Emily Harrington has made history as the first woman to successfully free-climb the notorious El Capitan on the Golden Gate route of Yosemite National Park.
The 3,000-foot (914m) mountain took her 21 hours, 13 minutes and 51 seconds to summit. Many know this incredible face from the documentary Free Solo, where it’s difficulty was expressed by free-climber Alex Honnold. He joined Harrington on the first two-thirds of the route.
Free-climbing is done without ropes to help pull you up, rather only using your hands and feet with some ropes as a safety net.
‘It was this giant representation of everything I’ve worked for in climbing boiled down into one day,’ she said in an interview with the New York Times. ‘There was a lot going on in my head, but at the same time I had this confidence deep down because I knew that I was more ready than I ever had been in my entire life.’
Harrington is the fourth person and first woman to summit this route in under 24 hours. This was also her fourth attempt at the climb.
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The journey was not without injuries however. At a difficult pitch she slipped and hit her head against the rock, causing blood to rush everywhere. After banging up, she carried on up the route to her big win.
This isn’t even close to the most serious injury Harrington has suffered as a result of her climbing. Last year, she was hospitalised after a bad fall on the same route.
‘I had definitely dreamed of that moment for some years now, and I had always sort of imagined it in my head as being this huge sense of relief and joy and celebration’ she told NPR.
Picture: Emily Harrington/Instagram
