“I’m honestly happy people are breaking my records, because that means more women are getting into the mountains, including more young women, which is amazing, because mountaineering changed my life, and doing it from such a young age was so valuable to who I am right now.”
– Lucy Westlake
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Lucy Westlake started mountaineering at 7 years old through her family’s highpointing project. By 12 years old, she’d reached the highest point in the lower 48 United States, going on to attempt Denali at just 13, but not summiting.
In 2021, Lucy attempted Denali again and successfully set the record as the youngest person to summit all the highest points in the 52 United States. Then, at 18, she set a record as the youngest American woman to climb Mount Everest (at the time).
After climbing Everest, she was honored at the ESPYS (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards) and received the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award. This award gave her a $10,000 grant, and she opted to give it to the Summit Scholarship Foundation to create a new program, Rope Team Rising. The Rope Team Rising Scholarship continues because of Lucy’s mission to get more youth girls in the mountains.
We spoke with Lucy about her youth in competitive running, what it’s like to set records and also have those records broken, how her goals have shifted, and how she plans to continue a mountain-centered career after college.
Lucy and Angie talked about:
- Being a competitive athlete starting in elementary school
- Transitioning from running to mountaineering through highpointing
- Highs (and lows) of climbing the high points of the USA
- Behind the scenes of mountaineering and setting records
- What it’s like when other people break your records
- Why she decided to put aside a Seven Summits and Explorers Grand Slam goal
- Lucy’s research on glaciers in college while being a mountain guide
- The impact of ageism, mentorship, and women in mountaineering
Send this episode to a teen who would be inspired by Lucy!
Check out these resources:
- 📱 Lucy on IG
- ➡️ The Cairn Project on IG
- ✨ The Cairn Project’s newsletter
- 🥾 Become a Trailblazer
- 📅 Summit Scholarship Foundation
- 🎙️ Share your story on this podcast! Submit for Field Notes here.
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You can help us close the gender gap outdoors and beyond:
- Become a Trailblazer. Your Adventure Fundraiser makes wilderness experiences possible for girls and women.
- Check out the Summit Scholarship Foundation.
- Share this episode with a friend or family member.
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The Cairn Project
Mobilizing to empower young women in the outdoors through grantmaking.