Through the Magpie Eye: Old Climbing Magazine Covers

A scraggly haired man in pink flares is clinging nervously to a cliff-face, fully aware that one foul move could mean a dip in the drink and an afternoon spent walking back to the car in wet bell-bottoms. What are we talking about? Why, it’s the front cover of the July 1979 issue of Climber & Rambler magazine, of course. Like what John Peel famously said about The Fall, late 70s/early 80s climbing mag’ covers are always different, always the same, with pretty much every front cover featuring a whole lotta rock, a tiny climber fettling about with ropes and not a lot else. But what else do you need anyway?