Climber becomes first woman to free-climb El Capitan route in a day

Emily Harrington is the fourth person to accomplish the feat

The 3,000-foot granite wall called El Capitan is located in Yosemite national park, California, US.  (AFP/Getty)

Emily Harrington has become the first woman to free-climb the “Golden Gate” route of El Capitan in less than a day, a feat only achieved by three other climbers in history.

The 34-year-old’s ascent of the 3,000-foot granite wall, which is located in Yosemite national park, California, took 21 hours, 13 minutes and 51 seconds, making her one of the few women to reach the top in under 24 hours.

The first woman to free-climb the rock face in a singe day was Lynn Hill in 1994. 

Ms Harrington completed the free-climb — a type of climbing in which ropes can as a protective measure but not to help ascend — on Wednesday, while many people around the world were glued to the US election results.

She later told the San Francisco Chronicle: “I spent a lot of years feeling like I didn’t belong, like maybe I hadn’t earned my place to be a Yosemite climber.”

“I was creative and experimental and I found my own way,” she added.

Not all of her record-breaking climb went according to plan, as she slipped on one section of the route and hit her head, causing blood to pour down her face.

“There was a part of me that wanted to give up and quit,” she told the Californian paper, adding that she resumed after an hour-long break, with her wound bandaged up.

The incident recalled an accident she had while climbing the same rockface a year ago, which resulted in her being taken to hospital.

Ms Harrington was joined on Wednesday’s climb by her partner, Adrian Ballinger, a mountain guide, and Alex Honnold, best known for climbing El Capitan without any ropes, an achievement shown in the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo.

El Capitan is one of the world’s most famous climbing spots and attracts climbers from across the globe.

Additional reporting by AP.