Emily Harrington makes history with her free-climb up El Capitan

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/CNBC Television)

published 10 November 2020

Everything came together for Emily Harrington last Wednesday, with her climbing skills, stamina, and determination helping propel her to the top of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

Harrington, 34, became the first woman to free-climb El Capitan via the Golden Gate route in less than 24 hours, and only the fourth person to ever achieve this accomplishment.

As a free-climber, Harrington uses ropes for safety, but not to ascend. In 2019, she attempted to climb up El Capitan using the Golden Gate route, but a tumble sent her to the hospital. During her trek up this year, Harrington slipped closer to the top, leaving her with a gash on her forehead. She thought about quitting, but told ABC News she reminded herself "I had worked so hard and I deserve to try again."

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It usually takes climbers four to six days to reach the summit, but Harrington made it up in 21 hours, 13 minutes, and 51 seconds. "In a way, this was my life's dream," she said. "This is the culmination of everything I've ever put into my climbing all summed up in one day." In the climbing world, "men kind of dominate," Harrington told ABC News, but she knows that she belongs on the top and "didn't have to do it the way everyone else said I had to do it. There's no formula and I did it my own way." Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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