Jeff Achey on Aegialis 7c 30m, Grande Grotta

Boulder, CO. – March 31, 2010 – Skram Media has announced the appointment of Jeff Achey as Editor of Climbing Magazine. Achey brings to the table an extensive background of knowledge in magazine publishing, editing and climbing. In previous years, Achey has worked as Photo Editor, Editor, and Editor-at-Large for Climbing, and launched climbing.com.

“I have deep roots with this title and feel very privileged to be reunited with Climbing,” said Achey.

“As soon as Jeff started as guest editor of Climbing’s fortieth anniversary issue, his passion for Climbing magazine was apparent for all to see. The team immediately responded to his experience and leadership, and it has been an absolute privilege to work with him,” said Skram Media founder Mark Crowther.

“I couldn’t be more delighted that we can welcome Jeff back to the Climbing family, bringing his unparalleled blend of passion for the mountains, editorial acumen, and leadership to the company,” Crowther added.

Contact information for Skram Media’s Boulder-based editorial team:
* Jeff Achey, Editor, Climbing Magazine: ja@climbing.com
* Andrew Tower, Editor, Urban Climber Magazine: andrew@urbanclimbermag.com
* Amanda Fox, Associate Editor Online: afox@skrammedia.com
* Julie Ellison, Associate Editor Equipment: jellison@skrammedia.com.com
* Dougald MacDonald, Editor Online News: dmacdonald@skrammedia.com

Justin Roth moves to Communications Manager with Petzl America.

About Climbing Magazine:
Founded in 1970, Climbing Magazine is the largest-circulation climbing  magazine in North America. Skram Media, publisher of Climbing, leads the industry by providing a portfolio of highly read multiplatform  editorial products, reaching over 330,000 readers monthly and many more  online. With the acquisition of Mountain Gazette in Fall 2008, Skram  Media provides advertisers the opportunity to reach the full spectrum of outdoor enthusiasts.

The technology optimizes the web pages in a format designed for mobile devices. The mobile sites are accessed in the same way as the website, by typing the URL into the mobile device’s browser which then renders pages in a format designed for mobile viewing. The mobile home page offers a summary of recent stories; and, all pages can be navigated to through the main mobile home page.

“This mobile solution allows us to offer another entry point to our sites, and another way we are leading the way on reaching new devices. We expect it to be a big hit and drive tons of online traffic,” said Kevin Riley, Skram Media’s Associate Publisher.

About Skram Media:
Skram Media leads the industry by providing a portfolio of highly read multiplatform outdoor editorial products, including Climbing magazine, Climbing.com, Urban Climber Magazine, UrbanClimberMag.com, MyUCTV.com, Mountain Gazette and MountainGazette.com.  The portfolio provides synergy between print and digital properties, reaching over 330,000 readers monthly and many more online.  With the acquisition of Mountain Gazette magazine in 2008, Skram Media provides advertisers the opportunity to reach the full spectrum of outdoor enthusiasts.  For more information, please visit: skrammedia.com.

Mark Crowther, Founder, CEO, Skram Media

The biggest impact for Skram Media on back-end technology has been Salesforce.com. We have a custom install of Salesforce which has had a massive impact on efficiency across the board‹ad sales, production and billing. In early 2007, after we acquired Climbing Magazine, I knew we needed to invest in a CRM that could ensure the sales team spent as much time selling (and as little time administering the sale) as possible. My ad sales manager at the time, Kevin Riley, who is now associate publisher, came from a software sales background where he had used Salesforce.com. So with his input and the help of BlueWolf we developed a magazine specific custom install of Salesforce. In addition, as we¹re a Mac environment, we integrated an application from Conga to mail merge out of Salesforce to our standard IO. That cut down the IO preparation time from minutes to seconds. We also installed the echosign app into Salesforce, which allows e-signing of IOs‹immediately speeding up the signing process and also assisting with a paperless archive of the IOs to log with finance, sales and production.

We also maintain our database of climbing gyms and outdoor stores in Salesforce, and we run all our sales from our marketing to that customer base through Salesforce. As a Web-based solution, all our sales reps can log in and work from Salesforce. There is also a mobile application, so when you¹re on a road trip you can look at account history and log call notes. It’s become the spine of the company.

In terms of our Web sites and digital content, I really like the “Unity” approach of Zinio, and I say that as an example to other vendors to offer publishers total solutions. Spending time searching out solutions for different elements of a Web site, be it video or social media apps, and trying to integrate them into existing platforms is time consuming and expensive. And often the expense of integration kills the opportunity.

Download a PDF of the story here.

