Caroline Gleich is a professional ski mountaineer and endurance athlete who has accomplished many impressive physical feats, including climbing Mount Everest with a torn ACL and becoming the first woman to ski all 90 lines in The Chuting Gallery. But Caroline doesn’t just enjoy the outdoors. She fights for them. A passionate environment and equality activist and community leader, Caroline has made it her mission to advocate for action on climate change, public lands, Indigenous leadership, sexism in the outdoors industry, and more. Her mission-driven keynotes inspire us to get outside, live a healthy active lifestyle, and protect the places we love to play.
It’s been said that the simple act of caring is heroic. But for athlete activist Caroline Gleich, caring is only the beginning. As a professional ski mountaineer, endurance athlete and activist for the environment and equality, Caroline personifies action.
In the last five years, the Utah based mountain athlete skied the 90 lines in The Chuting Gallery, becoming the first woman to complete Andrew McLean’s famous Wasatch guidebook. She testified in DC, to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, pushing for legislative action on climate change. Caroline completed her first 50-mile run, a “Hope Run” through Bears Ears to raise awareness for public lands and indigenous leadership. She started a podcast, “The Caroline Gleich Show,” where she tackles issues like sexism within the outdoor industry. Caroline raced the Patrouille Des Glaciers, one of the biggest ski mountaineering races in the world. She proposed marriage on Cho Oyu, the sixth highest peak in the world. And last year, with a torn ACL, she successfully summited Mount Everest with her husband, Rob Lea.
Backcountry Magazine said Caroline approaches her high-altitude objectives with preparation, guts and passion. But it’s her humility, vulnerability and willingness to lean into uncomfortable topics that have enabled Caroline to reach a broader audience. Now, she brings the same enthusiasm and tenacity she dedicated to her athletic pursuits to her mission: inspire people to get outside, live a healthy active lifestyle and protect the places we love to play.
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