This website is owned by Eric J. Hörst (pronounced "Hirst"), the nation's leading authority on climbing performance. An accomplished climber of 31 years, Eric has ascended cliffs all across the United States and Europe. Driven by his passion for adventure and challenge, he has established over 400 first ascents, primarily on his home cliffs in the Eastern states. Eric's latest book, Learning to Climb Indoors (Falcon), was released on July 2006, while his previous book, Training For Climbing (Falcon 2002), remains a best-seller among climbing books with its breakthrough look into the science of climbing performance and optimal training practices. Several of his books have foreign translations. His next book, Conditioning for Climbers will be released by Falcon Publishing in May 2008.

A student and teacher of climbing performance, Eric has personally helped train hundreds of climbers, and his training books and concepts have spread to climbers in more than 50 countries. He is widely recognized for his innovative training techniques and equipment, and he has been a training products design consultant for Nicros, Inc. since 1994. Eric has written five books on climbing performance including Flash Training (Falcon, 1994) and How To Climb 5.12 (Falcon, 1997/2003). Several books have foreign translations. Eric has written over 35 magazine articles, appeared on numerous TV broadcasts, and his techniques and photos have appeared in many publications including Climbing, Outside, Men's Health, Fortune, Men's Journal, Muscle Media, Alpen, Rock & Ice, Muscle & Fitness, Paddler, Urban Climber, Parents, Wall Street Journal, Experience Life, and National Geographic Adventure. Eric is also editor of the NICROS Training Center and he broadcasts monthly training podcasts for Podclimber.com.

Editorial requests for interviews, articles, or photographs please email Eric.Horst"at"NICROS"dot"com.

Click here for an extended biography covering Eric's 31 years as a climber.

View detailed publishing history of magazines and books.

EH sending in Arco, Italy. Photo: Mike McGill.