“Climbing Magazine’s first issue was the May 1970, so we talked about celebrating the 40th Anniversary with a special issue to coincide with the May 2010 issue for a while, and, of course, Jeff came immediately to mind,” said Climbing Publisher Mark Crowther. “Jeff’s been a prominent figure in the American climbing scene since the 1970s and editorial protégé of Climbing’s longtime editor Michael Kennedy, all of which makes him the perfect guest editor. The editorial team is excited to have his involvement and voice in this special issue.”

Achey has been a prominent figure in the American climbing scene, with many first ascents and first free ascents to his credit. He has an extensive journalistic and photographic background that includes posts at Climbing as Photo Editor, Editor-at-Large, and Editor-in-Chief.

“Looking back on 40 years of Climbing, one constant I can trace is my connection to this magazine. When I first discovered this sport, Climbing was my inspiration, its stories and photos filling me with dreams of adventure. Climbing published my first-ever article, in 1978. Now, it’s an honor to give back to Climbing and climbing by editing this special 40th anniversary issue,” commented Achey.

About Climbing Magazine:
Founded in 1970, Climbing Magazine is the largest-circulation climbing magazine in North America. Skram Media, publisher of Climbing, leads the industry by providing a portfolio of highly read multiplatform editorial products, reaching over 330,000 readers monthly and many more online. With the acquisition of Mountain Gazette in Fall 2008, Skram Media provides advertisers the opportunity to reach the full spectrum of outdoor enthusiasts.

Consumer enthusiast publisher Harris Publishing recently started using the new Mygazines Mobile service, which uses the mobile Web browser (rather than creating device-specific apps) to offer digital editions across mobile devices ranging from the iPhone to the Android.

“We’re trying to find extra ways for our subscribers to get the content of the magazines,” says Chris Searle, digital manager and graphic designer with Harris. “We’re giving them multiples ways to view it or access it at their convenience. When we were looking at digital magazines, we didn’t want it to be another Web page full of additional information. We wanted to make sure it still had the look and feel of the magazine with its own identity.”

Harris is using Mygazines Mobile with Houseboat magazine, and Searle says the publisher hopes to get some hands-on feedback from readers at an upcoming houseboat show. “This is very new for us, especially on the mobile side,” he adds. “For online content, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in subscriptions and readership. This is a whole new market we’re been tapping into.”

While Mygazines Mobile looks like an app, it runs off any mobile browser (and is offered without additional charge). Similar features are available for the mobile editions, allowing readers to flip pages, zoom in up to three times, share and social bookmark.

“A lot of our publishers send out e-delivery notifications that a new issue is available and include a link to that issue in the e-mail,” says Mygazines CEO Yoav Schwartz. “Up until now, readers would have had to click on that e-mail while at their desktop. Now we’ve blurred those lines—wherever they receive the email, they can click on the link and the digital edition will open up. If you’re a subscriber to a magazine, you want to access that content wherever you are.”

Mygazines Mobile auto-detects the device trying to open the content and converts it. “Aside from a small screen, when you’re on a mobile device, you don’t have broadband,” says Schwartz. “The amount of data you have to download is pretty small compared to what you’d have to download on the big screen. We have to dynamically resize the data to fit the screen.”

The Search for “Total Solutions”

Skram Media has signed up with Zinio’s “Unity” platform, which uses an intelligent reader and develops apps for devices ranging from PC to laptop to tablet and iPhone. “Growing the reach of our magazines is the key focus for 2010,” says Skram Media founder and CEO Mark Crowther. “We need to be offering as many entry points to our content as we can if we are to grow the audiences and the sports we publish into, as well as developing new ways for existing readers and subscribers to interact and consume content. The computer-based page-flipper digital magazine is well trodden; the key focus in my mind needs to be having the content available to readers on any device they want, and to avoid the hassle of having to have separate solutions for each device.”

Crowther is looking for vendors to offer publishers total solutions. “Spending time searching out solutions for different elements of a Web site, be it video or social media apps, and trying to integrate them into existing platforms is time consuming and expensive,” he says. “And often the expense of integration kills the opportunity.”

http://www.foliomag.com/2010/moving-toward-device-independence © 2009 Red 7 Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

“We are excited to partner with Zinio and offer our readers access to their favorite magazines whenever they want and wherever they are,” said Mark Crowther, Founder & CEO of Skram Media.  ”The computer is no longer the single entry-point for digital editions, and once Zinio launched their iPhone application (zinio.com/iphone) earlier this month, their technology reached the device-agnostic point we were seeking in a digital-publishing partner.”

Starting with the February 2010 issues, enthusiasts will be able to enjoy Climbing, Urban Climber and Mountain Gazette magazines on PC, Mac, netbook, touch-screen and tablet devices.  Following the initial launch, the three titles also will be available on the iPhone and iPod touch, as well.  As other publishers continue to launch titles individually on separate platforms, by partnering with Zinio, Skram Media will offer its magazines digitally and iPhone-ready, with content optimized for the screen on which it is being read.

