VOCJ52

The Varsity Outdoor Club Journal Volume 52
<< VOCJ51	2009-2010	VOCJ53 >>
Kristin Warkentin  Journal Editor

Article	Page	Author(s)	Index
President's Message	1
Editor's Message	2

Contributing to VOCJ 52

Submit an article

• Deadline: FEBRUARY 20^th, 2010 (unless otherwise arranged with the editor)
• Remember: each submission counts as a workhike
• You can write about anything related to the outdoors—preferably involving some sort of self-propelled activity. Ideally an article would be 500–2000 words. E-mail it to Kristin Warkentin (kriswark at gmail dot com) as a .doc, .rtf, or .txt attachment. Don't forget to include a title.
• If possible, submit photos (in as high a resolution as possible—preferably 300 dpi or better) to accompany your article. Please include a short descriptive caption and a photo credit. Photos should be TIFFs, JPEGs, PNGs or EPSs and sent as separate attachments.
• Before submitting, read over your article and at least spellcheck it. Although your article will be edited, you'll endear yourself to the editor if you make it as painless as possible to clean up.
• If you'd like to write something but don't have any ideas, consider signing up for one of the articles in the list below.

Submit photos

• Colour photos should in TIFF, JPEG, or EPS format, in as high a resolution as possible. Include a descriptive caption and a photo credit. Either e-mail the photos to Kristin Warkentin (kriswark at gmail dot com) or send her a link to the specific images in the photo gallery. (Editor will ignore any submissions consisting of "Just use any of the photos in my album" or any similarly vague requests.)

Suggest advertisers

Although part of the budget is allocated to the journal, we still have to cover part of the printing and distribution costs by selling ads. We'd like to support local businesses (including those in Squamish and Whistler and other places VOCers frequently visit) that share the VOC's philosophy of access and sustainability. If you can think of any appropriate businesses or organizations we could approach, let Kristin know.

Suggest current VOCers we should harass for articles

Did you read a particularly entertaining trip report that might make a good article? Post the author and trip below. Serious suggestions only, please—no one needs to see the Waddington collage again...

• Piotr: A Year in the Closet -Reflections of a Quarter Master:

Sign up for one of these stories

If you have an original idea for an article, write that up and submit that first. If you don't have any ideas or have already submitted an article and are hankerin' to do more writing, consider writing about one of the topics below. This is a bit of an experiment to see if we can encourage submissions, cover key VOC events, and avoid getting, like, fourteen articles about Longhike, say.

If someone's already signed up for something you want to write about, you can get in touch with that person—if your articles are significantly different, or if you agree to collaborate, you can sign up as well. (This list is not exhaustive and is constantly being updated. Check back frequently.)

Topics (Name)

• Red Rocks Reading Week Trip 2009:
• Meet and Greet the VOCO @ Phelix!:
• Intro to Ice Climbing 2009:
• Sicktastic Powderfest 2009:
• Brew Bitch Trip:
• VOC Banquet 2009:
• Son of Rock 2009:
• Climbing Wall Competition 2009:
• Introduction to rock climbing rescue techniques 2009:
• Skaha May long weekend 2009:
• Brian Waddington Hut Renovations:
• Semi Alcoholic Traverse: Lisa
• Beginner friendly trip to Elsay Lake:
• Beginner friendly trip to Mt. Price:
• BC Day '09 Long Weekend: Tantalus Range: Ran Z (Red Tit-Tantalus Chapter)
• Summer Neve Crossing: Gili Rosenberg
• Mountaineering Camp 2009:
• Glacier School 2009:
• Beginner Friendly Scramble to Needle Peak:
• Indian Arm Kayak 2009:
• Longhike 2009:
• Garibaldi Lake/Panorama Ridge:
• Intro to backcountry hotsprings 2009:
• Skaha Halloween 2009:
• Backcountry Avalanche Workshop 2009:
• MEC clubs night:
• Smith Rock Climbing Trip 2009:
• Intro to wilderness survival:
• Winter Social 2009:
• Wilderness First Aid:
• Brian Waddington Hut New Year 2010:
• Winter Longhike 2010:
• Tele School 2010:
• Intro to Backcountry Skiing 2010:
• Beginner Ski Trip Feb 6-7, 2010:
• Sphinx Ski Camp 2010:
• Various Advanced Avalanche courses 2009-10:

