Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) never climbed El Capitan. If he did and my fifth grade teacher Mrs. East failed to mention it, I would consider my entire educational career to be for not. I can’t imagine she failed to mention this, so we will go under the assumption that FDR never did conquer the great summit. Emily Harrington did though. She climbed a very difficult route known as the Golden Gate in less than 24 hours. She became only the fourth woman to accomplish this feat. Emily climbed this route using a form of climbing known as free climbing. To free climb you can only use your feet and hands to move about the rock. A rope is tied to you for safety but you cannot use it to help with your ascension. What makes Emily’s accomplishment so impressive beyond the obvious details is that she tried the exact same climb three times prior to this and failed to match the 24 hour mark any of those times. During her previous attempt she not only didn’t make it in 24 hours she didn’t make it all. While attempting to summit she fell 50 feet!! Emily fell approximately five stories before her rope finally stopped her plummet. When the rope tightened it flung her body into El Capitan causing her to hit her head and sustain a concussion. She had to be rescued from the rock face. Not exactly the conclusion you are looking for to build confidence for the next climb. As you can guess, it didn’t stop her from trying again. But it also didn’t stop it from happening again.
During this latest climb, at 2800 feet in the air it happened again. Emily fell. During the fall her rope tightened and yet again she crashed into the famous rock. Discussing this fall Emily stated “The next thing I know, I just saw black and I felt the wetness of blood pouring down my face.” Climb over? Not this time. She used a makeshift plaster to stem the blood flow from the huge gash on her forehead and continued her climb. She successfully reclimbed that portion on her way to achieving her goal. Some described her as fearless following this event, she disagreed. Emily said “We should be less afraid to be afraid. It’s a very valid emotion and it’s something we shouldn’t shy away from. In a lot of ways, we can use it as fuel and strength.” Is she really saying we should embrace being afraid? Probably one of our least favorite things as humans is to be afraid. But what are we afraid of? Is what we fear real or imagined? Does this fear stop us from being who we truly want to be and accomplish the things we truly want to accomplish? She used the fear and reality of falling as a driving force to achieve her goal. This brings us back to our 32nd president. What does FDR have to do with climbing El Capitan you might ask? Everything.
During FDR’s inauguration speech at the height of the Great Depression he famously stated “…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself….” This is one of the more famous quotes in our nation’s history. Did you know the quote doesn’t end there? The first part is so perfect many people fail to remember the quote continues. The end of this quote may be just as powerful and profound. So, the next time you may be scared to take that new job, run that long race, start dating, or climb a mountain remember this, “..the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advances.” “Convert retreat into advances.” FDR may have been discussing the banking crisis during this speech but he may have been speaking directly to Emily and us, 87 years in the future. Fear. We all have it. Fear. We all hate it. Fear. Now we will all use it. Fear will no longer be shied away from, fear must be looked dead in the eye as we convert retreat into advancement. We will not resort back to the 1990’s clothing brand’s motto, No Fear, for our motivation. We will use our new motto, Yes Fear, as we use it as the fuel to strengthen our resolve against the named or unnamed, the reasonable or unreasonable, justified or unjustified things that cause us to be afraid.
A Rock in Your Shoe 