“We are pleased that Skram Media selected Zinio for expanding their readers’ options to encompass both a digital and mobile reading experience,” said Richard Maggiotto, President & CEO, Zinio.  “As their titles cater to an active fanbase and readership, the convergence of this audience with mobile content offers an exciting outlook on a worldwide basis.”

The digital editions of Skram Media’s magazines will be accessible through zinio.com, starting early February 2010.

About Skram Media:

Skram Media leads the industry by providing a portfolio of highly read multiplatform outdoor editorial products, including Climbing magazine, Climbing.com, Urban Climber Magazine, UrbanClimberMag.com, MyUCTV.com, Mountain Gazette and MountainGazette.com.  The portfolio provides synergy between print and digital properties, reaching over 330,000 readers monthly and many more online.  With the acquisition of Mountain Gazette magazine in 2008, Skram Media provides advertisers the opportunity to reach the full spectrum of outdoor enthusiasts.  For more information, please visit: skrammedia.com.

About Zinio:

Zinio is revolutionizing reading. Through digital products and services, the Company creates better ways for people to discover published content, get more of it and do more with it.  Zinio works closely with publishers worldwide to reinvent reading.  For consumers, Zinio enables the ability to shop for, search inside, read, share and save digital content in new ways and on many devices.  With over 50,000 digital magazines and books, and e-stores localized in 15 languages, zinio.com is the largest newsstand in the world.  Founded in 2001 and privately held, Zinio is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in New York, London, Paris, Barcelona and Taipei.

For more information, please contact:
Mark Crowther
mark.crowther@skrammedia.com
212-691-2927 x101

Riley joined Skram Media as Advertising Sales Manager in February 2007 and built a sales team that has contributed to all three magazines’ and their websites’ current success, with online sales up 45 percent.  In early 2009 Riley relocated to Boulder, CO taking lead responsibility with a number of Skram Media’s significant Colorado-based partners.

“Kevin’s well-rounded sales and events background has given him the incredible knowledge and tools to manage this position,” says Crowther. “He has an enthusiastic passion for the magazine business and climbing, which is why we are the perfect home for his talents. I am delighted to have seen him grow and take on more responsibility.”

Kevin has been directly involved with managing key advertising partnerships, development of a market-leading CRM solution, ongoing efforts to enhance Skram Media’s online sites: climbing.com, urbanclimbermag.com, mountaingazette.com and UCTV, as well as nurturing key partnerships including The Access Fund, USA Climbing, Teva Mountain Games, UClimb and the Reel Rock Film Tour.

Prior to joining Skram Media, Riley worked in retail sales for Moosejaw Mountaineering, and software sales with Acronis.

About Skram Media:
Skram Media leads the industry by providing a portfolio of highly read multiplatform outdoor editorial products, including Climbing magazine, Climbing.com, Urban Climber Magazine, UrbanClimberMag.com, MyUCTV.com, Mountain Gazette and MountainGazette.com.  The portfolio provides synergy between print and digital properties, reaching over 330,000 readers monthly and many more online.  With the acquisition of Mountain Gazette magazine in 2008, Skram Media provides advertisers the opportunity to reach the full spectrum of outdoor enthusiasts.  For more information, please visit: skrammedia.com.

Climbing’s 6% bonus circulation is in contrast to the performance of the number-two magazine in the same category, Rock & Ice. According to Rock & Ice’s Statement of Ownership published in its January 2010 issue, the magazine’s average circulation per-issue in 2009 was 24,778, 18% short of the circulation commitment made in the magazine’s media kit at the start of the year. Rock & Ice’s shortfall is equivalent to 47,673 less copies in circulation.

Climbing Magazine’s average per issue circulation — the only ABC-audited circulation in the category — has exceeded 40,000 copies every year for the last two-years – having grown 19 percent between 2007 and 2009. Over the same period, Rock & Ice magazine’s average circulation has fallen 9% to 24,778.

About Climbing Magazine:
Founded in 1970, Climbing Magazine is the largest-circulation climbing magazine in North America. Skram Media, publisher of Climbing, leads the industry by providing a portfolio of highly read multiplatform editorial products, reaching over 330,000 readers monthly and many more online. With the acquisition of Mountain Gazette in Fall 2008, Skram Media provides advertisers the opportunity to reach the full spectrum of outdoor enthusiasts.

“This program is creative and delivers real value to potential attendees of OR,” said Kenji Haroutunian, Outdoor Retailer Show Director. “Climbing Magazine will be helping us connect on a regular basis with all the key buyers, decisions makers and influencers, and Urban Climber Magazine will help us connect with the new and rapidly growing segment of buyers from climbing gyms and recreational centers,” Haroutunian added.

