See Her Outside: Stories From Women Who Adventure

📖 Blending Mountains + Medicine into a Memoir: Tap Dancing on Everest with Grit Lit Featured Author Mimi Zieman

Mimi was a third-year medical student when she signed on as the sole medical officer and only woman on a four-climber expedition attempting the east face of Everest from Tibet (a route that had only been climbed once before). If you love what Mimi has to say, her memoir was the featured book in our last winter Grit Lit box. Join Grit Lit now [https://cairnproject.org/grit-lit] and you'll get our welcome box plus the next quarterly box this summer. Proceeds fund wilderness scholarships for girls and women. Mimi Zieman is a physician, writer, and the 2025 Georgia Author of the Year for her memoir Tap Dancing on Everest, also selected as the Best Memoir of 2024 by the American Writing Awards. Mimi and Angie talk about: * Training to be the sole medical officer on an Everest expedition while still a third-year med student * Solo backpacking in Nepal in a pre-internet era * Why Mimi became an OB/GYN after a bad teenage appointment * The beauty and challenge of being the sole woman on an Himalayan expedition * What menstruating adventurers should know before heading into the backcountry * Advice for women who want to write a book, and behind the scenes of writing a vulnerable memoir 📚 Join Grit Lit [https://cairnproject.org/grit-lit] — Tap Dancing on Everest was in last winter's box! Check out these resources: 📖 Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman [https://bookshop.org/p/books/tap-dancing-on-everest-a-young-doctor-s-unlikely-adventure-mimi-zieman-m-d/2e4ff146d017a34d] 🌐 mimiziemanmd.com [https://www.mimiziemanmd.com] 📱 Mimi on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mimiziemanmd], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/mimiziemanmd], and TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@mimiziemanmd] ✏️ Medicine, Mountains, & More on Substack [https://mimiziemanmd.substack.com/] ➡️ The Cairn Project on IG [https://www.instagram.com/thecairnproject] ✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter [https://cairnproject.org/email-signup] 🥾 Become a Trailblazer [https://cairnproject.org/trailblazers] 📅 Summit Scholarship Foundation [https://www.summitscholarship.org/] Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app! You can help us close the gender gap outdoors and beyond * ⁠⁠⁠Become a Trailblazer⁠⁠⁠ [https://cairnproject.org/trailblazers]. Your Adventure Fundraiser makes wilderness experiences possible for girls and women. * Check out the⁠⁠⁠ Summit Scholarship Foundation⁠⁠⁠ [https://summitscholarship.org/]. * Share this episode with a woman in your life who has a wild business idea she hasn't acted on yet. Make sure you subscribe to the See Her Outside Podcast so you don't miss a story! ⁠⁠⁠Follow on Spotify⁠⁠⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/show/01x4PI8OoMRS1Rx64OXsTf] ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠ [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/see-her-outside/id1794910016] Listen on:⁠⁠⁠ Amazon⁠⁠⁠ [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d00e98fc-15c9-4856-a743-364bcd926900/see-her-outside],⁠⁠⁠ Pocket Casts⁠⁠⁠ [https://pca.st/pkdfwlg1],⁠⁠⁠ iHeartRadio⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-see-her-outside-265153886/],⁠⁠⁠ other platforms⁠⁠⁠ [https://pod.link/1794910016]

🌲 How to Build a Sustainable Career in Seasonal Work with Sasha Clonts of Guide Theory

