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Climbing

Cover of Climbing is a grayish purple color. At the top of the cover the word Practices is centered in a handwritten script. The main title is in the middle in the same script and the author's hand printed name is at the bottom.

Practices

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Book

Pages: 140

Illustrations: 20 illustrations

Published: July 2026

Author: Hil Malatino

Written by longtime climber Hil Malatino, Climbing explores the why of the sport, asking what pushes him and so many others to drag themselves to the gym and the crag time and again; to restructure their intimate lives around the pursuit of a new goal; and to devote thousands of hours forging their nerves to perform physical and mental feats while dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of feet off the ground. In chapters that explore gender, class, and sizeism in climbing culture, as well as grief, addiction, queer and trans-worldmaking, and the tensions between conservation and recreation, Climbing teases out how the art of navigating across rock can help us learn how to revel in being weird, vulnerable, and radically interdependent animals temporarily gifted the complicated tragicomedy of a body. It is a story of collective obsession and transformation that tracks how holding yourself on the wall helps you learn how to hold onto the ambiguities of life on earth.

Praise

“Hil Malatino’s Climbing is a beautifully personal and scholarly journey of grief and growth. Hil’s relationship with climbing is the thread that holds the story, and often Hil, together. The book is an honest and ultimately uplifting view of the ways that climbing can help navigate everchanging landscapes, both within and without.” - Steph Davis, Winner, 2024 American Alpine Club Pinnacle Award for Lifetime Achievement

"Like Peter Matthiessen’s Snow Leopard, Hil Malatino’s Climbing is as much the story of the spirit as it is centered on its titular subject. Climbing is certainly a large part of Climbing, but this is a book with so much more on its mind. Deftly wrought and finely researched, this is a masterpiece of the genre." - Christian Kiefer, climber and author of The Heart of It All

"Smart and lyrical, this is an affecting portrait of transition." - Publishers Weekly

"This book offers a unique perspective on climbing and coping with life’s transitions. Recommended for anyone interested in gender studies and/or rock-climbing sports." - Gary Medina, Library Journal

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Information

Author/Editor Bios Table Of Contents Rights Additional Information

Author/Editor Bios

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Hil Malatino is Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University. He is also the author of Side Affects: On Being Trans and Feeling Bad and Trans Care.

Table Of Contents

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Acknowledgments  vii
1. To Failure  1
2. Exhaustion Therapy  41
3. Self-Arrest  71
4. Binding  97
Notes  125
Bibliography  129

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Sales/Territorial Rights: World

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Additional Information

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Related Links Paper ISBN: 978-1-4780-3881-8 / Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4780-3392-9 / eISBN: 978-1-4780-6240-0 / DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9781478062400