Hangdog Days tells the story of one of the most transformative periods in American rock climbing, when a new generation of climbers challenged long-established ideas about style, ethics, and what counted as a legitimate ascent. Part history and part firsthand memoir, Jeff Smoot traces the changes that reshaped climbing through the late 1970s and 1980s and helped set the stage for modern sport climbing, climbing gyms, and competition.

At the center of the story is the debate over practices such as hangdogging—resting on the rope while working the moves of a route—which traditionalists viewed as cheating but younger climbers increasingly used to push technical difficulty. Smoot follows the progression from 5.12 into 5.13 and ultimately 5.14 as climbers experimented with new tactics and confronted the resistance that came with them.

The book focuses particularly on John Bachar, Todd Skinner, and Alan Watts while bringing in many of the other influential climbers of the era, including Lynn Hill, Ray Jardine, Tony Yaniro, Mark Hudon, and Peter Croft. The result is both a climbing memoir and a history of the personalities, conflicts, and breakthroughs that changed the sport.

Features

• Fast-paced history and memoir of American climbing in the late 1970s and 1980s

• Explores changing climbing ethics and the controversy surrounding hangdogging

• Traces the progression from 5.12 through the breakthrough into 5.14

• Examines the emergence of sport climbing, climbing gyms, and competition

• Features John Bachar, Todd Skinner, Alan Watts, Lynn Hill, Ray Jardine, Tony Yaniro, and other influential climbers

• Firsthand perspective from author and climber Jeff Smoot

• 2019 Banff Mountain Book Competition finalist in Mountain Literature

• 2019 Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature finalist