It is the end of an era in the Bow Valley publication world with the announcement that Highline Magazine will no longer publish its celebrated tome to mountain culture anymore after spending eight years bringing stories and photos of people getting out and enjoying life.
As it turns out, the time it takes to put out a magazine of its calibre to showcase mountain culture and adventure means there is less and less time for those involved to actually enjoy it themselves.
Highline publisher Kristy Davison said the purpose behind the magazine was to be a voice for people of the Rockies and inspire people to “love this place as much as we do so that they will take care of it and each other.”
Davison said that ambitious endeavour’s spirit will continue on – even if the magazine has reached its final destination.
“I know when the magazine shuts down, that community is still there – it is not going away,” she said. “Those connections have been made and forged and I am excited to see what comes out of the vortex we have created with Highline.”
Highline Magazine was born, like many great endeavours, out of a conversation during a road trip between Davison and friend Erin Cipollone. They began talking about what each would do if money was not a concern.
“We both said we would want to start a magazine and we were like ‘oh sh--,’ ” Davison said. “It was one of those moments where I knew we were going to do this.
“It was terrifying, it was exciting, it was totally crazy because neither of us had ever worked at a magazine before.”
That freshness and naďve approach to the world of publishing is what she credits for their ability to start Highline and keep it going for eight years. Davison had a photography degree and Cipollone a journalism background – it was a good fit for the pair who at one time even lived together while putting together all aspects of the magazine, like ad sales, marketing, editorial and a website.
When Cipollone left in 2011, Davison kept going with Highline as a dedicated publication about mountain culture and intentionally looking for “weird stuff,” which she said there is no shortage of when they started looking for it.
“Part of the inspiration was to have a more unconventional perspective on story telling and so we were always naturally gravitating towards and always looked for perspectives you would not hear anywhere else,” Davison said.
But one thing many readers who have enjoyed the stories and photos in their pages and on their website might not realize is that the efforts put into Highline by its staff were voluntary. As a publication, it was put together through blood, sweat and tears by those who believed in it and the stories it told.
“A lot of people think there is a rich person behind it,” she said. “There never has been. It has always been, seriously, blood, sweat and tears making this happen with volunteer hours – all this time was just seriously out of love.”
For Davison, it has reached a point of personal investment of time and money where she is ready to step back and take a break. A longtime local Canmore resident, she was recently married and is looking forward to focusing on new pursuits.
Looking back, she said it is the people she has met and gotten to know along the way that has been the real reward and it is one that will never go away, even if Highline is no longer on the racks.
The legacy of the work will live on through the Highline Indie Music Award – a $1,000 purse to go towards the cost of recording for a local artist that has been created through partnership with the Banff Coffee House. Applications are due March 20 and can be accessed at highlineonline.ca.
And, of course, there is the Know Your Neighbour Night – an event created out of the spirit of what Highline does to connect mountain people in the communities of Canmore and Banff with each other.
Davison said that event will continue to unite people in the Bow Valley – carrying on the legacy of the work Highline can be credited for – creating a place where mountain culture can coalesce.
There is a Know Your Neighbour event planned to commemorate the end of Highline as a publication on April 2, at which the Indie Music Award will be announced. Tickets available at highlineonline.ca.
