All the last-minute tasks have been taken care of, or at least I hope they have. It is amazing what can fall through the cracks, even when you believe you are paying close attention. So the book is off to the printers, to be published in October, just in time for prime conditions to begin outdoors and for those new to the sport to head to the gym. I have read through the book a number of times now and hope that others find it a useful guide to thinking constructively and more deeply about moving on rock in general, not just bouldering. There are tons of good photos from some of the best in the business and contributions from genuine legends such as Fred Nicole and current stars such as Daniel Woods.
In a way I am sorry to have to let go of it as writing a book is a kind of a chronic condition that you grow used to even as it causes a fair amount of pain and anxiety. I already have two or three ideas for the next one but short term my schedule will be packed with book promotion, article-writing, presenting at the Access Fund summit in Golden in September, and organizing a show of paintings here in Boulder for October. Not to mention training as hard as I can and hoping to get lucky in the Park in the next two months.
Other authors have been busy in the area of bouldering. Jamie Emerson's alpine bouldering guide is now available in hard copy form and recently I have been dipping into a book written by Francis Sanzaro, a climber who has done a bunch of bouldering in Colorado. Sanzaro's book is a series of meditations on bouldering, through a critical/philosophical lens. I will be corresponding more with the author about this book in the near future and hope to get some perspective on the project to share with readers.
