“Switchbacks” is a department of Trail & Timberline magazine that provides a forum for extended comment by members of the Colorado Mountain Club. “Switchbacks” articles can be thought of as either extended “letters to the editor” or as mid-length op-ed pieces. Below are guidelines for preparing a “Switchbacks” article for publication in T&T.

Purpose:

Writers of “Switchbacks” articles generally have as a purpose the persuasion of the club membership to their point of view and a consequent change in behavior on the part of readers. Articles are also intended to generate comment, either favorable or unfavorable.

Mechanical guidelines:

“Switchbacks” articles should be about five to seven hundred words in length. The preferred submission medium is as an e-mail attachment of a computer file in virtually any word processor format. Alternately, articles can be e-mailed as text, faxed (to 303-279-9690), or mailed (to T&T, 710 10^th St., Ste. 200, Golden, CO 80401). Photographs are desirable but not necessary. Photos can be submitted as prints, slides, or negatives, either color or black and white through the US mail or dropped off at the club. Digital/scanned images are not accepted.

Editorial guidelines:

Editorial content of Trail & Timberline is governed by the mission statement of the CMC, which reads:

The Colorado Mountain Club is organized to:

• unite the energy, interest, and knowledge of the students, explorers, and lovers of the mountains of Colorado;
• collect and disseminate information regarding the Rocky Mountains on behalf of science, literature, art, and recreation;
• stimulate public interest in our mountain area;
• encourage the preservation of forests, flowers, fauna, and natural scenery; and
• render readily accessible the alpine attractions of this region.

The audience for Trail & Timberline magazine is the 10,000+ membership of the Colorado Mountain Club, plus libraries, the Colorado congressional delegation, and interested non-members in all fifty states, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Demographically, the largest segment of the population of the CMC is between 40 and 55 years of age with a combined family income of $50-$100,000. More than fifty percent of the membership holds at least an undergraduate degree, and more than a quarter of the membership holds a master’s or doctorate.

Although “Switchbacks” articles receive a minimum of editing in order to preserve the writer’s voice, they are nevertheless subject to the editorial oversight of the Publications Manager and published at his discretion.

Ideally, writers should contact the editor at beckwt@cmc.org (Tom Beckwith, 303-996-2745 or 800-633-4417, ext. 105) to discuss the proposed article prior to submission. This is not a requirement, however.

Feel free to contact the editor if you have further questions or need clarification about any issues raised above.