Climbing Free: My Life in the Vertical World

A beautifully written book by an extraordinary athlete that anyone remotely interested in climbing--and many who aren't--will want to read (my wife, who gave climbing a game try but hated it, loved the book as much as I did). Talk about a strong start--after a wonderful preface by John Long, Hill begins with the story of her "perfect fall"--an 85-footer to the ground in 1989, landing on tree roots between two boulders--a fall that would nearly always be fatal. Instead, she was climbing again in six weeks and went on win major competitions before turning to big wall climbs. Even if you don't know anything about climbing or Hill, watch the short Youtube videos "Lynn Hill at Hueco Tanks--Patagonia Ambassador" and "Lynn Hill: Free Climbing the Nose part V" (Hill was the first person to free climb the 3,000-foot, extremely difficult Nose route) and see if you don't want to know more. The book includes a large selection of spectacular climbing photos from around the world.

As a novice climber and avid reader I try to read most climbing novels. This book will definitely please climbers as it covers this climbing legend's life from how she got into climbing, to her experiences growing up as a climber in Yosemite, to her triumphs in competitive climbing.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.

This book is nice in that it provides a nice overview of climbing history and of course, Lynn Hill's climbing life. Two things that bothered me: (1) she writes many climbing stories that did not actually happen to her, and appear elsewhere, and I'm not sure this incorporation of other people's stories is done well.(2) she kept writing throughout the book how a major climbing accident led to her reflection on her life. She wrote she felt selfish, concentrating on herself having fun (or something along these lines). However, at no point in the book it seems like she changes anything about the way she does things. She may have, but it does not appear in the text, and it is bothersome for the reader.Also, I did not finish the book since it became boring at the end, a repetition of "and then I wanted to climb this type of cliffs and I found this opportunity to do so".It was a nice read for the most of it, it just that I was left remembering the negative stuff.

I greatly enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down! The first chapter was hard to get through as it over-explained climbing terms and descriptions of gear as if written for the complete lay person. However, once you get past the trite intro, the book (or I guess I should say Lynn) really opens up and the walls come down. This book weaves the history of climbing from the 70's-present with fascinating stories of Lynn's family and her life experiences in more than just climging; in love, in friendships, and business. Sometimes when you see a person so successful, in control, and put-together as Lynn you can falsely assume everything has been easy for them...this book really reminds you about the trials and tribulations of life in general and especially that of the lives of devoted climbers. Very insightful and inspiring!

I gave this to my grandaughter for Christmas. She'll be a freshman in high school next year. I wanted to give her a book that might be empowering to her as a young women. She said she liked it very much.My husband thought to get it for her because he read it and said it was a five star book, talking in detail about her climbing process and the impact it made on her and others in her life.

Great book, I buy them off e bay and give them to climbing friends !

Everyone needs to read it. It’s not just about climbing!

While Lynn's book is general-audience-friendly, I still really enjoyed it as a climber. Great stories, fun insight and shockingly modest writer's voice for someone who has accomplished so much. If you love rock climbing or might simply have an interested in someone's journey through a [formerly] fringe sport and life's turbulences, you'll enjoy this book. The prose is decent. Climb on!

Just recommend this book - preaching to the converted probably, but her story needs to heard if you are in any way interested in the history of the "stonemasters" era.

Excellent book. The book is a very honest and absorbing biography by one the best female rock climbers and an excellent read. I am an avid armchair climber/mountaineer but avoided buying this book for a long time, I am so glad I eventually got round it.

Lynn's account of Yosemite's golden era and her climbing career to date is fascinating. Being a young (not all that tall!) climber myself I took a great amount of inspiration from this book. Highly recommended!

An excellent book, written by a true legend...loved every page!

A very good read, interesting and informative. It described her climbing life from the start at age 13 up to competition level.