The Mountain Within Reach: Q&A Emma Scherwin

By Sophie Tsairis

On May 15, 2025, Bozeman resident Emma Schwerin stood at the top of the world. At just 17 years old, she reached the summit of Mount Everest at 29,032 feet above sea level, becoming the youngest woman ever to complete the Seven Summits — the highest mountain on every continent — and the youngest American woman to summit Everest.

Her size never defined her; her determination did. She went big. From 4-hour Stairmaster sessions to a mountaineer course in Bolivia, to carrying more than her bodyweight up Denali, her determination and focus never wavered. Encouraged by her family and accompanied by her father and their guide Tendi Sherpa — an 18-time Everest summiteer — Schwerin carved her name into mountaineering history.

Mountain Outlaw sat down with Schwerin before she headed back to her senior year of high school to find out what it takes, emotionally and physically, to accomplish such a big dream at such a young age. She reflected on what the mountain gave her — and what she hopes to give back.

Mountain Outlaw: What inspired you to take on a challenge as massive as the Seven Summits?

Emma Schwerin: I went to Headwaters Academy in Bozeman for middle school, and in English class, one of the units was on Mount Everest — super random, but it changed my life. We read Into Thin Air and The Climb, which are about a famous disaster on Everest. We also watched a documentary, and there was a scene in it that showed someone crossing a ladder on icefall, and I remember watching it and thinking, ‘That looks amazing.’ I was driving up to Big Sky to ski for my birthday, and I was with my dad — just the two of us — and he was asking, ‘How’s your day’ and I was telling him about the unit we were doing in school and how cool it was and how it would be so awesome to do something like that one day. He was like, ‘Yeah that would be super cool we should — we should do that.’ So, we decided the next day. We booked a trip to go to Everest Base Camp, which is a two-week trek to get there and back.

MO: Which summit was the most challenging and which was your favorite?

ES: Mentally, Aconcagua [the highest peak in South America] was the hardest because of the wind. We almost didn’t get to summit — you don’t know if it’s going to happen until the last minute.

Everest was definitely the longest. It was 50 days, and it just kind of eats away at you emotionally — being so far from home for that long, waiting on weather. That part was really hard. Everest just kind of changes everything. It’s not like any of the other Seven Summits. The only thing you can really compare Everest to is other 8,000-meter peaks, just because there’s no other mountains that you have to spend two months preparing for and acclimating for. So Everest, it’s just like … it’s a crazy experience. And I mean, it was one of my favorite mountains.

But Denali was the hardest mountain physically, for sure. You’re carrying a 60-pound pack and dragging a sled behind you, and your body just gets broken down. I think Denali was my favorite, even though it was brutal. It was just so beautiful and remote. It felt wild.

MO: Did you encounter people who didn’t think you could do it? What did your family think?

ES: Yes. That was something that I really struggled with. Denali was kind of the turning point for me. After I climbed Denali, whenever I showed up, I was able to say, ‘Well, I climbed Denali.’ Before that, it was especially difficult because people thought I was just this little girl who was saying, ‘I’m gonna climb the Seven Summits, and I’m gonna be the youngest woman to do it,’ and people would be like, ‘Okay, sure … yeah, oh, okay.’

After Denali I was also able to say I carried all my own gear — 120 pounds — so at least I could tell people that, and it would stop them from doubting me, I guess. But I mean, I had to believe in myself a lot, because pretty much no one else would.

I’m very grateful for [my parents]. I definitely couldn’t do it without them.

MO: What would you tell other young people — especially girls — who dream big?

ES: It’s really important to me to kind of be a role model for other girls and show them that even if you don’t have someone else to believe in you, you can believe in yourself. And that’s really all that matters. You can do crazy things — and you can be the girl who says she’s going to do something crazy and does it. I’m in this calendar actually… for this guiding company called AWE Expeditions … they sell calendars to help raise money for women, young girls’ scholarships to start mountaineering. And so that’s so fun for me; I get to help other girls do stuff like this.