The Covers of New Mountain Magazine

by Izzy Wedderburn

We've never really followed any classic media trends when it comes to front cover images. We go with our gut, and choose a good photo, with an even better backstory. So we thought it was time to share a little bit about each image, the reasoning behind each cover, and why we picked it to go on the front.

The image on the cover of Issue 01 was never destined to become the first cover of a new independent adventure publication. Photographed by Evan Ruderman in the Sierra Valley, it was a moment captured on his trusted point-and-shoot while hiking with friends.

Choosing a magazine cover is hard enough, but choosing the first cover anyone would see, and one that would set the tone for what was to come, was even harder. We chose it simply because it felt real. It showed a messy boot, an image and a situation so many of us outdoorsy folk find ourselves in, both before and after an adventure. A weekend hiking with friends, in this instance, but it could just as easily have been any number of other outdoor moments.

Thanks to Evan for sharing such an honest image with us. And even better, it was shot on 35mm.

How do you follow Issue 01? Choosing the first cover was one thing, but choosing the second was almost as important. Issue 01 had set the tone for what New Mountain could be, and Issue 02 needed to carry that forward while opening the door to something new.

For Issue 02, we put renowned adventure photographer Chris Burkard on the cover, photographed in Iceland by Joel Barger, again on 35mm. Chris is a familiar name in the outdoor world, known for documenting some of the world's most remote landscapes. But we wanted to show another side of adventure: not just the photographer behind the lens, but the person out there living it.

As Chris put it:

“On my back there’s a pair of skis, poles, a packraft, paddle, tent, sleeping bag, ice axe, crampons, crevasse rescue kit, two headlamps, a parka, trash from eight days on the glacier, and more. Overall about 80lbs, but feeling as light as air in the joy of this moment at the end of the traverse from the west edge of the Vatnajökull glacier to the east coastline of Iceland by Vestrahorn.”

Beneath the reputation and the photographs, there's simply a person with a backpack full of adventure, completely immersed in the moment.

We're grateful to Chris for believing in New Mountain from the very beginning, and for being part of the journey. Issue 02 felt like a natural continuation of the first: a reminder that adventure is about the people who experience it.

For Issue 03, we decided to mix things up. Issues 01 and 02 both featured a human presence on the cover, reflecting our belief that people are at the heart of New Mountain and the stories we tell. This time, we turned our attention to the landscape itself.

Captured in Chile by photographer and endurance athlete Sami Sauri during one of her hike-to-bike adventures, the image felt like a natural fit. Beautiful and calm, it offered a different kind of invitation into the issue. No person in the frame, but a sense of adventure all the same – a reminder of the places that draw us outside, and the feeling of being somewhere new.

And finally, Issue 04, our most recent cover, and probably the most unconventional and uncommercial cover. An image taken in 1984 of CJ Sturtevant, captured by her husband George at Tiger Mountain in Washington USA.

CJ and George met climbing in the early ’70s and went on to build a life around mountains, flying, travelling and above all, having fun.

Now approaching 80 years old, CJ is still flying. She still sticks out her thumb for a lift to the top of the mountain, clips into her wing and heads back into the sky.

But CJ’s story isn’t really about flying. It’s about never becoming too concerned with what you’re supposed to do. She finds something she loves and keeps doing it.

We thought that was a pretty powerful message, especially in the world we live in, where we are being pushed and pulled in so many directions and being told what is 'right'.

Do your own thing.