The documentary film Girl Climber spotlighted the boldness and vulnerability of an exceptional climber: Emily Harrington. Directed by Jon Glassberg, this very good movie describes her journey to free climb El Capitan in less than 24 hours. Girl Climber explores Emily Harrington’s doubts and perseverance within Yosemite’s “boys’ club,” between falls that end badly and her friendship with Alex Honnold.
Don’t be fooled by the edgy movie trailer. Or the Red Bull Studios logo. Girl Climber is a sensitive film about a sensitive woman who challenges herself to achieve a dream she considers too big for her: to free climb El Capitan in less than 24 hours.
A talented competitor—she won gold at Serre-Chevalier in its heyday—Emily Harrington grew up surrounded by cousins and a father who probably demanded too much of her. Her meeting with Hilaree Nelson on The North Face team, and with Adrian Ballinger, her partner and Everest guide, would change the course of her life.
Why attempt the 34 pitches of El Capitan free climbing in 24 hours, when only a handful before her have succeeded? “This project fulfills my need to belong,” explains Emily. To belong to the elite climbers’ club, capable of such a feat, namely climbing the benchmark kilometer of climbing in a single day. Mission name: Golden Gate. 8a, 1,000 meters, first free ascent by Alex Huber.
Belonging is an ambivalent feeling: according to the Yosemite boys’ club, as she calls it, you need balls to free climb El Cap in less than 24 hours. Climbing at night, or climbing simultaneously, even with Alex Honnold as your second, is a serious undertaking. Very dangerous, even.
After a first attempt in May 2019, the second attempt in November ended in a fall on the last key pitch, the A5 Traverse, a 5.13 perched at the top of the wall. Spoiler: a year later, the third attempt would be a terrible punishment. A fall on the first pitch, hospital, reconstruction. Emily’s words, in tears: “I was afraid I wouldn’t be good enough. Now everyone thinks the same thing.” On social media, trolls tell her to lose weight or go back to the kitchen.
Emily will succeed: everyone has known this since November 2020. But Jon Glassberg’s film shows what Emily’s performance cost her, from the eating disorders of her youth to the risks she took for her climb. Not to mention the constant mansplaining. In other words, “hearing men tell her how to climb El Cap: I’ve been climbing for 22 years, so I know how to train! I just need to convince myself.”
Emily Harrington has forged her own path, carrying the torch lit by Lynn Hill, of course. Since 2020, a new generation of female climbers has been breaking the taboos of the Yosemite boys’ club with their outstanding performances: Laura Pineau and Soline Kentzel, who climbed Golden Gate after Emily in 2022, over several days.