I dunno. I get Outside as part of an online service, so I don't have to subscribe directly. Ditto with Backpacker, etc. I gave up on 'em a long time ago about YA "Ten Best..." articles. But occasionally they still have some good stuff; and I thought the kayaking piece was good. My pals acted the same way when I was boating with 'em, so hard to get upset. I suspect a lot of the angst about the article was from folks who wanna make a living off it and figure the outlaw rep ain't that marketable. That's not Outside's problem, it's theirs.
And the guide thing was kinda lame; I agree. And I've heard better guide jokes. I'd think a more thoughtful article could be done about unprofessional "guiding," and in particular the struggle to get American climbing guiding on the same footing as international guiding, and the issues involving franchising/guiding in the US parks.
And it also reminds me of the "Valley Uprising" film. It was so filled with self-indulgent narcissistic ************** I could barely watch. And the cute let's party! themes in that (or say surfing) really wear out when you see how tweaking, alcoholism, and general loser behavior swallows up a lot of these "dudes." The dark side of risk sports (risky self absorbed behavior) gets ignored too often; at least Outside didn't hide it, although I'm waiting to see the industry come more to grips with it.