Roadblocks

By the end of the summer, I had written the first chapter. I gave the chapter to Chris Dvonch and Bill Baxter to review, and turned my attention to the issue of surveys, brought up by Phil Sidel. I've made very little progress in my writing since.

Surveys

My original plan had been to include profiles of climbers. But Phil suggested a survey approach, even a non-scientific one, would be better. I did invest about two months into the survey question. The survey I posted to the ECP generated a large and interesting data set. So much so, that it would require many weeks to analyze.

My conclusion after having given surveys a try, and some reading in the social science arena is that I, as a scientist, cannot live with anything less than the perfect scientific survey, fully analyzed. The time I'd have to invest in that is way beyond the scope of writing an interesting and inspiring book in about one year.

I have been trying to find a compromise. My thinking right now is to utilize profiles plus a few brief non-scientific surveys addressing key questions posted to climbing forums such as mountainproject.com.

Chapter 1

Chris raised several issues which I have been thinking about for many weeks now. First, she found that my introduction was not really an introduction. She thought the purpose of the introduction is to tell the reader about the book, perhaps with a personal motivation explaining why I wrote the book and what purpose I believe it is serving.

I had thought to put some of this in a foreword. The foreword would be a very personal motivation, then the first chapter would launch right into the issue of age.

Chris made a second very good point, in telling me that I had to figure out what voice I was going to use for the book. She noted I was mixing first person singular and plural and third person voices, and she described some of the perceptions she was getting from my style. Some of what she said I found written up by Daphne Gray-Grant in The power of "point of view".

I am now considering using the first singular and second person voices, for passion and inclusiveness. And with voice and audience in mind, I need to re-write the introduction. I'm getting ready to do just that.

Photography

To keep working on the book, and to make progress toward getting profiles, I have been studying about legal issues connected with publishing photographs of my subjects.

The book by Andrew Hudson, The Law of Photographers, clarifies many issues related to copyright and model releases. Another useful resource is the asmp website.

Several climbers have shared their backgrounds with me and given me permission to publish their photographs via email. I am currently following up on the permissions with asmp informed release forms.

ECP Climber Survey

The ECP Survey is now closed. Thank you for participating!


Phil S. suggested that I be more scientific in my research on aging climbers. He proposed the survey route. The first survey went out on the ECP listserv on September 10, 2009.

ECP Climber Survey

ECP Survey Results (requires password)

“The Aging Climber” Project

What: A book, at least 80 pages in length

Target audience: Rock climbers who feel mid-life-ish or older

Purpose: To be informational and inspirational by sharing the joy of climbing from an older and sometimes wiser climber’s perspective.

Target publication date: September 2010


Working book title: The Aging Climber

Proposed Contents:

Chapter 1: Are you an “older” climber? Read on…
Intro
Test: You are an older climber if…
Research on aging in general

Chapter 2: Lifers
Climbing as a lifestyle
Why lifers keep climbing as they age

Chapter 3: Mid-life n00bies
Why did they take up climbing?
Risks, family responsibilities, and time commitment

Chapter 4: So you still want to climb 5.12?
What goals do mid-life newbies strive for?
What goals do life-long climbers set for themselves as they age?

Chapter 5: Tips for interacting with “younger” climbers
Buy new gear
No talking about the good-old days
Feed them and transport them, if needed
Share your expertise liberally

Chapter 6: Training schedules for aging climbers (Needs research)
How the body and the mind change with age
Research on aging athletes
How to implement this knowledge in your climbing

Chapter 7: Health issues for aging climbers (Needs research)
Will climbing do you any good?
What’s bad about climbing for the aging body?
Dealing with overuse injuries

Chapter 8: The final chapter
What do you say at your climbing partner’s memorial?
What do you want them to say on your tombstone?


More about the book: My vision for the book is that it will be informational as well as inspirational. I’m striving for a fun, even cheeky, tone, unless the topic is a serious one.

I imagine weaving the text of the book around a collection of personal stories written by “older” climbers such as you. Will you write a personal “adventures-of-the-older-climber” story concerning one of your core experiences with aging and how it influenced your climbing? I think it would be a lot of fun to collect and share our anecdotes of what kinds of issues have come up and how we mastered them.

What do you think? Please, give me feedback. I've created a thread on rockclimbing.com (see links) for general discussion, and use the comment feature on this page to give direct input on book content.