美國職業攀岩家 Emily Harrington，打破了一項紀錄，一項僅有 3 個男人創造的紀錄－24 小時內自由攀登酋長岩，如今，Emily Harrington 成為第四位成功在 24 小時內自由攀登酋長岩的攀岩家，她也是第一位締造此紀錄的女性。
Emily Harrington 今年 34 歲，獲得 5 次美國國家攀岩冠軍，並於 2005 年世錦賽排名第二，同時也是第一個成功挑戰多條 5.14 級路線的女性。她於2012 年登頂聖母峰、2016 年登頂卓奧友峰，在今年 11 月，她成功自由攀登酋長岩（行經 Golden Gate）。
酋長岩是美國優勝美地國家公園的知名地標，更曾被蘋果拿來作為電腦作業系統的代稱。酋長岩是一塊超巨大的花崗岩，高度約 3,200 英尺（約 975.36 公尺），是世界上最大的單體花崗岩。目前為止僅有四人成功在 24 小時內自由攀登酋長岩，分別是 Tommy Caldwell、Alex Honnold、Brad Gobright，以及 Emily Harrington。
11 月初，清晨 1:34，Emily Harrington 開始向上攀登，她試圖穿越 Golden Gate 到達峰頂，但這個過程並不簡單，這是一條 5.13a 級的攀登路線，得先通過光滑的賽拉瑟岩壁，然後一連串 5.12c、5.13a 高難度的路線。最困難的部分，Golden Desert，難度有 5.12，Emily 意外滑倒，她側身撞向岩壁，頭部撞到一塊突出的尖石，瞬間她的額頭鮮血直流，她說就好像槍傷一樣，那一瞬間她以為就此結束了。
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Golden Gate ✨ Free ? In A Day ⚡️ ? @jonglassberg / @jess_talley / @louderthan11 I never believed I could actually free climb El Cap in a day when I first set the goal for myself. It didn’t seem like a realistic objective for me. I didn’t have the skills, fitness, or risk profile to move so quickly over such a large piece of stone. But I chose it exactly for that reason. Impossible dreams challenge us to rise above who we are now to see if we can become better versions of ourselves. On Nov 4 I started climbing with @alexhonnold at 1:34am, caught between my own internal drama of achieving a life goal and the more prevalent one of the elections – both unfolding in parallel ways in my brain. I knew I was in for a big day – but that’s exactly why I was there. I wanted to find my limit and exist in it and fight beyond it. A nasty slip on the 13a Golden Desert pitch almost took my resolve – a deep gash on my forehead left me bloody and defeated. I pulled on again, part of me not really wanting to stay on the wall, the other part gathering courage and flow. I kept thinking “why am I still hanging on?” The next pitch was the A5 traverse, where I failed last year. This time it was not my limit. I fought hard but with flawless movements in the dark. I cried at the belay – it could happen this time….The final 5 pitches felt scary in my current state but I pulled over the final lip at 10:30pm in disbelief. There’s a lot more to say but mostly I wanted to express my gratitude for the love and support from friends, family, and strangers. I feel the love so intensely right now. Thank you all ?? Massive thanks to @alexhonnold for climbing with me over these years, you’ve inspired me to think bigger and believe in myself in ways you cannot imagine. To @jonglassberg for your friendship, creativity, and ability to capture a story while at the same time keeping it light and always fun. And finally to my best friend, partner, lover, fave human of all time @adrianballinger – your support and love for me through the darkness and the light has never wavered. I love you endlessly ❤️❤️❤️ More to come!!! @thenorthface / @kodiakcakes / @petzl_official / @lasportivana
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受了傷的她，趕緊下降到安全繩固定位置，她的搭檔 Adrian Ballinger，著名的聖母峰嚮導，先替她檢查傷勢並包紮，評估她暫無大礙，鼓勵她繼續往上爬。這時候的 Emily 其實是想放棄的，但聽到夥伴這麼說，她決定再試試看。
這條路線一般來說需要花好幾天的時間才有可能登頂，但 Emily 的目標放在 24 小時內完登。她問自己「為什麼我還掛在這裡？」答案呼之欲出，她再次將手嵌進岩縫中，繼續上攀。最後的 10 個繩距最為艱難，Emily 說在倒數 5 段繩距時，她真的感到害怕，但她收起恐懼的心，最後在晚上 10:30 登頂酋長岩，共花了 21 小時 13 分鐘 51 秒。
題外話，2017 年 6 月 3 日，美國攀岩家 Alexander J. Honnold 成功徒手攀登酋長岩，在沒有任何保護措施之下，他僅花了 3 小時 56 分就登頂，後來還被拍成紀錄片《赤手登峰》，贏得奧斯卡最佳紀錄片。
圖片／Louder Than Eleven、Emily Harrington
