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Emily Harrington

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Emily Harrington
Emily Harrington in 2015
Personal information
Born (1986-08-17) August 17, 1986 (age 38)
Boulder, Colorado
OccupationProfessional rock climber
SpouseAdrian Ballinger
Climbing career
Type of climberSport climbing, Big wall climbing
Highest grade
Medal record
Women's competition climbing
Representing  United States
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2005 Munich Lead
World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Zürich Lead
US National Championships
Gold medal – first place 2004 Lead
Gold medal – first place 2005 Lead
Gold medal – first place 2006 Lead
Gold medal – first place 2008 Lead
Gold medal – first place 2009 Lead
Updated on January 5, 2023
Emily Harrington climbing Golden Gate (5.13 VI) on El Capitan

Emily Harrington (born August 17, 1986) is an American professional rock climber and mountaineer.[1] She is a five-time US National Champion in sport lead climbing, runner-up in the 2005 IFSC Climbing World Championships, and has made the first female free ascents of several 5.14 (8c/+) routes.[2]

Early life

[edit]

Emily Harrington was born on August 17, 1986, in Boulder, Colorado.[3] Her competitiveness pushed her to develop her climbing skills from an early age.[4] She began climbing artificial walls and competed with her local gym's climbing team.[4] From there, she became a professional sport climber and expanded into the worlds of rock and mountain climbing.[4]

Harrington studied international affairs with an emphasis on politics in Sub-Saharan Africa at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She graduated in 2007 and joined The North Face climbing team in 2008.[5][6]

Climbing career

[edit]

Harrington has been the US National Champion in sport climbing five times (2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009).[1] She was also named the North American Sport Climbing Champion twice and placed second in the 2005 IFSC Climbing World Championships.[3] In 2006, Harrington placed first at the Serre Chevalier Invitational.[3] She won first place in 2012 at the Ouray Ice Festival.[1]

In 2012, Harrington was asked to join a joint expedition with The North Face and National Geographic to climb Mount Everest.[7] The expedition marked the beginning of her mountain career. Harrington summited Mount Everest in 2012, and Cho Oyu in 2016.[4][8]

In 2014, Harrington attempted to climb Hkakabo Razi, the tallest peak in Southeast Asia. This peak had only been climbed once before and Harrington's team intended to create their own route rather than follow that of the previous expedition. Harrington made it to the final route that would reach the summit, a climb that she described as "extremely difficult" and "extremely scary."[4] Ultimately Harrington chose to turn back.[4]

In November 2020, Harrington became the fourth woman (after Lynn Hill, Steph Davis, and Mayan Smith-Gobat) to free-climb the 3,000 ft (910 m) granite wall of El Capitan (which she did via Golden Gate), in a single day.[9] She completed the mammoth task in 21 hours, 13 minutes and 51 seconds.[10] She was assisted on the ascent by Alex Honnold. The year before, while practicing the El Capitan climb, an accidental 50 ft fall required her to be rescued.[11] During the 2020 climb, Harrington slipped and fell, leaving her with a gash on her forehead.[12][13] She was also the first woman to free climb Golden Gate on El Capitan in under 24 hours.[14] The media mistakenly reported her achievement as the "first woman" to free climb the mountain in under 24 hours, ignoring the achievements of Lynn Hill, Steph Davis, and Mayan Smith-Gobat on other routes before her; it was later corrected.[15]

In 2021, Harrington achieved the first individual free climb of The American Way route on Pik Slesova in Kyrgyzstan. In 2022 Harrington and Adrian Ballinger were featured as part of HBO's show Edge of the Earth, in which HBO initially claimed they were "Attempting the First Free Climb Ascent of a Route on Pik Slesova in Kyrgyzstan."[16] However, they repeated a free route previously established by the team of Nik Berry, Eric Bissel, Brent Barghan and Dave Allfrey in August 2019.[17] The route was subsequently repeated two weeks after the first ascent. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time media outlets have misrepresented accomplishments in climbing.[18]

