Summit Scholarship: Closing the Gender Gap One Mountain at a Time

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By Shea McCrary

Alli turned and looked at me with pleading eyes. 

“I think maybe I just need to eat something. Do you think there’s anything I should do?”

I wasn’t feeling well either and, admittedly, had been wrestling with whether my desire to summit could outweigh the exhaustion. I answered  Alli’s question with a simple, “Do what feels right,” and kept checking in while keeping my doubts to myself.

Alli was, in a way, stalling their pride and admitting they weren’t feeling well. That’s not an easy thing to do so close to the summit — especially when this summit had felt “close” for hours. Still, we continued upward, reaching steeper pitches with each step.

This was Alli’s first mountaineering trip, and with so many new tools and tactics, I knew my own head would be spinning. Was Alli’s? It wasn’t out of the question for us to turn around, but that wasn’t why Alli was here. 

Smiling from the summit, even if you can’t see them all through the buffs! Every ounce of energy was well spent as Alli (right), Yudith (center) and I (left) stood on the summit of Tocllaraju and enjoyed an espresso energy gel. All of our water bottles had nearly frozen up here at 6034 meters. Photo courtesy of Shea McCrary.

An expedition may have been new, but Alli was no stranger to grit. They were accepted to the Summit Scholarship in 2025 by demonstrating how this expedition would fill a need within their story. 

At the start of the trip, we went to work ice climbing, acclimatizing, and summiting the first objective, Ishinca. Discovery was constant, like how much to eat per hour, how to keep food from freezing, and which layers were too much or too little while climbing. 

By the time we were on our main objective, on Tocllaraju, Alli was leading the way.

Yudith led our rope team while I diligently followed in Alli’s footsteps. There was no chance of giving up once we committed to the final hundred meters. We stood on top and embraced one another in tears, knowing that we had given it our all.  

Alli was one of three 2025 Summit Scholarship recipients to attend this expedition and experience many firsts in the Cordillera Blanca with AWExpeditions, alongside Nana and Brittain. Each reached personal high points on the trip, beyond simply climbing to their highest altitudes yet. 

My timeline with the program started long ago. In 2019, I learned of the Summit Scholarship when I was building women’s affinity programs at climbing gyms in the Southeast. Though I wasn’t selected that year, it sparked something deep within me and gave me a vision of the impactful outdoor career paths that were possible.

I saw Sunny Stroeer building women-fueled expeditions that aimed to empower a new community of climbers through AWExpeditions (AWE). That seed was planted, nurtured, and, since 2022, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with the Summit Scholarship Foundation. Since then, I’ve shared rope teams, summit days, and many mountain experiences with Summit Scholars from around the world, and have witnessed former scholars become expedition leaders for AWE and blossom in their mountain guiding careers.

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Folks in the program have shared stories and insights that continue to shape my love for the mountains.

Samar, our 2025 Summit Scholarship recipient who climbed Aconcagua, is a force for equity and access to sports for women and girls in Pakistan. She shared that such a major expedition was crucial — but the powerful part was standing on the summit with an all-women team.

She had almost always climbed with men, often as the only woman. Many of our scholars relate to this experience.

 

“She had almost always climbed with men, often as the only woman.”

 

Another theme I often hear is the importance of role models. Alli, Nana, and Brittain shared over breakfast one day that it took multiple influences and reminders urging them to apply to the Summit Scholarship — people reaching out to say, in one way or another, “This is meant for you.” These cheerleaders and good actors in our lives matter. 

We want these opportunities to reach people at the right time to maximize their impact. And so, 2024 marked the inception of a youth program to create a cohort of younger Summit Scholarship recipients. The goal is to instill confidence and perseverance in mountaineers who might otherwise be discouraged. I’m inspired watching them hoist their packs for the first time and fully grasp their weight with the biggest grins. 

 

Alli (left), myself (center), and Brittain (right) — a winner of the Adventure Lens Grant — pose for a selfie on the acclimatization hike to Laguna Churup.

 

If AWExpeditions exists to create opportunities for all-women teams in the outdoors, then the Summit Scholarship exists to ensure equal access to the transformational power within those spaces. Through these two organizations, I’ve witnessed exactly that. 

If this story exists to say one thing: don’t give up, inspire others — you’re meant to be here. 

 

 

Shea McCrary is the General Manager of AWExpeditions and acts as an expedition leader and guide. In her spare time, she volunteers with search and rescue groups and teaches wilderness clinics. She is an avid climber and spends most days scaling big walls, alpine rock, high-altitude peaks, and sandstone towers. Some of her favorite summits have been Aconcagua and Incahausi in Argentina and Tocllaraju in Peru. She aims to connect climbers and be a conduit for impactful women’s teams on mountains all around the world. You can follow her on Instagram at @shea.mccray.

 

If you'd like to support Summit Scholarship, you can donate or buy a 2026 Women of Mountaineering Calendar.