100% On Top: Mount Baker
100% on top for our Mount Baker team! After arriving at Sandy Camp and settling in for dinner with a view, our team rose early this morning for their summit bid. Guide Willie Webster reported in from the summit and the team is now on their way back to base camp.
Congratulations to:
- Jim B.
- Crystal W.
- Jacob W.
- Christopher M.
- Joe N.
- Max J.
- Michael R.
- Guide Willie W.
- Guide Kat S.
- Guide Mike B.
Headed to Sandy Camp with our 3-Day Baker team!
Dinner with a view! (Photo Credit: Kat S.)
100% on top! Congratulations to the entire team! (Photo Credit: Willie W.)
All-Women Expeditions
All-Women's Expeditions & Resources
To the adventurous women considering our expeditions, it’s great to meet you! Welcome!
Hey Ladies, You Belong in the Mountains.
We know that being in a safe space of like-minded people is empowering, and we want all women to have this opportunity, which is why we offer many of our expeditions in an all-women's format. Here's where we are climbing.
Join us.
Intentionally designed trips where community comes first, support runs deep, and there’s no room for ego.
These climbs are about showing up, lifting each other up, and reaching big goals together.
All-Women’s programs are scheduled based on interest and availability, with a four-person minimum to run. Reach out to our team to learn about upcoming expeditions, request current dates, or start the conversation about creating a custom departure.
Click each expedition below to learn more.
Mountaineering is tough. Doing it as a woman?
That’s a whole different summit. Check out our free webinar, Women’s Mountaineering: A Practical Guide to Big Mountain Prep,
that delves into the real experience of climbing as a woman, led by two seasoned professionals who have guided, trained, and climbed around the world.
This session will also dive into smart and practical strategies for training, nutrition, gear that actually fits (yes, even when it comes to pee funnels and period care), and the ins and outs of mindset so you can build confidence, manage doubt, and claim space in environments that haven’t always made room.
Expect honest insight and mountain-tested advice throughout.
Additional Webinar Resources:
The Importance of Strength Training for Women
Female Mountaineering Courses on Mount Baker
Mountaineering Gear: Female Harness Considerations
Mountain Training for Women
Mountain Nutrition for Women
Mountaineering Gear
Mountain Mindset for Women
Bathroom Logistics
Menstruation and More
Meet the women setting the tone for our All-Women’s Expeditions: bold climbers, thoughtful teammates,
and inspiring peers who know what it means to be a woman in the big mountains.
Click on each climber to learn more about their journey.
We recognize that being a chick in the mountains comes with some, shall we say, unique considerations.
Check out a few of our resources below to jump-start your climbing career.
Click below to explore each resource further.
Eva Steinwald is 63 years old and proving that it’s never too late to start something big. Originally from Germany and now based in Boise, Idaho, Eva is climbing the Seven Summits by the age of 70, a goal she’s calling her 7 Summits x 70. She didn’t grow up in the mountains and didn’t put on crampons or carry an ice axe until her 60s. But after losing her husband, she found healing and purpose in the mountains.
It started with Idaho’s Mount Borah, where Eva pushed through her fear of heights and made it to the summit in tears. That moment changed everything. In 2021, she climbed Mount Rainier without ever having worn a harness or helmet. “I felt like I was on Everest,” she says. That climb gave her the courage to trek to Everest Base Camp the following year—and now, she’s back in the Khumbu, climbing Everest with CTSS and completing her first rotation.
Since that first climb, Eva’s ticked off Aconcagua, Denali, and now Everest, and she’s just getting started. Her 7 Summits x 70 goal isn’t just about standing on the world’s highest peaks; it’s about honoring the life she’s lived, the one she’s building, and the purpose she’s found along the way. “The mountains rescued me,” she says. And now, she’s climbing them—one summit at a time.
Help Us Shape Our All-Women’s Expeditions
If you have another climb in mind or a group of women ready to plan a custom expedition, drop us a note at info@climbingthesevensummits.com or drop an inquiry using the form below. If you’re eyeing a co-ed trip, we want you to know that you make up 45% of our clientele, and we’re thrilled that number is rapidly increasing toward our goal of 50%!
Ready to Progress?
Consider these expeditions
Our Favorite Alpine Classroom - Mount Baker
After a big summit success on Mount Baker, our team got down to business, honing their fundamentals of mountaineering as snowstorms rolled in and over the weekend.
Here’s a quick peek at a few of the skills our team learned or honed over the weekend:
- Crampon technique
- Self-arrest training
- Climbing efficiency techniques
- Crevasse rescue
- Knots, hitches, and rope craft
- Rappelling
- Snow anchors & running protection
The team is now safely off the mountain and has started their journey home. Congratulations to all of our climbers and guides on a successful Alpine Academy!
Photo from CTSS Archives:
Summit Success on Mount Baker!
Today, the team climbed in mostly whiteout conditions, with a bit of morning light during the ascent. The snow was sloppy and wet, but the team persevered, with six climbers reaching the summit.
Congratulations to:
- Zoe W.
- Trenton S.
- Susan W.
- Jared H.
- Guide Caya J.
- Guide Robert J.
CTSS guide Robert checked in and said the team had returned to base camp. It was a big day for all, but we’re excited for a few more days of our Alpine Academy on Mount Baker! Photo Credit: Robert Jantzen
Morning light while ascending on Mount Baker.
Summit success! Congratulations to all our climbers!
Mount Baker Alpine Academies Begin!
Our annual Alpine Academies have kicked off on Mount Baker, arguably one of the world's best mountaineering classrooms. After a full day of rope skills, our team plans to ascend to the summit of Baker today, weather dependent. Guide Robert reports that everyone is doing well and ready for the summit climb, and we wish the team the best of luck!
