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Emily Harrington Sends Golden Gate on El Cap

On May 31, 2015, Petzl athlete Emily Harrington topped out Yosemite's El Capitan via Golden Gate (5.13b, 41 pitches). The ascent was the culmination of a three-year learning process and one of her biggest challenges to date. "It was a bloody, tear-stained battle, done in the best style possible for me," Emily said of the climb.

July 7 2015

Multi-Pitch Climbing

Emily Harrington on Golden Gate (5.13b, 41 pitches). Photo: Jon Glassberg
Emily Harrington on the "A5 Traverse" (5.13), the last hard pitch of climbing on the route. Photo: Jon Glassberg 

Emily chose to attempt Golden Gate free after her friend Hazel Findlay, who freed the route in 2011, recommended it. She made it one of her 2015 goals, which include: making finals in a sport climbing nationals comp (which she missed by one spot), redpointing a 5.14, freeing Golden Gate, and climbing the fifth highest peak in the world, Makalu (8463m), sans oxygen.

A sport and competition climber by trade, Emily started on the path to big free climbs like Golden Gate three years ago, spending time on longer routes in Tuolumne and ticking loads of moderate granite pitches. In the months leading up to her send, she used a hangboard to strengthen fingers, a treadwall to build endurance, and went ski touring and trail running for overall fitness. And of course, she worked on her mental game—a key factor on Yosemite big walls.

Emily Harrington's elbow, battered from the "Monster Offwidth" on Golden Gate. Photo: Jon Glassberg
Battle damage. Photo: Jon Glassberg

Regardless of preparation, Emily called the experience "one of the more difficult challenges in my climbing career.” With her boyfriend Adrian Ballinger on the belay, she battled for six days to free the whole route, struggling at times with pitches like the "Monster Offwidth," which left her battered and bruised, and a 5.12 slab downclimb with little margin for error.

To get a more visceral experience of Emily's Golden Gate ascent, and to see the gear she used on the climb, check out the videos below…

 

Emily Harrington Sends Golden Gate [VIDEO]

 

What's in Emily Harrington's El Cap Kit? [VIDEO]

 

More on Emily Harrington

Included in this article

Emily Harrington Climbing is a unique sport because it is also a lifestyle and a lifelong journey. There is always a new place to visit, a new style to learn, a new way to experience climbing and explore the world. For example, I climbed an artificial wall when I was 10 and begged my dad to take me to the climbing gym after that. Since then, I have primarily sport climbed, but more recently I’ve gotten into mixed and ice climbing, as well as some minimal mountaineering (summited Everest and Mt. Blanc in 2012). ASCENSION Ergonomic handled ascender MICRO TRAXION High-efficiency, lightweight progress-capture pulley

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