# Long shot: Two Reader's Digest articles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-shot-two-readers-digest-articles/730433 "2015-09-09T14:34:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-shot-two-readers-digest-articles/730433/1 "2015-09-09T14:34:35Z")
Article 1: Late 1980s to early 1990s. This was about a Soviet soldier who was taken to the place where the Romanovs were executed. As my memory tries to recollect, his supervisor tells him to look and remember, the idea [I think] being that he was trying to imply to him that this was a shameful part of their history without actually saying it. Article 2: Mid 1970s to mid 1980s: This was an article about a very dangerous mountain climb. It wasn’t Everest, K2, or any of the highest peaks, although I do recall it was pretty high. The gist of the article [I think] was how it had a much higher death rate for climbers that Everest, K2, et al. Aaaaand. . . to forestall some smartalecky wiseacre : The GQ is ‘Can anyone help find the issues these appeared in?’ ---
**Author:** ![StarsApart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@StarsApart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarsApart)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-shot-two-readers-digest-articles/730433/2 "2015-09-09T16:27:32Z")
#1 may be “_Last mystery of the czar_,” printed in Reader’s Digest in 1995. The abstract: > [@](#): > > Gely Ryabov was instrumental in finding the remains of Czar Nicholas II of Russia and his family more than 70 years after they were executed by the Bolsheviks. The remains will be laid to rest in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in St. Petersburg. It may include the story you mentioned. There’s also “_The boy who dreamed of a palace_,” September 1993. > [@](#): > > Bobby Atchison has been fascinated by stories about Russia’s Romanovs and the Alexander Palace since he was a child. He organized the Committee to Restore the Alexander Palace and worked hard for the building’s renovation. He also conducted extensive research on the Romanov family. #2 sounds like it might be “_Meanest mountain on earth_”, May 1978, but there’s no abstract. [Somebody’s selling it on eBay](http://www.ebay.com/itm/Readers-Digest-May-1978-C-Chaplin-Vladimir-Horowitz-/311348223170). I found these through my library’s database, Gale PowerSearch. Maybe your library might have a more extensive search that contains the text of these articles. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-shot-two-readers-digest-articles/730433/3 "2015-09-09T17:15:15Z")
Thanks. Those sound very promising. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-shot-two-readers-digest-articles/730433/4 "2015-09-09T17:20:26Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Aaaaand. . . to forestall some smartalecky wiseacre : The GQ is ‘Can anyone help find the issues these appeared in?’ But since it’s about stories, it goes in CS. ---
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-shot-two-readers-digest-articles/730433/5 "2015-09-10T17:24:03Z")
Is the mountain **Annapurna**? That might help with your search.