The Determined Society with Shawn French

Episode: Girl Climber: Emily Harrington’s Ascent Beyond Limits

Date: November 3, 2025
Guest: Emily Harrington (Elite Rock Climber, Subject of IMAX Documentary "Girl Climber")
Host: Shawn French

Episode Overview

This episode of The Determined Society showcases an inspiring conversation between host Shawn French and elite rock climber Emily Harrington. Together, they explore the vulnerability, resilience, and determination that define not only Emily’s career but the journey of all who strive for greatness. The discussion provides a behind-the-scenes look at Emily’s new IMAX documentary "Girl Climber," her experiences in a male-dominated sport, the stakes of trust and partnership in climbing, the realities of motherhood, her ongoing love affair with mountains (especially in Ecuador), and the universality of failure as a tool for growth.

The episode is a blend of humor, heart, and hard-won wisdom—delivering both cultural commentary and personal narrative.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Climbing as the Art of Failing

• Emily emphasizes that the essence of climbing is persistence through failure.
  • "People don't often realize that, like, rock climbing is just all about failure. We get so good at failing because essentially all we do is fall." (Emily, 00:00)
  • Climbing, like life, involves constantly falling and getting back up. Success is fleeting; the journey is the lesson.

2. Vulnerability and Storytelling in 'Girl Climber'

• Emily’s documentary stands apart from typical sports films for its raw emotional honesty.
  • "It is a super vulnerable film. There's a lot of big feelings and I think people do really connect with that side of it because it's not often shown in a lot of these, like, sports documentaries." (Emily, 02:16)
• Shawn and his family connected deeply with the film’s openness about struggle, determination, and challenging gender norms.
  • "You have fought through that to show girls everywhere, women everywhere, that no matter what the goal is, that they can achieve it as long as they put in the work and they are intentional.” (Shawn, 02:33)

3. The Role of Partnership and Trust

• Climbing is often seen as solitary, but Emily emphasizes its dependence on trust and partnership:
  • "You have to have someone on the other end of that rope and so they're literally holding your life in their hands... I just had, like, the best team ever to support me. And I think that that's, like, this huge part of what made it all happen for me." (Emily, 09:42)
• The emotional support provided by trusted partners is as crucial as technical ability.

Notable Quote

• “We’re all climbing some type of mountain in our life, aren’t we, Emily? Just some of us are doing it figuratively. You’re literally climbing freaking mountains.” (Shawn, 00:14 & 37:02)

4. Facing & Managing Fear

• Emily reveals her own vulnerability regarding fear of heights and exposure:
  • “I too have that like, fear of exposure and that fear of height. And like, if I think too much about it, then I can like get overwhelmed by like that very human fear.” (Emily, 05:57)
• The shared anxiety makes the film relatable even to those afraid of heights.

5. Equipment, Safety, and the Limits of Control

• Shawn’s curiosity leads to a discussion of gear reliability:
  • "I've actually, like, hauled someone's van out of a ditch using a climbing rope." (Emily, 08:18)
  • Trust in equipment is analogous to trusting other systems in life (like airplanes).

6. Mentorship, Loss, and Female Pioneers

• Meeting her husband and mentor Hilary Nelson on Everest was a pivotal life moment.
  • "She passed away in an accident in 2022... but she was, like, so important to me, like, as a woman and as a mother and, you know, as a professional athlete in this world." (Emily, 11:24)

7. Life in Ecuador & Joys of Mountain Culture

• The couple’s deep affection for Ecuador: climbing Cotopaxi, embracing the country’s mountain culture, and dreams of bringing their son there.
  • "It's maybe my favorite country. We have so many friends there... we got married there because we both love it so, so much." (Emily, 12:41)
  • "I highly recommend climbing it. Cause like it's kind of a, it's kind of like an intro level peak for like high altitude and it's just like stunningly beautiful." (Emily, 14:29)

8. Parenthood as an Expedition

• Parenthood is compared to an expedition—unpredictable and demanding resilience.
  • "We use our, like, climbing experience and our expedition experience, and we kind of apply it to parenthood. So it is, like. It is like a big adventure." (Emily, 18:37)
• The joys and sleepless challenges are candidly discussed, including bedtime rituals and sibling squabbles.

