An accomplished climber for than 35 years, Eric J. Horst(pronounced Hirst) has ascended cliffs all across the US and Europe. He has established more than 400 first ascents, primarily on his home cliffs in the eastern US.

A student and teacher of climbing performance, Eric has helped train hundreds of climbers, and his training books and concepts have spread to climbers in more than 45 countries. He is widely recognized for his innovative practice methods and training tools, and he has been a training products design consultants for Nicros, Inc. since 1994.

Eric is also the author of Flash Training (Falcon, 1994) and Training for Climbing (Falcon 2003). He has written more than 2 dozen magazine articles on the subject, appeared on numerous TV broadcasts, and his techniques has been featured in such magazines as Climbing, Rock & Ice, Outside, Men's Health, Muscle Media, and Men's Journal.

Eric lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Lisa Ann, and his sons, Cameron and Jonathan.

In the sport of rock climbing, 5.12 is a magical grade. Looked upon as the "door" to the elite levels of difficulty, 5.12 is thought by many intermediate climbers to be out of their reach-and that's where How to Climb 5.12 comes into play. This book dispels the myth surrounding 5.12 and teaches average climbers that they can achieve heights previously considered the exclusive domain of the full-time climber. How to Climb 5.12 is a performance guidebook that will help climbers attain the most rapid gains in climbing ability possible. It offers streamlined tips and suggestions on critical issues such as cutting-edge strength training, mental training, and climbing strategy. How to Climb 5.12 is the perfect manual to guide you on the road to mastery-and help make the trip as short as possible.

From the Back Cover

This is a 'performance guidebook' to achieving the most rapid gains in climbing ability possible. It offers streamlined, tip-oriented suggestions on all the critical issues including: learning skill fast, cutting edge strength training, mental training, and climbing strategy.