UKC

Nick Bullock is succinctly summed up in his Twitter bio as a 'Mountaineer. Climber. Writer. Author. Prison PE Officer Escapee. NOT an adventurer.' Nick's writing skills are starting to attract similar recognition to that afforded to his bold first ascents in the mountains. We sent him some questions to find out how he approaches his writing, reading and thinking...

Thanks UKC, a very good interview.

I don't know Nick and have never had anything to do with him, though I admired his climbing from afar. I didn't think much of some of his early writing though, and said so, which didn't go down well with his considerable fan-base. I guess that was just my opinion, and what would I know.

So when I read 'Threshold Shift' (the version in CLIMB, then in Alpinist) I made a point of saying in as many places I could that I thought it was one of the best pieces of climbing writing I had ever read. I guess that was just my opinion, and what would I know.

But I do wish more climbers were as honest as Nick has been. As he explains here, it's a release, and I think it would serve them, and all of us, better than the trite and disingenuous dreck we've been served up for years as 'climbing writing'.

Thanks, interesting and honest as always. Look forward to the book. I thought the prison flashbacks is what made Echoes a great book. Writing about climbing alone is fine for a bit but ultimately becomes a bit dull. 

Well, to be honest most climbers just aren't very good at it. It's both a skill and an art, and it takes study and practice.

I think it's more surprising just how many good climbing/mountaineering writers there are / have been. Definitely more than most other adventure pursuits.