See Her Outside: Stories From Women Who Adventure

Angie Marie | The GEA Alliance
  • 5.0 (11)
  • WILDERNESS
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Get inspired with lessons from adventure that can't be learned indoors. Hear stories of women with a passion for the outdoors, from everyday athletes to activists breaking societal barriers to nature. By pushing limits in the wild, these women discover that they're more capable than they first thought-- and you are, too. Our nonprofit programs and adventure scholarships increase access to adventure for girls & women+, so that you'll always See Her Outside. Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure.

  1. 🥾 FKT on Kilimanjaro: an Adventure Advocacy Project to Get More Women Outdoors with Ultrarunner Colleen MacDonald

    APR 2

    🥾 FKT on Kilimanjaro: an Adventure Advocacy Project to Get More Women Outdoors with Ultrarunner Colleen MacDonald

    When Colleen was a kid, her mom read her a story about a family stranded in a storm on Kilimanjaro. Most kids would have been scared. Colleen thought: “I have to go there.” Colleen MacDonald is a mountaineer and ultrarunner specializing in 50 and 100-mile ultras. Her unshakable grit and love of flying down technical descents has led her to many adventures and advocacy projects (which you can hear about in our past two episodes together!). In 2025, that focus took Colleen to Mt. Kilimanjaro, where she set an FKT on a route she and her partner established. She turned this adventure into an advocacy project to raise thousands of dollars for women’s wilderness scholarships. Colleen and Angie talk about: Years of planning this high mountain adventure, with logistical challengesHow a childhood fascination with the mountain led her hereTurning her FKT attempt into a fundraiser for women’s wilderness scholarshipsThe FKT recap: 62 miles and a new routeBTS of Kili: guides, porters, female leadership, and support from her partnerThe ascent and descent play-by-play, then health effects after the featFinding a voice in advocacy and representation for women outdoorsGetting comfortable with visibility and speaking up for others Other conversations with Colleen: Spring 2025: DNF’s, Post-Race Blues, and Competition for Collaboration: Colleen’s Ultrarunning Story Winter 2026: Athletes are Advocates to Speak Out Against Fascism: Tips for Speaking Up Even When It’s Scary Check out these resources: 📱 Colleen on IG: @m_cmacdonald ➡️ The Cairn Project on IG ✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter 🥾 Become a Trailblazer 📅 Summit Scholarship Foundation 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. Your Adventure Fundraiser makes wilderness experiences possible for girls and women. Check out the Summit Scholarship Foundation. Join our book club, Grit Lit. Share this episode with a friend or family member. Make sure you subscribe to the See Her Outside Podcast so you don't miss a story! Follow on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Listen on: Amazon, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, other platforms Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure (GEA Alliance). Hosted by Angie Lake and edited by Alyson Castonguay.

    1 hr
  2. ⛏️ Building a Career in the Mountains on Her Own Terms: Guiding, Bodywork, and Moving through Trauma with Kat Schaumberg

    MAR 19

    ⛏️ Building a Career in the Mountains on Her Own Terms: Guiding, Bodywork, and Moving through Trauma with Kat Schaumberg

    Kat Schaumberg heard the conventional advice to prove her worth by climbing high mountains – but she ended up ditching the toxic culture to pursue true leadership instead. Kat began her career in outdoor education at 18 and went on to work as a mountain guide, instructor, and logistics coordinator for many outdoor organizations. She’s spent hundreds of days on expeditions across Alaska, Yosemite, Patagonia, Ecuador, and Nepal, and has been featured in Climbing Magazine writing about the vulnerabilities of being a female guide in a male-dominated space. Kat and Angie talk about: Getting hired at guiding companies and feeling treated as less competent than male coworkersWhat it meant to be a "marketable female guide": the pressure to be strong, charismatic, likable, and professional all at once — while suppressing her personal selfA trifecta of traumas that ended her full-time guiding career and sent her toward healingBringing bodywork and somatic awareness into expedition guidingThe menstrual cycle and outdoor adventureCo-founding a forest school and completing a two-year, 10,000-mile sailing journey: "always lead with the lungs, follow with the feet" Check out these resources: 🌐 Kat's massage therapy website 🎬 Kat and her fiancé's sailing vlog on YouTube 📱 Kat on IG: @alpine_kat ➡️ The Cairn Project on IG ✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter 🥾 Become a Trailblazer 📅 Summit Scholarship Foundation 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. 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. Make sure you subscribe to the See Her Outside Podcast so you don't miss a story! Follow on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Listen on: Amazon, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, other platforms Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure (GEA Alliance). Hosted by Angie Lake and edited by Alyson Castonguay.