9. Mini Projects & Balancing Adventure with Family

• Emily now favors “mini projects” (short, intense climbing challenges) to better fit family life.
  • Recent projects in Spain and Idaho; upcoming plans for Red River Gorge, Kentucky. (24:52)
  • Still contemplates a future El Cap return, with respect for the scale and risk.

10. Perseverance, Tenacity, and the Value of Failure

• The fundamental lesson: rock climbing (and life) means embracing repeated failure with patience and grit.
  • "It really is just kind of about the struggle and it's about the failure, and we get really good at that." (Emily, 26:56)
  • Success, when it comes, is meaningful only because of effort and setbacks.

Notable Quote

• “Climbing is about being in the space of failure. It's about having something that you're working towards, and most often you're not doing it...The rock is always going to be there... There's always going to be the opportunity to get stronger and go back to it.” (Emily, 26:56)

11. Mental Health, Expectations, and Letting Go

• Learning to let go of the need for perfection and total control is key for well-being—in climbing, parenting, and life.
  • “Along with accepting and learning from our failures is also accepting and understanding that perfect doesn't exist and that we can't control everything… you do have to kind of control what you can control and let go of the rest…” (Emily, 30:28)

12. The Process Over the Result

• Both host and guest agree that growth happens during the struggle—not at the finish line.
  • “The gift is in the process, you know, and everybody talks about, you know, marry the process and divorce the result. It's very hard to do because we live in a result driven society.” (Shawn, 34:33)
  • "Doing a thing is not going to help you reach like enlightenment or ultimate happiness. And so the emphasis really should be on the process to getting there." (Emily, 32:52)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Support and Partnership:

  • "They're literally holding your life in their hands." (Emily, 09:42)

• On Vulnerability:

  • “I was just being vulnerable in front of this person who I trusted...I was just being me.” (Emily, 04:07)

• On Overcoming Fear:

  • “If I think too much about [the exposure], then I can like get overwhelmed by that very human fear.” (Emily, 05:57)

• On Equipment and Trust:

  • "I’ve actually, like, hauled someone’s van out of a ditch using a climbing rope." (Emily, 08:18)

• On Perseverance:

  • "It's the whole, like, 10,000 hours theory, right? Like, I've just been basically working towards that since I was 10 years old." (Emily, 25:21)

• On Parenting as Adventure:

  • “It is like a big adventure. It is a big expedition. It is like, a lot of things go wrong. There's a lot of uncertainty.” (Emily, 18:37)

• On Gender and Breaking Barriers:

  • "You are literally shattering those limits. So I appreciate that, and I hope the rest of the world does and rushes out there to see what you've done." (Shawn, 42:08)

Key Timestamps

• 00:00 – Emily on climbing as the art of failing
• 02:16 – Vulnerability and authenticity in the documentary
• 09:42 – The critical importance of trust, partnership, and support
• 11:24 – Loss of mentor Hilary Nelson & the impact of strong female influences
• 12:41–14:29 – Deep dive into Ecuadorian mountain culture and personal meaning
• 18:37 – Applying expedition lessons to parenting
• 24:52 – Transitioning to “mini projects” and work-life balance
• 26:56 – Failure as a foundational tool for growth
• 30:28–32:52 – Letting go of control, mental health, and the value of process over perfection
• 40:10 – Where the family dog stays during expeditions—a lighter, personal moment
• 42:08 – A call to action for women and girls inspired by Emily’s achievements

Final Thoughts

The conversation between Shawn French and Emily Harrington is intensely personal but offers universal takeaways about pursuing goals, embracing failure, and finding identity beyond the summit or milestone. Emily’s humility, honesty, and sense of humor invite listeners to consider their own “mountains”—literal or figurative—and approach them with patience, determination, and an appreciation for the journey.

For more on Emily’s adventures, follow her on Instagram (handle in show notes) and make sure to watch "Girl Climber" for an unfiltered, empowering look at what it means to ascend beyond limits.