Nicole SANTIAGO

Female Mountaineer

Nicole Santiago is a Puerto Rican-American mountaineer, poet, and adventurer, climbing the Seven Summits (the seven tallest mountains on each continent) and training for her final summit - Mount Everest in 2026 — a feat that will place her among the few women over 40, and one of the only Puerto Rican-American women, to reach the top of the world.

Her journey began at 17 while working with the Youth Conservation Corps in Yosemite National Park, where she witnessed troubled adolescents transform simply by being immersed in nature. This sparked what would become a lifelong devotion to the outdoors as a place of healing, clarity, and spiritual awakening.

At 18, a friend gave her the book Together on Top of the World, planting the seed for the Seven Summits. Years later, that dream reawakened atop Kilimanjaro, where her previous partner proposed. When that relationship ended, Nicole climbed Aconcagua (the tallest mountain in South America) alone. The climb became her therapy — reconnecting her to God, to grit, and to her own voice.

Since then she has successfully summited the tallest mountains in Oceania/Australia, Europe and North America, completed avalanche safety and crevasse rescue training, and continues to train at an elite level. She is currently writing what will become the first-ever poetry collection inspired by climbing all Seven Summits, blending vulnerability, resilience, and reverence for the wild.

She is the founder of She Moves Boldly, a growing movement empowering women to do hard things — and to rise with courage when the path feels impossible. As a 40-year-old woman in a space where only 0.36% of Everest summiters are women over 40, Nicole’s climb is more than personal — it’s a statement. Everest, for her, is not just about reaching the top, but about reshaping who belongs there.

Her purpose is simple:
Climb the tallest mountain in the world — and help women everywhere climb the ones within themselves.

UPCOMING EXPEDITION

Follow Nicole’s Journey

nicole@shemovesboldly.com