    55 min
  3. ⛺ How Girl Scout Camp Built a Career in Outdoor Leadership with Mary-Jane Strom

    MAR 5

    ⛺ How Girl Scout Camp Built a Career in Outdoor Leadership with Mary-Jane Strom

    Grab the workbook: How to Use Your Adventure for Your Career Goals If you went to summer camp as a kid, you get it. The bats at dusk, the swim across the pond, the feeling of being someone slightly new for a week... Those memories don't fade. And if you worked at summer camp, you also know that the skills you built there — troubleshooting on the fly, managing 300 kids and 65 staff, keeping everyone safe and fed and having fun — are some of the most transferable skills you'll ever develop. Mary-Jane Strom is the CEO of Girl Scouts of Northern California, a lifetime Girl Scout member, and a Gold Award recipient whose project focused on increasing access to outdoor spaces for all girls and women. Mary-Jane is also a competitive swimmer working toward completing open water swim events in all 50 states. This conversation is for anyone who's ever felt like their outdoor experience doesn't "count" on a resume. Hear about: Why summer camp is a powerful growth environment for youth (and adults)The business of summer camp: 8 weeks or 3 days?Mary-Jane's career path from camper to lifeguard to camp director to CEOHow to translate outdoor leadership experience into resume-ready skillsMary-Jane's 50-state open water swim goal and how camp swimming started it allWhat the media gets wrong about Girl Scouts Mary-Jane on LinkedIn | Girl Scouts of Northern California camp info | @gsnorcal on Instagram Send this episode to your friend who LIVED for summer camp. Check out these resources: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠➡️ The Cairn Project on IG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🥾⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Become a Trailblazer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📅⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Summit Scholarship Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app. Make sure you subscribe to the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠See Her Outside Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ so you don’t miss a story! Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure (GEA Alliance). Hosted by Angie Lake and edited by Alyson Castonguay.

    46 min
  4. 🏃‍♀️From Running as Punishment to the Grand Traverse: An Honest Story about Body Image and Outdoor Adventure with Emily Holland

    FEB 19

    🏃‍♀️From Running as Punishment to the Grand Traverse: An Honest Story about Body Image and Outdoor Adventure with Emily Holland

    Do you remember running sprints as punishment in soccer practice, or the stress of the dreaded PACER test? Many of us equate running with suffering. But that doesn't have to be the case. Emily Holland is a runner, rock climber, and Partnerships Manager at HydraPak, where she builds collaborations that fuel adventure and strengthen community across the outdoor industry. This story is a reminder that we’ll probably continue to take in toxic messaging in running media, but with care and thoughtfulness we can always come back to feeling strong and happy in our bodies. And, we can create our own media to shift the greater running culture. Hear about: Our early running exposure, which was typically sports team punishmentExperiencing body image challenges as a child and adolescentDiffering cultural norms in different sportsThe negative effects of over-exercising and under-fuelingMoving to Boulder, CO and rock climbing and trail running thereLearning how to fuel for distance running and listening to her bodyRunning the Gorge Waterfalls 50k and the Grand Traverse in 2025Juggling goals in different outdoor sportsEmily's storytelling through "Jacked and Chill" and finding joy in strength training ⁠Emily on LinkedIn⁠ | ⁠Emily's Substack⁠ | ⁠Emily on IG⁠ Send this episode to a friend who wants to set a running goal! Check out these resources: ⁠⁠⁠⁠➡️ The Cairn Project on IG⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🥾⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Become a Trailblazer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📅⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Summit Scholarship Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠ Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app. Make sure you subscribe to the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠See Her Outside Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ so you don’t miss a story! Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure (GEA Alliance). Hosted by Angie Lake and edited by Alyson Castonguay.

    54 min
  5. 🏔️ Navigating Bipolar Disorder While Pursuing High Altitude Mountaineering Goals with Viv Serrano

    FEB 5

    🏔️ Navigating Bipolar Disorder While Pursuing High Altitude Mountaineering Goals with Viv Serrano

    Viv Serrano is a mountaineer who progressed from local trails to the summits of Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, Rainier, and Hood—and she's just getting started. But what sets Viv apart as an athlete is her honesty. She navigates bipolar disorder, manages stabilizing medications, and still shows up for the kind of training that demands a lot from both mind and body. Hear about: Climbing Kilimanjaro on an all-women’s team as a Summit Scholarship recipientDeciding to climb Aconcagua, then getting diagnosed with bipolar disorder while trainingWhy Viv almost quit mountaineering and the words that kept her goingTraining modifications and medication considerationsWhat the outdoor community needs to talk about more: medication, therapy, and mental health acceptanceSupporting women by becoming a Trailblazer with The Cairn ProjectMisconceptions about mood disordersRead Viv’s blog post: 5 Things I Did to Train for Aconcagua as a Person Who Struggles with Mental Health Issues Send this episode to a friend who loves real talk about mental health in outdoor adventure! Check out these resources: 📱 ⁠⁠@Viviautumn18 on IG⁠ ⁠⁠⁠➡️ The Cairn Project on IG⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter⁠⁠⁠ 🥾⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Become a Trailblazer⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📅⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Summit Scholarship Foundation⁠⁠⁠ Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app. Make sure you subscribe to the⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠See Her Outside Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ so you don’t miss a story! Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure (GEA Alliance). Hosted by Angie Lake and edited by Alyson Castonguay.