“It’s a perfect partnership,” said Skram Media publisher Mark Crowther. “Climbing has been the most read climbing magazine since 1970, and Urban Climber defined a new segment of gym-bred climbers when the magazine launched in 2004. Joining with Outdoor Retailer on this partnership emboldens the commitment of both magazines to the demographics and markets they serve.”

Published ten times per year, Climbing Magazine is the most read climbing magazine in North America. Urban Climber Magazine, published nine times a year, is the leading youth-focused climbing magazine.

About Outdoor Retailer
Outdoor Retailer, produced by Nielsen Business Media’s Sports Group, is the leading outdoor industry business-to-business trade event, bringing together top manufacturers, retailers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of the recreational outdoors. Currently in its 26th successful year, OR gathers approximately 40,000 attendees on a semi-annual basis for both Fall/Winter/Holiday and Spring/Summer markets. The Nielsen Business Media Sports Group, which includes the Outdoor Retailer, Interbike, Action Sports Retailer (ASR) and Fly Fishing Retailer trade shows, is headquartered in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Nielsen Business Media is part of The Nielsen Company, a global information and media company. For more information, please visit: www.nielsen.com.

About Skram Media
Skram Media leads the industry by providing a portfolio of highly read multiplatform outdoor editorial products, including Climbing Magazine, Climbing.com, Urban Climber Magazine, UrbanClimberMag.com, MyUCTV.com, Mountain Gazette, and MountainGazette.com. The portfolio provides synergy between print and digital properties, reaching over 330,000 readers monthly and many more online. With the acquisition of Mountain Gazette in 2008, Skram Media provides advertisers the opportunity to reach the full spectrum of outdoor enthusiasts. For more information, please visit: www.skrammedia.com.

“I’m delighted that 2009 is the most productive ARI year in the programs six year history”, commented Mark Crowther Skram Media’s Publisher. “Thanks to the support of The North Face and Petzl, the ARI continues to make a real difference to the climbing community”, he added.

“In addition to the year on year build up of grassroots knowledge and know-how, we launched three new initiatives at the start of 2009: an ARI road trip which we plan to repeat next year, a social media program through twitter, and a new editorial section in Climbing Magazine, Anchored, which profiles ARI volunteers and their work,” Crowther commented.

“This is a great accomplishment,” says Kevin Riley, Skram Media’s ARI Program Manager, “The goal of the ARI is to ensure the safest anchors possible on routes of all levels at the country’s most popular crags. The ARI’s continued success this year means another major step forward in safety for climbers.”

John Evans, Marketing Director for Petzl America, added, “One look at the anchors replaced by the ARI and it’s obvious how valuable this program is.”

About the ARI
The Anchor Replacement Initiative (ARI) is an industry-supported and industry-driven program that serves the U.S. climbing community by systematically replacing worn-out or inadequate belay and rappel anchors. The ARI is a network of climbing community activists, who are familiar with the needs at their areas and have the expertise and judgment to replace existing belay and rappel stations. Since the Anchor Replacement Initiative’s (ARI) establishment in 2003, supported by Climbing Magazine, The North Face, Petzl and countless volunteers across the country have touched 30 different destinations, maintaining over 1,500 anchors. For more: climbing.com/community/ari and twitter.com/ClimbingARI.

About The North Face®
The North Face®, a subsidiary of VF Corp., was founded in 1966 and opened its first retail store in 1968. Headquartered in San Leandro, California, the company offers the most technically advanced products in the market to accomplished climbers, mountaineers, extreme skiers, and explorers. The company’s products are sold in specialty mountaineering, backpacking, and skiing retailers, premium-sporting goods retailers, and major outdoor-specialty retail chains. Additional information about The North Face® can be found on the company’s website, www.thenorthface.com.

About Petzl
Petzl America is the U.S. division of Petzl, headquartered in France. Petzl America, based in Clearfield, Utah, has been recognized by Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work 2008. For over 50 years, Petzl has been developing innovative tools and techniques used by those entering the vertical world. Today, the Petzl brand is closely associated with adventure, exploration, rescue, and many notable exploits in the worlds of rock climbing and alpinism. Petzl climbing hardware and headlamps can be found in outdoor specialty shops and premium sporting goods retailers around the world. For more information, visit: www.petzl.com.

About Skram Media
Skram Media leads the industry by providing a portfolio of highly read multiplatform outdoor editorial products, including Climbing Magazine, Climbing.com, Urban Climber Magazine, UrbanClimberMag.com, MyUCTV.com, Mountain Gazette, and MountainGazette.com. The portfolio provides synergy between print and digital properties, reaching over 330,000 readers monthly and many more online. With the acquisition of Mountain Gazette in Fall 2008, Skram Media provides advertisers the opportunity to reach the full spectrum of mountain and outdoor enthusiasts.

For more information, please contact:
Mark Crowther
mark.crowther@skrammedia.com
212-691-2927 x101