Climbing Free: My Life in the Vertical World - Tapa dura

Shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Awared for outstanding contribution to mountain literature, this is the world’s foremost female rock climber’s inspiring story of her rise to the very top of her sport.

Lynn Hill has never let being a woman keep her from the hardest routes and toughest competitions in free climbing, making up in focus, determination and grace what she lacked in brawn and testosterone.

By describing the sensations, determination and skill needed, she will draw readers into the breathtaking excitement of the sport. She will convey the true rewards of rock climbing – the physical, mental and spiritual satisfaction this sport can provide. And will ultimately inspire readers with the empowering example she has set again and again throughout her rock climbing escapades.

Lynn’s career has developed alongside the growth of the very sport she practices. She first learned to climb in the 70s, when the sport was practically unknown, but her extraordinary gift for rock climbing became widely recognised as the sport became more popular. She stunned the international climbing community when she became the first person to free-climb Yosemite’s famous 3,000ft Nose, and topped this feat the following year by climbing the same route in 23 hours, half the time in pitch darkness, something it took 6,264 hours for the next male climber to accomplish.

This outstanding achievement, as well as her strong belief, has ensured that both sexes now compete on routes of equal difficulty in competitions and that Lynn is respected both as a rock climber and as a role model for all women in sports.

Besides being the chronicle of a unique and fascinating life, this book also combines extreme adventure, inspiration and spirituality, with plenty of thrills, adventure, danger and excitement as well as the challenge of being a woman in a man’s world. Her skill, determination, perseverence, confidence and legendary status make her an inspiration to everyone.