means having less reporters and the ones still kept around making walmart wages.

we complain and focus on walmart while (like Austin said) we buy products made with child labor from China and dont even blink an eye.

I need a new pack for an alpine style attempt of Cerro Torre...sweet Walmart comes through in the clutch.

walmart.com/ip/Lowe-Alpine-…

Mick Ryan wrote: 'X2. Ad Block Plus is king.' Many expect services like the crag and route database (a fantastic resource for climbers here at MP) to fund themselves. They'll use the database and the forum, look at photos, read news but put up ad blockers. Short sighted! All the best, Mick

Many do, but some of us prefer to support MP by using the Deal Finder, buying the app, contributing useful route info, etc., as opposed to dealing with obtrusive advertisements. You should try contributing some beta to this site sometime; the database doesn't make itself.

Thanks guys for your thoughtful conversation about the ad that appeared in the December issue of Climbing. I'm Jeff, the newly-appointed Publisher of Climbing Magazine, and I'm pscyhed to see such engaging discourse about our 41 year-old magazine. I joined Climbing Magazine for the opportunity to work with editor, Shannon Davis, who has a great vision for Climbing, to create a brand where you turn for tons of useful and actionable content to get inspired and improve as a climber. We have some fun things in store for 2014, and we think you'll like what you see.

The ad that was placed on the back cover of the December issue was actually an ad placed by Master Card, not Wal-Mart. Master Card chose to run this advertisement in Climbing Magazine (among many other similar outdoor enthusiast magazines like Outside and Backpacker) because they know that our readers buy gear and travel to great destinations. All of that gear and travel often requires a credit card to purchase.

Finally, when it comes to advertisements placed within Climbing, we constantly forfeit a significant amount of advertising revenue from advertisers that are promoting tobacco, distilled spirits, and ads containing political, sexual or distasteful messages. We want to create an environment that upholds the values and ethics of our sport. Thank you for your continued support.

Jeff Tkach wrote:Thanks guys for your thoughtful conversation about the ad that appeared in the December issue of Climbing. I'm Jeff, the newly-appointed Publisher of Climbing Magazine, and I'm pscyhed to see such engaging discourse about our 41 year-old magazine. I joined Climbing Magazine for the opportunity to work with editor, Shannon Davis, who has a great vision for Climbing, to create a brand where you turn for tons of useful and actionable content to get inspired and improve as a climber. We have some fun things in store for 2014, and we think you'll like what you see. The ad that was placed on the back cover of the December issue was actually an ad placed by Master Card, not Wal-Mart. Master Card chose to run this advertisement in Climbing Magazine (among many other similar outdoor enthusiast magazines like Outside and Backpacker) because they know that our readers buy gear and travel to great destinations. All of that gear and travel often requires a credit card to purchase. Finally, when it comes to advertisements placed within Climbing, we constantly forfeit a significant amount of advertising revenue from advertisers that are promoting tobacco, distilled spirits, and ads containing political, sexual or distasteful messages. We want to create an environment that upholds the values and ethics of our sport. Thank you for your continued support.

Thanks for your comments, Jeff. I didn't see the ad, but I'll bet it wasn't that hard to tell it was a MasterCard ad, not WalMart. And there's nothing wrong with a WalMart ad, in my opinion.

All this bickering and not a single picture of what actually appears on the back page...

FrankPS wrote: Thanks for your comments, Jeff. I didn't see the ad, but I'll bet it wasn't that hard to tell it was a MasterCard ad, not WalMart. And there's nothing wrong with a WalMart ad, in my opinion.

I saw the ad. I thought it was a Walmart ad. If you get a credit card you get a $10 walmart credit for a Mossy Oak hat.
What's Mossy Oak anyway?

EDIT- here's the home page. I see a lot of this camo at the crags. Pretty much the only thing Boulderites wear anymore, even around town.
mossyoak.com

I say take the money for sex, cigarette and alcohol ads. For that matter, take the money for walmart ads.

But make the content interesting and worth reading. Maybe funny sometimes. Not much humor in Alpinist, as far as I can tell.

Nate C wrote:All this bickering and not a single picture of what actually appears on the back page...

Good point. And to some people, apparently that matters!

"Thanks guys for your thoughtful conversation about the ad that appeared in the December issue of Climbing. I'm Jeff, the newly-appointed Publisher of Climbing Magazine, and I'm pscyhed to see such engaging discourse about our 41 year-old magazine. I joined Climbing Magazine for the opportunity to work with editor, Shannon Davis, who has a great vision for Climbing, to create a brand where you turn for tons of useful and actionable content to get inspired and improve as a climber. We have some fun things in store for 2014, and we think you'll like what you see.

The ad that was placed on the back cover of the December issue was actually an ad placed by Master Card, not Wal-Mart. Master Card chose to run this advertisement in Climbing Magazine (among many other similar outdoor enthusiast magazines like Outside and Backpacker) because they know that our readers buy gear and travel to great destinations. All of that gear and travel often requires a credit card to purchase. "

Glad to know someone with big pockets keeps an eye on you guys. Wow! It's either that or you really need to rethink this "money rules the world" thing. Either way, it's karma. As for me, I like objective magazines which seek to portray the current state of climbing as it exists in the minds of the participants, not publications which wish to promote side agendas. Good to see karma at work in the world. Now, Climbing, hopefully you guys got the message that karma exists and is real, like really real. If that is the case, I look forward to the new face of your publication :)

Jeff,

It sounds like the brand you are creating will be aimed at beginner climbers fresh out the gym, a fast growing market. In my experience climbers smoke cigs, drink alcohol, smoke weed, and take LSD. Credit card enabled consumerism does little to uphold the values and ethics of our lifestyle.