Forward Momentum: Women in Adventure- One Footstep, One Pedal Stroke at a Time
- Laura Sander
- 7 hours ago
- 6 min read
When I left the classroom and stepped fully into guiding — and eventually building Vitality Active Travel — I didn’t think of myself as “entering the history of women in adventure.”
I just knew I wanted to create something meaningful.
For generations, exploration stories centered on men. The summit photos, the expedition journals, the expedition sponsors — they largely bore male names.
But women were always there.
Sometimes quietly.
Sometimes unsupported.
Often underestimated.
And yet they climbed anyway.
They rode anyway.
They guided anyway.
They built anyway.
Over time, something shifted. Women stopped waiting for invitations and began issuing their own.
That spirit is part of why I do what I do.
Some of you may have heard my “aha” moment story. It was the summer before my freshman year of college. I signed up for my university’s Water Wilderness Program — four weeks canoeing in the Canadian Boundary Waters before orientation.
I had never canoed.
Never backpacked.
Never slept in a tent.
But that story is for another blog.
One of the required readings for that trip was Annapurna: A Woman’s Place by Arlene Blum. Blum led the first American and all-women'ts ascent of Annapurna in 1978.
I didn’t even know people climbed mountains like Annapurna- nonetheless, women.
That book changed my life.
Building a travel company means wearing every hat — logistics, marketing, guide, leader, medic, listener. It means making decisions alone. It means trusting your instincts. It means believing that small groups and intentional design matter.
It also means modeling something.
That leadership doesn’t have one shape.
That strength can be quiet.
That adventure belongs to everyone.
When I lose motivation or feel like giving up, I return to something Arlene Blum once said:
“As long as you believe what you're doing is meaningful, you can cut through fear and exhaustion and take the next step.”
For decades, adventure leadership followed a narrow template — loudest voice, boldest risk, biggest summit.
But history tells a broader story.
Women have always explored, guided, and built — often without recognition, without sponsorship, without being invited.
The difference now is visibility.
And access.
When I built Vitality Active Travel, I wasn’t trying to prove anything. I was trying to create something — a different kind of leadership. A different kind of experience. One where strength isn’t measured by volume, but by depth.
As another one of my sheroes, Lael Wilcox, said:
"Imagine if we encouraged more women not only to get to the start line, but to believe that they’re capable of riding long distances, of taking on challenges, of going on big adventures."
And I would add that these goals are relative, not comparative. So go on a bike ride, sign up for the group tour, take the first step towards whatever is your start line.
Reflection to Ponder
Where in your life are you building something that didn’t previously exist for you?
If you’ve ever pivoted, started over, or built something from scratch — I see you.
Keep going.
Women Who Expanded the Trail
Here are a few women — past and present — who continue to inspire me. Their paths look different, but each widened what was possible.
Feel free to share yours in the comments.
🚴♀️ Annie Londonderry (1870–1947)
Born Annie Cohen Kopchovsky, she became the first woman to bicycle around the world (1894–1895). A Latvian Jewish immigrant living in Boston and mother of three, she took on the journey initially as part of a wager. She funded the trip through sponsorships, even adopting the name “Londonderry” for promotional purposes, making her one of the earliest examples of personal branding in sport.
She rode thousands of miles across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, often alone, carrying a pearl-handled revolver and fierce determination.
At a time when women were still debating whether bicycling was “appropriate,” she proved they could circle the globe.
🌍 Ella Maillart (1903–1997)
Swiss adventurer, Olympic sailor, travel writer, and photographer.
In the 1930's, long before such journeys were common for women, Maillart traveled solo through Central Asia, Turkestan, Afghanistan, and Tibet. She later journeyed from Peking to Kashmir with Peter Fleming.
Her writing captured cultures on the brink of change and explored not just geography, but inner transformation. She once wrote that travel was a way of “finding oneself by losing oneself.”
🏔 Junko Tabei (1939–2016)
In 1975, Tabei became the first woman to summit Mount Everest.
Before Everest, she had already climbed Mount Fuji and the Matterhorn — but Everest placed her permanently in mountaineering history. During her expedition, an avalanche struck her camp; she was buried under snow and lost consciousness before continuing the climb days later.
She went on to become the first woman to complete the Seven Summits and later focused on environmental advocacy, working to preserve mountain ecosystems.
She often said:
“Do not give up. Keep on your quest.”
🧗♀️ Lynn Hill (1961– )
In 1993, Hill became the first person — not first woman, but first person — to free climb The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite.
The following year, she did it again in under 24 hours.
Her ascent redefined what was considered possible in big-wall climbing. For years, climbers assumed the route could not be freed. She proved otherwise.
Her mindset is legendary:
“It goes, boys.”
And it did.
🥾 Rahawa Haile (1984– )
Writer and long-distance hiker who completed the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail.
Her essays explore what it means to move through rural America as a Black woman — reclaiming wilderness spaces that have often felt unwelcoming.
She writes about solitude, safety, joy, and the complicated relationship between race and open land.
🌎 🚴♀️ Lael Wilcox (1986– )
Ultra-endurance cyclist and bikepacking legend.
Wilcox has won the Trans Am Bike Race and set records on the Tour Divide, competing directly against men and often beating the entire field. She is known for self-supported, multi-thousand-mile races that require not only strength but mental resilience.
In 2024, Lael set the Guinness World Record for the fastest female circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle. She completed the 18,125-mile (29,169 km) journey in 108 days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes. She has said:
“I love bikes because they give you freedom.”
She is setting out this June to break the overall record!
🏔 Kristin Harila (1986– )
Norwegian–Northern Sámi mountaineer and former cross-country skier.
In 2022–2023, alongside Tenjen Sherpa, she set multiple speed records on the world’s highest peaks. On July 27, 2023, the pair completed all fourteen 8,000-meter mountains in just 92 days, setting a new world record.
Fourteen peaks. All above 26,000 feet. In three months.
Her achievement challenges not only physical limits, but assumptions about who dominates high-altitude mountaineering. She represents a new era of speed, precision, and unapologetic ambition in the mountains.
🚴♀️ Kristen Faulkner (1992– )
A former venture capitalist turned professional cyclist, Faulkner didn’t begin competitive cycling until her mid-20s — yet rose quickly to the highest levels of the sport.
Her trajectory challenges the narrative that elite athleticism must begin in childhood. She represents late starts, reinvention, and the power of choosing a new direction boldly.
🚵♀️ Kate Courtney (1995– )
World Champion mountain biker and Olympian.
In 2018, Courtney became the first American woman in 17 years to win the UCI Cross-Country World Championship. She is known not only for podium finishes but for advocating equal media coverage, athlete voice, and mental health in sport.
She represents the new generation of women redefining leadership in competitive cycling. In 2025, she launched She Sends Racing to further align her elite racing career with her mission to get more girls on bikes.
When a broken wrist challenged her training and mountain bike race opportunities in 2025, she took on and won the Leaville 100, shattering the previous course record.
Different eras. Different landscapes. Different forms of strength.
But a shared thread runs through each of these women:
They moved forward — even when the path wasn’t clear.
And that’s what this month is about.
At Vitality Active Travel, we design small-group hiking and cycling adventures that celebrate strength, connection, and forward momentum — one footstep, one pedal stroke at a time.
Comments