Good luck to Mount Baker team! Photo: Robert Jantzen
The photo below, which we love, absolutely epitomize our Alpine Academies—using the natural landscape as a place to learn and practice practical mountaineering skills for real mountain applications. To those down under, we also offer a similar program on Mount Kosciuszko through our Australian Alpine Academy.
Mount Baker Alpine Academy in full force! Photo: Robert Jantzen
Survey Thank You
To learn more about our all-women’s expeditions that we currently offer click below:
All-Women’s Mount Baker Alpine Academy
All-Women’s Australia Alpine Academy
Women in the Big Mountains
Women in the Big Mountains
In light of the recent article by the New York Times piece, For Female Climbers, Dangers Go Beyond Avalanches and Storms, we want to talk about women in the big mountains.
First, the team at Climbing the Seven Summits (CTSS) wants to acknowledge that women face an unprecedented level of risk and uncertainty regarding sexual harassment and abuse in the big mountains and within the climbing community as a whole.
We want every woman to know that CTSS hears you, sees you, believes you, and supports you.
When it comes to the great outdoors, very few women haven’t experienced some level of microaggressions, harassment, and/or abuse from their male counterparts. This is why CTSS also wants to highlight the tangible efforts made by our team to help make the mountains a safer and more welcoming place for all women.
As a company, we strive to understand the reality of what women experience in the greater climbing community, and we do this by learning from our own experiences (CTSS is proud to have a strong female presence) and listening to other women. By continually learning, listening, and seeking more knowledge, we will continue to shape and evolve our own expeditions, summit teams, guiding teams, and internal policies to support all women who step foot on the mountain. It’s our hope that by having these conversations and paying attention to what’s happening (as opposed to sweeping it under the rug or using the dreaded “boys will be boys” phrase) that, CTSS will continue to be on the side of history that holds the entire outdoor industry to new and most certainly a better standard.
Imbalance of Power
Similar to the power imbalance that happens between a doctor and patient or a professor and student, there can also be a power imbalance between a client and a guide. This imbalance is painfully evident in the allegations detailed in the article above. There is no doubt that a client who spends $60,000 on an expedition to the summit of Mount Everest is in the hands and subject to the goodwill of their guide. The client has good reason to want to make their guide happy—they paid big money; if their guide is upset or angry, it could risk the entire expedition, and their survival and safety are quite literally in the hands of the guide. For women, pairing that with unclear or non-existent regulations within an expedition company or a country regarding sexual harassment and abuse means that some guides take advantage of this. Women are often left without many options to advocate for themselves in these situations.
Because of this imbalance in the big mountains, CTSS has taken a number of proactive steps to ensure the safety and comfort of all of our female climbers and push the mountaineering world toward a new way of supporting female clients. We recognize that women have a unique set of needs that need to be met with compassion and understanding in the climbing industry.
How CTSS Supports Women
Climbing the Seven Summits is proud to support women climbers in the following ways:
- CTSS is 50% women-owned and operated, and our Program Management team is 100% women-operated. This means that any women who join our expeditions will more than likely be met with another woman on the other side of their email or phone call. We know that starting on the right foot with our one-to-one communication style helps put women climbers at ease.
- Our Guide team is 20% women-led, and we are actively working to recruit more female guides. All of our guides at CTSS sign our Guide Code of Conduct & Ethics, which includes clauses on physical and emotional safety as well as harassment, intimidation, and abuse. In addition, all climbers sign a CTSS Code of Conduct, which also includes clauses on physical and emotional safety, as well as harassment, intimidation, and abuse. Both Codes of Conduct provide climbers and guides a clear pathway for submitting and reporting any behavior that violates these policies to the CTSS team. Any climber or guide found in violation of the CTSS Code of Conduct will be expelled from the expedition and/or barred from future expeditions.
- CTSS offers both of our introductory mountaineering skills courses in an all-women’s format, including our Mount Baker and Australian Alpine Academies. We know that being in a safe space of like-minded people is empowering, and we want all women to have this opportunity, which is why we’ve partnered with AWExpeditions, an all-female mountaineering company, to help provide guidance and support for our women-centric climbs.
- All CTSS female clients receive a Female Client Considerations document when they join an expedition team. In addition, we have a section on our website devoted to considerations for women in the big mountains. We want to talk about and share resources that dive into the things that most guiding companies leave out of their pre-trip packets. Things like periods, pee clothes, and sports bras are just as important as your ice axe and helmet.
- CTSS has a firm No D*ckheads Policy. We use this policy to assess and vet all members of every expedition. Through our experiences in the mountains, we know that summiting a peak requires more than just physical fitness. It also demands enormous mental strength, commitment, and, most importantly, deep humility. We believe that our success in the mountains is directly attributed to the time we spend getting to know each climber as well as our hand picked staff that exemplifies the type of character, work ethic, and humility we hold our expeditions to.
- As of 2024, CTSS is close to reaching 50% female clientele on each expedition. Our past female climbers have felt the positive impacts of the environment we choose to uphold on all of our expeditions, including Meghan Buchanan, who completed her quest to summit all Seven Summits last year. Check out Meghan's testimonial here.
Final Thoughts
Here at CTSS, we know that there are many ways to support female climbers, and we are just hitting the tip of the iceberg as a company. To all women, far and wide, it’s our promise to continue listening, learning, and doing more to support all of you on your mountaineering journey. To the outdoor industry, we hope that you will join us in celebrating and uplifting women in the big mountains.