Seasonal workers know the feeling: You love the community, the adventure, the purpose, and then every fall you get laid off, change your address, and try to figure out health insurance, again. Sasha Clonts is the founder of Guide Theory, a platform helping seasonal workers build more sustainable, empowered lives through coaching, community, and practical tools. Sasha and Angie talk about: * The COVID-era burnout that pushed her to change her life and work * Selling her car, buying a van, and ending up at a Taos rafting company * Falling in love with the seasonal lifestyle before she even knew how to raft * Why empathy is one of the most powerful tools adventure leaders can hold * Why she was the wrong fit for full-time raft guiding (and what that taught her) * How she built her business, Guide Theory, to help seasonal workers find sustainability in finance and lifestyle * Curiosity as the antidote to imposter syndrome * What corporate employees can learn from seasonal workers See Her Outside is partnering with⁠⁠ Western Colorado University's Outdoor Industry MBA⁠⁠ [https://western.edu/landing/outdoor-industry-mba/] — a remote degree program built for people who want to lead, build, and create in the outdoor space. If you've ever thought about building a career or business in the outdoor industry, WCU's Outdoor Industry MBA was made for you. Check out these resources: 🛶 Guide Theory programs: guidetheory.com [http://guidetheory.com] 📱 Guide Theory on Instagram: @ [http://instagram.com/hudsonbaygirls]guidetheory [http://instagram.com/guidetheory] ⁠➡️ The Cairn Project on IG⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/thecairnproject] ⁠✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter⁠ [https://cairnproject.org/email-signup] 🥾⁠ Become a Trailblazer⁠ [https://cairnproject.org/trailblazers] 📅⁠ Summit Scholarship Foundation⁠ [https://www.summitscholarship.org/] 🎓⁠⁠ Western Colorado University Outdoor Industry MBA⁠⁠ [https://western.edu/landing/outdoor-industry-mba/] If you want to put a big seasonal adventure on your own calendar, join us in the Grand Canyon on October 10, 2026 for our Rim-to-Rim hike! It’s a bucket list trip, and proceeds fund wilderness scholarships for girls and women. ⁠⁠Learn more here. [https://cairnproject.org/grand-canyon] Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app! You can help us close the gender gap outdoors and beyond * ⁠⁠Become a Trailblazer⁠⁠ [https://cairnproject.org/trailblazers]. Your Adventure Fundraiser makes wilderness experiences possible for girls and women. * Check out the⁠⁠ Summit Scholarship Foundation⁠⁠ [https://summitscholarship.org/]. * Share this episode with a woman in your life who has a wild business idea she hasn't acted on yet. Make sure you subscribe to the See Her Outside Podcast so you don't miss a story! ⁠⁠Follow on Spotify⁠⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/show/01x4PI8OoMRS1Rx64OXsTf] ⁠⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/see-her-outside/id1794910016] Listen on:⁠⁠ Amazon⁠⁠ [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d00e98fc-15c9-4856-a743-364bcd926900/see-her-outside],⁠⁠ Pocket Casts⁠⁠ [https://pca.st/pkdfwlg1],⁠⁠ iHeartRadio⁠⁠ [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-see-her-outside-265153886/],⁠⁠ other platforms⁠⁠ [https://pod.link/1794910016]

🛶 Paddling 1,400 Miles to the Arctic with Women She Met on FaceTime: First Documented All-Women's Crew on a Historic Voyageur Route with Helena Karlstrom

