Did you hear?… John Harlin named the new editor of the American Alpine Journal

John Harlin, currently the northwest editor for Backpacker magazine, has been named the new editor of the American Alpine Journal — the official publication of the American Alpine Club. Harlin will continue part-time at Backpacker, he told SNEWS®. While firmly stating he will continue the well-established traditions of mountaineering journalism that past editors of the AAJ have embraced, Harlin did tell us that he would seek to push the AAJ into an online world sooner, rather than later. “I’d like to expand on the journal’s usefulness in researching mountaineering objectives. I strongly believe that the future of such research will be on the Internet, and that a climber should be able to hook up his modem in any small town (without a library full of AAJs) and find out what has and what has not been done in his mountains of choice. This web-based information should (and I’m sure eventually will) be the norm for all the clubs in the UIAA, and I’d love to have the AAC lead this effort.” Harlin brings strong mountaineering, adventure, and journalism credentials to the AAJ. Harlin can be reached at aaj@americanalpineclub.org.