Since then, the couple have been busy either planning adventures or recuperating from them. In 2016, they climbed Cho Oyu, a 26,864-foot peak on the border of Nepal and Tibet, then skied down. And in November 2020, six months after Mr. Ballinger proposed, they drove their beat-up Ford Econoline van named Sketchy Betty to Yosemite National Park, where Ms. Harrington became the first woman to free-climb the Golden Gate route up El Capitan in under 24 hours, as Mr. Ballinger cheered her on.
“He has a lot of enthusiasm and optimism no matter what is going on around him,” Ms. Harrington said of Mr. Ballinger, whom she calls her “robot of positivity.”
The couple, who now live in Tahoe City, Calif, said they weren’t in a rush to get married until they started thinking seriously about having children. Ms. Harrington said she likes the idea of one child while Mr. Ballinger, always up for a monumental challenge, wants seven.
While still negotiating that, they were married on Nov. 26 in Olympic Valley, Calif., with Logan Talbott, a friend who was ordained by the American Marriage Ministries, as their officiant and only guest. The bare-bones ceremony took place outdoors at a picnic table in the base village of Palisades Tahoe, a local ski resort.
Days later, the couple left for Ecuador, where they climbed Cotopaxi, the second highest peak in the country, with several friends. Then, on Dec. 11, they had a second wedding celebration, this one on the beach in Ayampe, Ecuador, with 120 guests, all vaccinated. Their dog, a Catahoula leopard named Cat, also attended.
The bride and groom were led through their vows by Esteban Mena, who is known as Topo, and Carla Perez Ruales, whom Mr. Ballinger described as “two of the best high altitude climbers on the planet.”