⁠Hike Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon this October!⁠ [https://cairnproject.org/grand-canyon] Four women set off on a 1,380-mile paddle from Lake Superior to the Hudson Bay, and became the first publicly documented all-women's crew to complete the historic Voyageur route to York Factory. Along the way they crossed a 9-mile portage on day one, paddled multiple 40-mile days through wildfire smoke, navigated a teammate's POTS diagnosis and another's torn rotator cuff, and went a full first week on the Boundary Waters meeting 150 paddlers — not one of them a woman. This conversation with teammate Helena Karlstrom is about networking your way into the trip of a lifetime, the group dynamics that get you to the Arctic, and why simply being visible on the water is a form of activism. Helena and Angie talk about: * The Appalachian Trail trip her freshman year that changed her trajectory * How Girl Scouts gave her an outlet to connect with other women outside * The Appalachian Trail trip her freshman year that changed her trajectory * How the Hudson Bay Girls met and dreamt up this expedition and planning the entire expedition over Zoom * Partnering with Save the Boundary Waters and the Northern Lakes Canoe Base * Navigating a teammate's POTS diagnosis and another's torn rotator cuff mid-trip * Finishing the final day with a 17-hour, 55-mile paddle to the Arctic * Group dynamics, personal growth, and paddling as advocacy Check out these resources: 📱 Hudson Bay Girls on Instagram: @hudsonbaygirls [http://instagram.com/hudsonbaygirls] 🛶 More about the expedition: https://www.hudsonbaygirls.com/ [http://hudsonbaygirls.com] 📖 Our episode with Natalie Warren [https://cairnproject.org/our-community/grit-lit/natalie-warren-paddle-arctic-grit-lit], author of Hudson Bay Bound ⁠➡️ The Cairn Project on IG⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/thecairnproject] ⁠✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter⁠ [https://cairnproject.org/email-signup] 🥾⁠ Become a Trailblazer⁠ [https://cairnproject.org/trailblazers] 📅⁠ Summit Scholarship Foundation⁠ [https://www.summitscholarship.org/] Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app! You can help us close the gender gap outdoors and beyond * ⁠⁠Become a Trailblazer⁠⁠ [https://cairnproject.org/trailblazers]. Your Adventure Fundraiser makes wilderness experiences possible for girls and women. * Check out the⁠⁠ Summit Scholarship Foundation⁠⁠ [https://summitscholarship.org/]. * Share this episode with a woman in your life who has a wild business idea she hasn't acted on yet. Make sure you subscribe to the See Her Outside Podcast so you don't miss a story! ⁠⁠Follow on Spotify⁠⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/show/01x4PI8OoMRS1Rx64OXsTf] ⁠⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/see-her-outside/id1794910016] Listen on:⁠⁠ Amazon⁠⁠ [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d00e98fc-15c9-4856-a743-364bcd926900/see-her-outside],⁠⁠ Pocket Casts⁠⁠ [https://pca.st/pkdfwlg1],⁠⁠ iHeartRadio⁠⁠ [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-see-her-outside-265153886/],⁠⁠ other platforms⁠⁠ [https://pod.link/1794910016]

🧗‍♀️ From Near-Death to Rock Climbing Again: Melissa Strong on Injury, Recovery Tools, and Writing a Memoir

The hands that built Melissa’s entire sport, business, and life were taken from her in an accidental instant. Her story explores what came next: the mental tools she invented to survive, the small triumphs that felt enormous, and the athletic determination it took to find her way back to the rock. Melissa's memoir, Climbing Through: A Courageous Story of Grit, Healing and Second Chances, is also the spring pick for Grit Lit, our adventure book club [https://cairnproject.org/grit-lit]. Join by May 7th to get Melissa's book in your next box. Melissa Strong is a sponsored rock climber, writer, and restaurant owner based in Estes Park, Colorado, and El Paso, Texas. She's the founder and owner of two acclaimed Estes Park restaurants, Bird & Jim and The Bird's Nest, and together with her husband owns Wagon Wheel Co-op, a guiding concession in Hueco Tanks State Park. Melissa and Angie talk about: * Finding rock climbing at 26 after realizing she couldn't run half a mile * Becoming a sponsored climber in an era before climbing gyms were on every corner * The near-fatal accident that severely burned her hands * Seeing a forest and tunnel during her near-death experience * The "closet of boxes" self-coaching tool she invented in the hospital * Having her arms literally sewn together for three weeks to rebuild skin * Tapping into her athlete's mindset to push through recovery * Why women need to stop shouldering everything and give themselves a break See Her Outside is partnering with⁠ Western Colorado University's Outdoor Industry MBA⁠ [https://western.edu/landing/outdoor-industry-mba/] — a remote degree program built for people who want to lead, build, and create in the outdoor space. If you've ever thought about building a career or business in the outdoor industry, WCU's Outdoor Industry MBA was made for you. 📚 Join the Grit Lit Adventure Book Club [https://cairnproject.org/grit-lit] to read Melissa’s book this spring and enjoy other woman-created goodies! Check out these resources: 📖 Melissa’s book [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Climbing-Through/Melissa-Strong/9781493086689] - Climbing Through: A Courageous Story of Grit, Healing and Second Chances 🏔️ Melissaisstrong.com [http://melissaisstrong.com] ✨ Melissa on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/melissaistrong/] ➡️ The Cairn Project on IG [https://www.instagram.com/thecairnproject] ✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter [https://cairnproject.org/email-signup] 🥾 Become a Trailblazer [https://cairnproject.org/trailblazers] 📅 Summit Scholarship Foundation [https://www.summitscholarship.org/] 🎓⁠ Western Colorado University Outdoor Industry MBA⁠ [https://western.edu/landing/outdoor-industry-mba/] Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app! You can help us close the gender gap outdoors and beyond * ⁠Become a Trailblazer⁠ [https://cairnproject.org/trailblazers]. Your Adventure Fundraiser makes wilderness experiences possible for girls and women. * Check out the⁠ Summit Scholarship Foundation⁠ [https://summitscholarship.org/]. * Share this episode with a woman in your life who has a wild business idea she hasn't acted on yet. Make sure you subscribe to the See Her Outside Podcast so you don't miss a story! ⁠Follow on Spotify⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/show/01x4PI8OoMRS1Rx64OXsTf] ⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠ [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/see-her-outside/id1794910016] Listen on:⁠ Amazon⁠ [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d00e98fc-15c9-4856-a743-364bcd926900/see-her-outside],⁠ Pocket Casts⁠ [https://pca.st/pkdfwlg1],⁠ iHeartRadio⁠ [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-see-her-outside-265153886/],⁠ other platforms⁠ [https://pod.link/1794910016]

