Climbing
Out of Bed, the first book from Luke Mehall, will be released on Wednesday,
July 4th. It will be initially released as an e-book on Kindle, followed by the
printed version. Climbing Out of Bed
is a collection of rock climbing and mountain town stories, written over the
last 13 years.
The muses of Mehall’s pieces are
the people who make up the rock climbing and mountain town culture. Originally
hailing from Illinois, Mehall moved to Colorado in 1999 to attend Western State
College, in Gunnison. He describes the experience as being a lost soul who
floated to the mountains, and then discovered his true self. Many of the
stories in Climbing Out of Bed are
coming of age tales, especially when the author embarks into the unknown of the
rock climbing world.
There are 25 pieces in Climbing Out of Bed, and topics for
essays include: friendship, hitchhiking, couch surfing, buildering (climbing
buildings), road tripping, dumpster diving, extended camping experiences,
dirtbag living, love, loss, wanderlust, and Zen dishwashing
Mehall lived in the Gunnison Valley, Colorado
for 11 years, and now resides in Durango, Colorado, where he is a freelance
writer. He is also the publisher of The
Climbing Zine, an independent rock climbing publication. His work has been
published in Crested Butte Magazine, Rock
and Ice, Climbing, Mountain Gazette, foxsports.com, and Patagonia’s blog, The
Cleanest Line. He also worked at his alma mater, Western State College of
Colorado, for three years, as the assistant director of public relations and communications.
George Sibley, author of Dragons in Paradise and senior
correspondent to the Mountain Gazette,
says that Mehall’s writing makes him think of Jack Kerouac, on a good day. “I
don’t know anyone who writes with more enthusiasm, joy and honest about a life
that ranges from pearl diving in restaurant kitchen sinks all winter, to
climbing the big walls and spires of North America all summer and fall,” Sibley
said.
