"Climber Sanzaro… writes simple but elegant, vivid prose to make his case for a unified approach to movement and mind…An inspiring book aimed at rock climbers and other athletes that’s ideal for both spirituality and sports psychology sections. Its emphasis on the virtues of cultivating mind-body awareness will also appeal to readers interested in New Age wisdom."
——Library Journal

"Written by a climber, and for climbers, there is no better book to get you started climbing with the right mindset."
——Adam Ondra, first person to climb 5.15c and 5.15d, multiple World-Cup Gold Medalist

"A skilled and experienced climber, Francis Sanzaro writes about his long-time application of Zen Buddhist mind-training techniques to overcome the difficulties of fear and enhance performance in life-challenging, climbing situations ... The lesson: we could bring this wisdom not only into climbing and other athletic pursuits but also into modern-day life in all its many aspects."
——John Baker, co-editor of Cutting through Spiritual Materialism and The Myth of Freedom

"A skillful and entertaining presentation of aspects of Zen that can make one a better climber and, at the same time, enhance one’s enjoyment of climbing. Top athletes, climbers and others, reveal how these traits improved their performance and led to deeper understanding and appreciation of their craft."
——John Gill, father of modern bouldering, author, mathematician

What do Zen masters, sixteenth-century Samurai, and the world’s elite climbers have in common? They have perfected the of awareness, of being in the moment, of trusting the process.

Climbing is a sport of perception, and our successes and failures are matters of mind as much as body.

Written by philosopher, essayist, and lifelong climber Francis Sanzaro, The Zen of Climbing explores the fundamentals of successful climbing, delving into sports psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and Taoism. Awareness, he argues, is the alchemy of climbing, allowing us to merge mental and physical attributes in one embodied whole.

This compact volume puts the climber’s mind at the forefront of practice.

Francis Sanzaro (Ph.D.) is the author of three books whose genres range from sexuality to technology to athletic theory.

His essays, poetry and fiction have appeared in The New York Times Sunday Review, The Scotsman, Huffington Post, The Baltimore Post Examiner, Continental Philosophy Review, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, among a dozen others.

His books are The Infantile Grotesque: Pathology, Sexuality and a Theory of Religion, (2016); The Boulder: A Philosophy for Bouldering (2013); and Society Elsewhere: Why the Gravest Threat to Humanity Will Come From Within (2018). He is the Editor of Rock and Ice, Gym Climber and Ascent magazines. A contributor and consultant for a variety of publications and media, he has appeared on BBC World News, and in their international podcast series, BBC Radio. His Ph.D. is in the Philosophy of Religion.