🎒Ultralight Backpacking Gear for People with Boobs: Building an Outdoor Industry Business with Sarah Berkeley of Symbiosis Gear

Have you ever chalked up gear discomfort to your body being the problem: the chafing, the shoulder pressure, the hip belt that just won't cinch down far enough? It's not you. It's the gear. Sarah Berkeley (trail name: Mellow!) is the founder of Symbiosis Gear [https://www.symbiosisgear.com/], an ultralight backpacking gear company designing packs and accessories that actually fit women's bodies. Sarah went through three backpacks on the Pacific Crest Trail before she decided to stop waiting for someone else to solve the problem! She founded Symbiosis Gear, an ultralight backpacking gear company built specifically for women's bodies. See Her Outside is partnering with Western Colorado University's Outdoor Industry MBA [https://western.edu/landing/outdoor-industry-mba/] — a remote degree program built for people who want to lead, build, and create in the outdoor space. If you've ever thought about building a career or business in the outdoor industry, WCU's Outdoor Industry MBA was made for you. Sarah and Angie talk about: * The heavy backpacking and camping gear Sarah started her outdoor adventures with * Thru-hiking the Vermont Long Trail solo and running into gear problems * Sarah’s journey to ultralight gear after meeting other hikers * Tips for solo hiking after experiencing urban assault * Going through three backpacks on the PCT and finally deciding to build her own * Gear and safety: The moment she fell through a snow bridge in the Sierra and had to make a fast call * Why the outdoor industry isn't designing for women * How Symbiosis Gear fits differently: curved straps, adjustable sternum, and a waist belt that fits every body size * Lessons from building a product-based business and what’s ahead Check out these resources: 🌐 Symbiosis Gear [https://www.symbiosisgear.com/] 📱 Symbiosis on IG [https://instagram.com/symbiosisgear] 📱 Sarah on IG [https://www.instagram.com/s.berkeley/] ➡️ The Cairn Project on IG [https://www.instagram.com/thecairnproject] ✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter [https://cairnproject.org/email-signup] 🥾 Become a Trailblazer [https://cairnproject.org/trailblazers] 📅 Summit Scholarship Foundation [https://www.summitscholarship.org/] 🎓 Western Colorado University Outdoor Industry MBA [https://western.edu/landing/outdoor-industry-mba/] Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app! You can help us close the gender gap outdoors and beyond * Become a Trailblazer [https://cairnproject.org/trailblazers]. Your Adventure Fundraiser makes wilderness experiences possible for girls and women. * Check out the Summit Scholarship Foundation [https://summitscholarship.org/]. * Share this episode with a woman in your life who has a wild business idea she hasn't acted on yet. Make sure you subscribe to the See Her Outside Podcast so you don't miss a story! Follow on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/01x4PI8OoMRS1Rx64OXsTf] Subscribe on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/see-her-outside/id1794910016] Listen on: Amazon [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d00e98fc-15c9-4856-a743-364bcd926900/see-her-outside], Pocket Casts [https://pca.st/pkdfwlg1], iHeartRadio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-see-her-outside-265153886/], other platforms [https://pod.link/1794910016]