    47 min

  6. JAN 29

    Athletes are Advocates to Speak Out Against Fascism in the USA: Tips for Speaking Up Even When It's Scary

    The courage you use in your outdoor adventures is the same courage you can use to resist fascism. This is an unpolished but urgent bonus episode, in light of recent events in Minnesota and within the USA government. Athlete Colleen MacDonald joins Angie Lake to talk about why athletes and outdoor enthusiasts need to be using their voices right now to counter fascism and discrimination in the United States. If you've ever thought "I'm just an athlete" or "why does my voice matter?", this episode is for you, and we hope you share it with your network as an important conversation starter. We talk about: Why outdoor athletes are uniquely positioned to advocate for justiceThe parallels between athletic discomfort and advocacy discomfortHow to use your voice even when you don't have all the answersWhy brands and sponsored athletes staying silent is so damagingThe importance of small businesses taking stands over corporate PR statementsPractical ways to take action: calling senators, donating, storytellingHow to show up imperfectly and keep goingWhy everything, including your sport, is political Please share this conversation with your peers, friends, and fellow athletes. Resources mentioned: ☎️ 5 Calls - links + scripts for calling your elected officials: ⁠https://5calls.org⁠ Find Your Senators:  https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htmFind Your Representative: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representativeChop Wood, Carry Water: Substack of updates and small daily actions (+ scripts) for standing up for democracy : https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.comImmigrant defense project: news, printable cards, resources to help you be a good community member and help your neighbors : https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.orgImmigrant legal resource center: education, training and resources for community: https://www.ilrc.org  ICE Rapid Response: local numbers, connect with a rapid response team in your area  https://icerr.com⁠➡️ The Cairn Project on IG⁠ @thecairnproject⁠✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter⁠See Her Outside episode with Alex Garcia Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app! Make sure you subscribe to the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠See Her Outside Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ so you don’t miss a story! Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure (GEA Alliance). Hosted by Angie Lake and edited by Alyson Castonguay.

    41 min
  7. Women's Climbing, Imposter Syndrome + The Creative Process: Grit Lit Featured Author Lauren DeLaunay Miller

    JAN 22

    Women's Climbing, Imposter Syndrome + The Creative Process: Grit Lit Featured Author Lauren DeLaunay Miller

    Ever put so much work into an adventure or creative project that you feel a bit sad when it's over? Lauren Delaunay Miller is the editor of "Valley of Giants: Stories from Women at the Heart of Yosemite Climbing," and also a producer and award-winning audio reporter. "Valley of Giants" features 40 stories of women and rock climbing, going all the way back to the 1930s. We talk about: The challenges and beauty of editing a rock climbing anthologyParallels in imposter syndrome between writing and outdoor sportsThe unglamorous side of creative projects and authorship and managing expectationsThe "adventure blues" and post-publishing bluesThe strengths of women in climbingTips for aspiring writers and creatives Love adventure books like Lauren's? Grit Lit is our quarterly subscription box meets book club, celebrating women and adventure. Members get a box every quarter full of woman-created goodies, including a nature-inspired book. Interested in becoming a part of Grit Lit? Head to ⁠⁠cairnproject.org/grit-lit⁠⁠ to join and get a welcome box! It’s a great gift for a friend, too. More info: Grit Lit: ⁠https://cairnproject.org/grit-lit⁠Lauren's work: https://www.laurendmiller.com/ Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app! Make sure you subscribe to the See Her Outside Podcast so you don’t miss a story! Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure (GEA Alliance). Hosted by Angie Marie Lake, edited by Alyson Castonguay.

    18 min
  8. Aging Adventurously, Raising Outdoorsy Kids, and Solo Backpacking with Paula Murray

    JAN 8

    Aging Adventurously, Raising Outdoorsy Kids, and Solo Backpacking with Paula Murray

    Summit Scholarship applications close on Jan. 31, 2026 and The First 50k Sisterhood applications close on Jan. 10, 2026! Paula Murray didn't start backpacking until she was nearly 60 years old, and now she can't get enough. Paula lives in the Wasatch Mountain Range in northern Utah and has been a professional machine quilter for 31 years. She and her husband, Tom, have six children and 12 grandchildren. Paula's story is an inspiring example of living an adventurous life no matter your age. Paula and Angie talked about: Her first backpacking trip through the Paria Canyon and how it "blew open a door"Tips for women who want to solo backpackMenopause and relearning what her body was capable ofThe beauty and freedom that comes with agingHow being self-employed helps her prioritize adventureTips for raising kids who love the outdoors from day oneTraining for the rest of life, not for one event Share this episode with a friend you want to go backpacking with! Check out these resources: 📅 Summit Scholarship Foundation (Applications close Jan. 31) 🏃‍♀️ First 50k Sisterhood (Applications close Jan. 10) ➡️ The Cairn Project on IG ✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter 🥾 Become a Trailblazer Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app! Make sure you subscribe to the⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠See Her Outside Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ so you don’t miss a story! Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure (GEA Alliance). Hosted by Angie Lake and edited by Alyson Castonguay.

    46 min
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Get inspired with lessons from adventure that can't be learned indoors. Hear stories of women with a passion for the outdoors, from everyday athletes to activists breaking societal barriers to nature. By pushing limits in the wild, these women discover that they're more capable than they first thought-- and you are, too. Our nonprofit programs and adventure scholarships increase access to adventure for girls & women+, so that you'll always See Her Outside. Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure.

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