Harrington has been featured in National Geographic's Adventure blog, Women's Adventure Magazine, Rock & Ice Magazine, Urban Climber, The North Face, The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and Outside Magazine.[19][20] Harrington has sponsorships with The North Face, La Sportiva, and Petzl.[1][2][3]

Ascents and expeditions

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Awards

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  • US National Sport Climbing Champion x5[1]
  • North American Sport Climbing Champion x2[3]
  • 2005 World Champion-Runner Up[3]
  • 2006 Serre Chavalier Invitational Champion[3]
  • 2012 Ouray Ice Festival Champion[1]
  • 2013 Ouray Ice Festival, 3rd place finisher[25]

Personal life

[edit]

Emily has been in a relationship with Adrian Ballinger since 2012; they were married on December 11, 2021, in Ecuador.[26][27] Emily and Adrian met on a climb of Mount Everest.[28] They live in Olympic Valley, California.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Emily Harrington - La Sportiva North America / La Sportiva North America". www.sportiva.com. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Emily Harrington". TheNorthFace USA - English. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Emily Harrington | Team Petzl - Petzl USA". www.petzl.com. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Total Failure: The Mountain That Got Away". NPR.org. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  5. ^ "Get That Life: How I Became a Professional Rock Climber". Cosmopolitan. February 1, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "Emily Harrington | The North Face Climbing Athlete". www.thenorthface.com. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  7. ^ Favorite, Crowd (May 26, 2012). "National Geographic and The North Face® Expedition to Mount Everest Reaches Summit". National Geographic Partners Press Room. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  8. ^ "Everest Climb Successful, Despite Crowds, Unrelenting Winds". May 26, 2012. Archived from the original on May 28, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  9. ^ Johnson, Lauren (November 8, 2020). "Emily Harrington becomes the first woman to free-climb El Capitan in under 24 hours". CNN. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  10. ^ Ben Church. "US climber Emily Harrington makes history on El Capitan". CNN. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  11. ^ Schaffer, Grayson (November 26, 2019). "Inside Emily Harrington's Scary Fall on El Capitan". Outside. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  12. ^ Johnson, Lauren M. (November 9, 2020). "Emily Harrington becomes the fourth woman to free-climb El Capitan in under 24 hours". CTV News. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  13. ^ park, Staff and agencies in Yosemite national (November 7, 2020). "Emily Harrington becomes fourth woman to free-climb El Capitan in a day". the Guardian. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  14. ^ "Outside Online". November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  15. ^ Bisharat, Andrew (November 10, 2020). "Emily Harrington Did Something Amazing. Then the Press Blew It". Outside Online. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  16. ^ "TGR X HBO Present: Edge of the Earth Official Trailer". Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  17. ^ "The American Way: The Free Agent of Pik Slesova's Northwest Face". Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  18. ^ "Let's Discuss Emily Harrington and "The American Way" Controversy". August 4, 2022.
  19. ^ "Exploring the Birthplace of Sport Climbing in Europe's Grandest Canyon". Beyond the Edge. July 30, 2015. Archived from the original on August 4, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  20. ^ The North Face (August 7, 2012), The North Face 2012 Speaker Series Presents, Emily Harrington, retrieved March 6, 2018
  21. ^ a b "Meet the Couple Who Met on Everest and Just Speed-Climbed the World's Sixth-Tallest Peak". Vogue. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  22. ^ "Himalayan Database Expedition Archives of Elizabeth Hawley". www.himalayandatabase.com. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  23. ^ "Women Can Send Big Walls Too: Emily Harrington Crushes El Capitan". Outside Online. June 30, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  24. ^ The North Face (January 25, 2017). "The Incredible Hulk - Emily Harrington and Alex Honnold Free Climb "Solar Flare" (5.12d)". YouTube. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  25. ^ "Emily Harrington". TheNorthFace Canada - English. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  26. ^ "Emily Harrington and Adrian Ballinger: Superhuman Couple Shares Their Humanity". February 13, 2020.
  27. ^ "Volcano climbing, kitesurfing, skiing: How a Tahoe power couple celebrated their wedding". December 17, 2021.
  28. ^ "Who is Adrian Ballinger? Meet climber Emily Harrington's boyfriend". November 10, 2020.
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