FAQs

* When should I submit my article?
If it's ready now, by all means, submit it now. Otherwise you have until February 20^th, 2010, but the earlier you submit, the better. Any articles submitted later than the deadline will not make it into the journal.
* How many articles can I submit?
Well, try to submit one, at least. Submit as many articles as you'd like, but if you send in more than two, be prepared to have some of your articles cut, since we'd like everyone to have an opportunity to have an article printed.
* How do I submit articles and photos?
Send them to Kristin Warkentin (kriswark at gmail dot com) as attachments. Be sure to include your full name somewhere, either in the body of the e-mail or in the article itself, especially if you have a cryptic username like jizzmonkey69.
* How does a VOCJ article differ from a trip report?
A trip report can be a VOCJ article, but a VOCJ article needn't be a trip report. And rather than just copying and pasting your TR into a file and submitting it, you could make the editor happy by making sure that the article is coherent and has a clear beginning and conclusion.
* Does my story have to be an epic?
Not at all. A good journal article will inform or entertain—perhaps both—and although epics are natural fodder for entertaining stories, trip stories where everything goes smoothly can be just as fresh and edifying. Conversely, an epic, poorly written up, does not a good article make.
* What will you do to my article once I submit it?
The editor will fact-check proper names and edit the article for spelling (per Canadian Oxford Dictionary), grammar, style (per Chicago Manual), usage, and clarity. She may also suggest structural changes (moving paragraphs around) for better flow and cuts for length and conciseness. If necessary the editor will also eliminate libel and other inappropriate content.
* How will the editing process work?
The copy editors will edit your article electronically and send it back to you, with queries if something needs to be clarified. You'll have three days to go over the edited article and return it to the editor. Please don't rewrite the article at this stage—only answer the queries and make changes just to correct an outright error.
* Will you crop my photos?
The designer may have to crop your photos to fit, yes. If you want to insist that your image not be cropped, submit it with your desired crop and specify in the body of the e-mail to which the image is attached that you don't want it cropped. We'll do our best to accommodate your wishes. Note that all photos submitted will more likely than not be resized.
* What resolution do the photos have to be?
Photos that accompany an article should be at least 300 dpi at 4.5 inches (11.5 cm) wide. Stand-alone photos for the colour sections should be at least 300 dpi at about 6 inches (15.25 cm) wide. However, when you submit your photos, simply submit them in as high a resolution as possible and let the designer worry about converting them. You can lose photo quality if you convert them improperly or save them in an inappropriate format.
* Can I submit photos with nudity or use swear words in my article?
Expecting the journal to be devoid of nudity would be a bit delusional. However, the journal will be going out to some respectable types, so the decorum should be kept somewhat high. Decorum is kind of relative, though, so in short: tasteful nudity only. And make sure that all parties in the photo (nude or not) have given you permission to reproduce their image in a publication that will be archived for posterior. Er, posterity. As for swear words, some epics are definitely expletive-worthy, and the editor's not out to censor anyone. But, as with any (ahem) literary device, if you abuse expletives they'll lose their impact. Use only what you need to get your point across.

VOCJ 52 Style sheet

This is just for reference. If you're a kind soul you'll try to follow it, but if you don't, it's fine. The copy editors will fix inconsistencies in editing. But if you try to dispute an editorial decision that's specified on this style sheet, the style sheet will win.

• use Canadian spelling (per Canadian Oxford Dictionary)
• use series comma
• use active voice whenever possible
• avoid using "this" and "that" as pronouns rather than demonstrative adjectives
• don't use emoticons and gratuitous exclamation points. If you do they will be unceremoniously eliminated
• give full names in the first mentions of any people in your article
• give full names for the first mentions of any potentially unfamiliar acronyms
• use single spaces after all punctuation
• use metric units; or at least give a metric conversion to any imperial units you use
• spell out numbers from one to one hundred and all higher round numbers consisting of two words or fewer (e.g., "fourteen thousand"); use numerals for everything else, and use a comma in figures with four or more digits. (e.g., 2,568). Exception: use numerals when using decimals, metric units (e.g., 400 m, 30 km), and percentages (e.g., 28 per cent—note that "per cent" is spelled out as two words)
• it's "gaiters," kids—not "gators." Unless you're actually talking about alligators.