Antonina Samoilova's mountaineering career began with a breakup, two weeks' notice, and a one-way ticket to Antarctica.

Antonina is the first Ukrainian woman to summit the five highest mountains on Earth — Everest, K2, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, and Makalu — and in 2024 she made history by summiting Everest and Lhotse in a single 24-hour push. She grew up as a city girl in central Ukraine with zero outdoor background, and her message for women is as direct as the routes she climbs: fear is a door, not a wall.

Antonina and Angie talked about:

• Growing up in a landlocked city in Ukraine with no mountains and no outdoor role models
• Her first mountain — Kilimanjaro — and swearing she'd never climb again (she lied)
• The breakup that sent her to Antarctica on two weeks' notice, and how that trip changed everything
• Summiting Everest just four months after Antarctica
• Running out of oxygen on Kanchenjunga at 8,400 meters — and her only option was to keep climbing
• Summiting Everest and Lhotse back-to-back in exactly 24 hours
• Why she believes women's biggest limits live in their heads, not their bodies
• Managing your menstrual cycle at extreme altitude
• Her current "fear frontier": public speaking in English
• What's next — Nanga Parbat and the full Crown of the Earth

Check out these resources:

• Antonina's website
• Antonina on Instagram: @tonya.samoilova
• The Cairn Project on IG
• The Cairn Project's newsletter
• Become a Trailblazer
• Summit Scholarship Foundation

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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.
• Send this episode to a friend who wants to climb an 8,000m peak.

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