View this post on Instagram ~ On the Shoulders of Giants ~ It's pretty hard to talk about free climbing on El Capitan without mentioning perhaps THE most astonishing ascents of all time - Lynn Hill's (@_linacolina_) one day free ascent of The Nose in 1994. Her ascent made her the very first human to achieve such a feat, and it was far and beyond what anyone could conceive of at the time. Still today, free climbing El Capitan in a single day (via any route) is a pretty rare occurance (~25 people have achieved this maybe). More impressive, a free ascent of the Nose over the course of many days is considered exceptional and still only a handful of the very best climbers in the world have succeeded (under 10). How's that for being ahead of one's time? Having the privilege to grow up in the climbing mecca of Boulder, CO I was lucky enough to get to know Lynn from the beginning of my climbing career. Women like Lynn, @robyn_erbesfield_raboutou, @bethrodden, @katiebrownclimbs, @bobbibensman etc were fixtures in the climbing community at the time. As a little girl I was introduced to climbing knowing that it was a space for women and that we had the potential to excel just as much as men did. Today, after a pretty pivotal week for myself personally as well as for this country and women everywhere (hell yes @kamalaharris) I wanted to celebrate the women who paved the way in our sport and those who continue to push forward today. You all inspired me as a tiny 10 year old girl in the gym and continue to do so today. [also mega huge congrats to @juliachanourdie for becoming the 3rd woman to climb 9b/5.15b last week!] * to clarify in case anyone saw that some media got some of their facts wrong (to be corrected soon hopefully), I am the 4th woman to free climb El Cap in a day via any route behind 3 remarkable women: Lynn (via the Nose), @highsteph (via FreeRider) & @mayanclimbs (via FreeRider)????????✨ Pics: 1) Lynn on the infamous "Changing Corners" pitch on the Nose // 2 & 3) Lynn & I climbing "Country Club Crack" circa 2001 // 4) portrait by @jess_talley of me doing my best Lynn impression in front of El Cap last week ???? A post shared by ᴇᴍɪʟʏ ʜᴀʀʀɪɴɢᴛᴏɴ (@emilyaharrington) on Nov 9, 2020 at 1:14pm PST
~ On the Shoulders of Giants ~ It's pretty hard to talk about free climbing on El Capitan without mentioning perhaps THE most astonishing ascents of all time - Lynn Hill's (@_linacolina_) one day free ascent of The Nose in 1994. Her ascent made her the very first human to achieve such a feat, and it was far and beyond what anyone could conceive of at the time. Still today, free climbing El Capitan in a single day (via any route) is a pretty rare occurance (~25 people have achieved this maybe). More impressive, a free ascent of the Nose over the course of many days is considered exceptional and still only a handful of the very best climbers in the world have succeeded (under 10). How's that for being ahead of one's time? Having the privilege to grow up in the climbing mecca of Boulder, CO I was lucky enough to get to know Lynn from the beginning of my climbing career. Women like Lynn, @robyn_erbesfield_raboutou, @bethrodden, @katiebrownclimbs, @bobbibensman etc were fixtures in the climbing community at the time. As a little girl I was introduced to climbing knowing that it was a space for women and that we had the potential to excel just as much as men did. Today, after a pretty pivotal week for myself personally as well as for this country and women everywhere (hell yes @kamalaharris) I wanted to celebrate the women who paved the way in our sport and those who continue to push forward today. You all inspired me as a tiny 10 year old girl in the gym and continue to do so today. [also mega huge congrats to @juliachanourdie for becoming the 3rd woman to climb 9b/5.15b last week!] * to clarify in case anyone saw that some media got some of their facts wrong (to be corrected soon hopefully), I am the 4th woman to free climb El Cap in a day via any route behind 3 remarkable women: Lynn (via the Nose), @highsteph (via FreeRider) & @mayanclimbs (via FreeRider)????????✨ Pics: 1) Lynn on the infamous "Changing Corners" pitch on the Nose // 2 & 3) Lynn & I climbing "Country Club Crack" circa 2001 // 4) portrait by @jess_talley of me doing my best Lynn impression in front of El Cap last week ????
A post shared by ᴇᴍɪʟʏ ʜᴀʀʀɪɴɢᴛᴏɴ (@emilyaharrington) on Nov 9, 2020 at 1:14pm PST