The 8a Yearbook 2006: A Refreshing Change

On Saturday, I got my 8a Yearbook 2006 in the mail from Sweden. It was slightly smaller than I had expected, but I was pleasantly surprised by what was inside. Tons of full color photos with very few ads were complemented by information on today's top climbers. It was nice to see a climbing publication go in depth on grades and rankings without calling it "heinous spray."The book also has an international flavor that you don't get from U.S. magazines. It includes articles on Patxi Usobiaga, David Lama, and other very strong climbers that we hear little about. While it isn't perfect, it blows the last issue of Rock and Ice out of the water! It would be nice to see the U.S. mags go more in this direction, getting away from 5.10 trad lines that nobody cares about or stories focused on some new sport climbing knot. BORING!!!!

A side note: This was the second publication in which my photos were published. I had 3 photos and one falsely credited to me (it was taken b y Jason Pinto) featured in this magazine. As an amateur photographer, I was really excited that they used my pictures.