Emily Harrington: If at First You Don’t Succeed, Send It Anyway

Photo credit: Adrian Ballinger
Podcast Season 2 Episode 9
Recorded: December 17, 2020

Last year, Emily Harrington became the first woman to send the Golden Gate route on El Capitan in under 24 hours. It was an impressive feat — almost as impressive as the pain and work it took to get there.

Should you ever break a record, that’s most likely what folks will remember. It is, after all, recorded.

But what if everything it took to achieve it — including the pain, tears, and partners that came along on the journey — were also recorded?

When Emily Harrington sent the first sub-24-hour climb of El Capitan’s Golden Gate route by a woman, most of her fans and followers already watched her previous attempts and training (including two bloody falls and one nail-biting trip to the hospital). And that record of her work to get there paid off: Harrington’s accomplishment blew up across news media — both inside and outside the world of climbing.

Even if you’ve watched DangerStikTV, Harrington and fiancé Adrain Ballinger’s adventure YouTube channel, hearing the 34-year-old climber retell her stories of success and near-misses is gripping.

And that’s not all: Harrington also gave us her thoughts on the realities of finding health insurance if you’re an elite climber, the Olympics, and the surprising misreporting of her climb.

Tags

Climbing

The GearJunkie Podcast

Subscribe and listen in your favorite app.

Subscribe Now

Get adventure news and gear reviews in your inbox!