Help Me Write How Not to Climb Like a Dude
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$479 raised of
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I want to create the mountaineering book I wish I had when I started climbing mountains.
When I first found my way into mountaineering, I had a lot to learn. There were books about climbing technique, gear, safety, and getting up a mountain. But there were also a lot of questions I had as a woman:
- As someone who was always cold, what clothing did I actually need to do the trick?
- What happens when you get your period on a glacier?
- How do you deal with hygiene when you're several days into a climb?
- What do you do when the gear that fits you isn't designed with your body in mind?
- Do I speak up if I feel uncomfortable?
- And what are the things experienced climbers somehow assume everyone already knows?
After years of climbing, taking courses, learning from guides and other climbers, making mistakes, and figuring things out the hard way, I've accumulated a lot of answers.
So I'm writing the book I wish I had before my first mountain.
‘How Not to Climb Like a Dude: A Woman's Guide to Mountaineering’ is a practical, honest, and humorous guide for women entering the mountains.
It isn't meant to replace professional instruction or teach someone how to safely climb a mountain on their own. Instead, it fills in the spaces between technical instruction with the practical realities, questions, gear decisions, awkward moments, and hard-won lessons that don't always make it into traditional mountaineering books.
I'll combine personal stories from my years in the mountains with practical advice on:
- What gear is actually worth buying, renting, or borrowing
- Mountain hygiene and menstruation
- Preparing for longer climbs
- Navigating the climbing community
- Understanding fear vs. intuition
- Clothing and layer systems that actually work
- The things I wish someone had told me before I clipped into my first rope
My goal is to help women approach their first mountains with more confidence, more knowledge, and a better idea of what to expect. You shouldn't have to learn every lesson the hard way just to feel like you belong in the mountains.
I'm raising funds to pay for the professional work needed to turn it into a polished, accessible ebook.
Contributions will help cover:
- Professional editing and proofreading
- Ebook formatting and design
- Photography and production costs
Other expenses involved in creating and publishing the finished book
The goal isn't simply to write a manuscript. It's to create a useful resource that women can actually use and return to as they begin their own journeys into mountaineering.
If you've ever wanted to try mountaineering, felt intimidated walking into a climbing shop, wondered whether you actually belonged in the mountains, or simply wished someone would explain the stuff nobody talks about, this book is for you.
And if you've already been climbing for years, you probably have your own list of things you wish someone had told you sooner. That's exactly why I want to write this.
Help me turn years of experience, hard-won lessons, and notes into a resource that can help more women feel prepared, confident, and welcome in the mountains.
Thank you for helping me make ‘How Not to Climb Like a Dude’ a reality.
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