Climbing Free: My Life in the Vertical World [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

6 Stars.

First off, I'll admit that I'm biased towards Lynn Hill. I met her in the early 80's and was taken by her unassuming, humble nature, let alone her incredible climbing prowess. But my bias has not interfered with my ability to give an honest review.

This book was co-authored by Greg Child, one of my favorite climbing authors, but I'm guessing that Lynn's words formed the core of the book. It just doesn't read like Greg's other books. Regardless, the two must have an excellent synergy going because the book is enjoyable and very readable.

As do all good autobiographies, this book goes well beyond the boring chronological list of events. It takes you into the life and mind of Lynn Hill and lets you see what makes her tick. Lynn chose to treat difficult situations in a straightforward, honest manner. Few punches are pulled, but it's obvious that there is no malicious intent. Lynn merely states the facts as she saw them, then goes the extra mile to tell us how these events made her feel. In doing so, difficult times, such as divorce or leaving the competitive arena are taken full circle and we see how, through her ability to adapt, Lynn was able to move on and grow from her experiences.

One knows that people who repeatedly achieve at a high level have something good going for them and this book makes it clear that Lynn is no exception. Her ability to get into the proper mental state for difficult climbing is clearly conveyed. For example, while preparing to climb the Nose in a day, she wrote:

"While lying on the ledge in a half-asleep state, I thought about the various people who inspired me throughout my life. These thoughts helped me cultivate the faith and energy I needed to persevere. For me, the ascent represented a kind of performance art to demonstrate the values I believed in. My belief in this effort is what allowed me to access a force of energy much greater than my own. I thought of what I had learned from a seventy year old Chinese Chi Gong master whom I had met in France earlier that year during a martial arts workshop. At the end of the weekend, this Chinese master asked me to arm wrestle him. As hard as I tried, our hands remained upright and locked in an impasse. Then he asked me what I was thinking about. I told him I was concentrating on bringing my hand down to the table. When I asked him what he was thinking about, he said he was focusing way beyond the table, toward an infinite source of energy. I noticed that his eyes were transfixed into space as if in a trance and I felt an inpenetrable wall of force in his arm. Afterward, we discussed my goal to free climb the Nose in a day and he said: 'When you are on the wall, try to imagine a source of energy that extends beyond the summit towards infinity.' "

This book is full of motivational insight and should be a valuable resource for anyone that wants to move beyond preconceived limits in their everyday life.

In the book, she makes her climbing preferences known without trying to define "the way, the truth and the light" for all climbers. I think the same held true for her descriptions of people with whom she had climbed. What I most appreciated was her love for climbing without any need for being "extreme." No death wish, no search for a new adrenaline rush. Lynn seems to seek challenge but not danger per se. The non-climbing public seems to think that all climbers enjoy flirting with death. Lynn is not naive about the potential of danger; in fact, her words show a great understanding. Again, she just wants to climb the hard routes because they are hard. The danger is simply an issue to be dealt with, not an end in itself.

I was just a touch dissatisfied at the end. The final pages seemed to end rather abruptly. However, given that this book is not a work of fiction, but rather a description of a developing life, maybe that's as it should be. Lynn is still climbing, still changing. There are more chapters to be written.

But it also covers much more like the problems a female must conquer in the male climbing world. Some of my favorite parts were the stories in Yosemite and the many other great climbers she climbed with and the bond they shared. As with every climbing book, if enough climbers are introduced, you will encounter the climbers that are not living when the book is written due to accidents.

This book also delves deeply into who Lynn Hill is. Mainly concerning her relationships, both climbing and romantic, many of which have tragic endings. The book starts by describing her worst fall and clearly demonstrates how lucky she was to survive. But to me the most introspective part of the book is her feelings of high altitude mountaineering. This was not her speciality and the book deals with why she stayed out of this arena and how uncomfortable she was in what high altitude climbing she did.

A true climber's book. I recommend this book if you enjoy rock climbing.