False Summit: Gender in Mountaineering Nonfiction by Julie Rak (review)

Reviewed by: False Summit: Gender in Mountaineering Nonfiction by Julie Rak Denisa Krásná (bio) False Summit: Gender in Mountaineering Nonfiction Julie Rak McGill-Queen's University Press, 2021, 274 pp. ISBN 9780228006268, $140 hardcover; ISBN 9780228006275, $40.95 paperback. Julie Rak's False Summit: Gender in Mountaineering Nonfiction traverses the intersection of lifewriting studies and the emergent field of mountaineering studies, unraveling the complex relationship between gender, power, and representation in the climbing world. By examining traditional mountaineering narratives, Rak exposes the cultural construct of a "traditional mountaineering body," and its role in perpetuating gender disparities within the climbing community. She shows how mountaineering literature has glorified the heroic male climber figure that embodies physical strength, mental fortitude, and a "never back down" attitude. This ideal has contributed to the perception of climbing as primarily a masculine pursuit, which marginalizes women, disabled, and non-white climbers. [End Page 415] Rak's metaphor of the "false summit" poignantly captures the struggles of climbers who are not treated as legitimate mountaineers. Likewise, for Rak, in the context of climbing, the false summit symbolizes the challenges encountered by climbers who do not conform to the ideal perpetuated by mountaineering narratives. Rak shows that women, disabled, and non-white climbers often achieve remarkable feats, conquer significant challenges, and showcase exceptional skills, yet their accomplishments are overlooked or dismissed due to deeply ingrained gender, ableist, and racial biases. False Summit primarily focuses on the gendered aspects of climbing identity, showing how gender often becomes a defining aspect of one's mountaineering journey. Rak sheds light on the positioning of women and non-white climbers, who are often feminized as spectators rather than protagonists, and their representation as unwanted others invading masculine territory. Her analysis also reveals how some cisgender women climbers have adopted masculinist discourse, further complicating the landscape of gender dynamics in mountaineering. Rak draws a striking parallel between Margaret Thatcher and American climber Bev Johnson, both of whom have dismissed feminism and embraced a masculinist discourse in the pursuit of their own ambitions and "success." Rak challenges the Western understanding of success by demonstrating how the idea of achievement in mountaineering is not an objective, universal measure but rather a social construct influenced by dominant narratives that favor hypermasculinity and perpetuate hierarchies within climbing. Furthermore, Rak illustrates that mountaineering memoirs have become integral to the national imagination by folding climbing achievements into larger narratives of national identity and pride. These narratives often tie climbing accomplishments to nationalistic discourse and notions of imperialism and colonialism, symbolizing the desire for territorial dominance and symbolic power over nature. The book highlights the interplay between sovereignty, colonialism, capitalism, and the conquest of nature by centering on three iconic mountains: Annapurna, K2, and Mount Everest. Rak emphasizes the mountains not only as physical challenges but also as potent cultural and natural sites. In particular, Rak reveals how Mount Everest has been a focal point of colonial desire, with the name "Everest" itself a colonial imposition. The mountain has been portrayed as a territory to be "conquered," relegating local people to the role of serving imperial ambitions. To Rak, this conception of Everest raises questions of authenticity and belonging, because the narrative of who belongs on Everest has been shaped by colonial and racial biases. False Summit stands as a pivotal work within lifewriting studies, as it interrogates the field's relationship to mountaineering narratives. The book underscores how mountaineering accounts integrate the art of storytelling with the act of climbing, creating a narrative tapestry that merges lived experiences, truth claims, and memory. Rak focuses on the convergence of story and climbing, examining how these accounts serve as conduits bridging climbers with the larger world. The book underscores that writing about climbing is not peripheral but intrinsic to the [End Page 416] activity. These narratives, she argues, not only recount adventures but contribute to collective understandings of climbing, identity, and human relationships with the natural world. By elucidating the connection between climbing and nonfiction writing, the book reiterates the significance of narrative in shaping climbers' senses of self and purpose. As such, these narratives operate as more than just personal stories; they function as vital cultural artifacts that...

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