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to creep up; to crawl up
to overcome (a bad situation); to rise (after a setback)
「這い上る」 has another reading with different meanings.
泥の中から這い上がった。
I crawled up out of the mud.
貧困から這い上がっている人の話に励まされた。
I was inspired by the story of someone clawing their way up from poverty.
崖から這い上がるのは難しい。
Climbing up from a cliff is no easy task.