On Wednesday, November 4th, Emily Harrington was unsure if she would be making history that day when she began to ascend one of the most challenging climbs in the world. 21 hours and 13 minutes later, she became the first woman to free-climb the treacherous 3,200 foot El Capitan Golden Gate route in a day.

At 1:34 am Harrington began the climb of the Golden Gate route with her goal being to complete the route from base to summit in under twenty-four hours. While Harrington, like the rest of the country, was awaiting anxiously for election results, she was fighting for her biggest dream.

“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,” she wrote on Instagram.

The Golden Gate is a grade VI 5.13 route on the southwest face