Climbing Out of Bed: A Definitive Collection of Climbing and Mountain Town Stories

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.