Corey Buhay is a writer and editor based in Boulder, Colorado. She covers outdoor pursuits of all kinds but specializes in long essays and profiles revealing the grittier, messier sides of climbing and exploring its niche communities. Corey has been a member of the US Ice Climbing Team since 2018. She's a contributing editor to Summit Journal, and frequently appears in publications like Atlas Obscura, Smithsonian, and Outside. She is the co-author of several guidebooks. 

 

Q&A with SJ Contributing Editor Corey Buhay

Summit Journal: Your work featured in the last two issues and both pieces deal with the theme of an art that is practiced by a dwindling few (gear innovation and female solo aid climbers). How do you approach these stories so they are more broadly appealing (reaching beyond those who are currently committed to the craft, history buffs, etc.)? 

Corey: I think the secret is that I am not committed to either of these crafts, nor a history buff! So I just write what I find interesting and focus on the fun, quirky, weird bits. I think that everyone loves an adventure story. Those adventure anecdotes keep the piece entertaining, which helps buoy the dry facts. I also think everyone wants to learn how to be braver, more resilient, more creative, and better at being themselves. 

Whenever I interview someone, I basically ask them those questions: how did they become brave, strong, and self-actualized? I try to weave the answers into the story. It makes it more human and more relatable, so anyone—regardless of craft or historical knowledge—can connect to it.  

Summit Journal: How do you identify people to interview and how do you then decide who to structure the story around? 

Corey: I start with interviewing just one or two people that I've read about or already know. And I ask them who they think I should talk to. Everyone has a friend or a mentor or some guy they met in Squamish one time who's a total character. I follow the threads until I've interviewed someone who really fascinates me. 

When I'm on the phone with someone that I feel like I could talk to all day, that's usually a good indicator that they're a strong central character. I also look for someone with a strong narrative arc to their life or journey, and a lot of visual anecdotes that can help carry the story.

Summit Journal: You’re also into a fairly recondite discipline yourself — drytooling. Perhaps I’m forcing a theme, but are you drawn to more arcane topics? 

Corey: Haha no I think that's very fair. I'm drawn to drytooling because it's such a tight-knit community and filled with so many interesting and inspiring characters. It also takes me to some pretty crazy places to train and compete: abandoned train tunnels, Swiss caves, the underside of a Soviet-era ski jump, a youth police academy in Russia, a 1930s apple-picking crane, and a highway underpass the Nazis built to move troops through Czechia (just for starters).

If you like unique people and wild settings, it's really the perfect discipline.   

Summit Journal: What were you most excited and/or proud about in telling these stories?

Corey: I love talking to people who want to geek out about their craft. When I'm not writing about climbing, I do a lot of science writing, and that's my favorite thing about it. People are so excited about their small corner of the world, and I love sharing that excitement and passion with readers. I'm also really proud of being able to give crushers like Keiko Tanaka, Sílvia Vidal, and Hayley Ashburn some well-deserved limelight.

Summit Journal: You’ve been a freelance writer and journalist coming up on 10 years (according to your LinkedIn). What’s the SparkNotes version of how you became a writer? I

Corey: I sort of fell into it. I'd always written a lot as a kid (mostly short stories and novel-length bad fantasy) but went to college for chemistry. Partway through, I started to help run an outdoors club and the blog associated with that. A friend liked my writing and brought me on to write an outdoors column for the school newspaper. Things snowballed from there. Pretty soon I was interning at mags and getting small freelance gigs.

Summit Journal: How has the climbing media landscape changed since you first started?

Corey: For one thing, the nature of the publications have changed. We've seen some big mergers and lost some amazing mags over the last few years, but we've also seen the revival of really beautiful, literary, and large-format mags like Summit Journal and that sort of thing is gaining traction. People are increasingly hungry for good writing and photography that's not swimming in ads. I've also seen a lot of new voices in the space and a lot more nuanced discussion about what it means to be a climber. The industry is getting less white-male-dominated, and that's awesome to see. 

Summit Journal: What can Summit Journal readers expect to see from you next? 

Corey: The next story I'm working on is part evolutionary physiology, part climber profile and spans the globe—from World War II Germany to Vietnam to modern-day Paris...

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 Feature Image: A spread from Summit Journal 321, featuring a photo of Angela Vanwiemeersch and Bronwyn Hodgins Photo by Savannah Cummins.