A rope team climbing the West Buttress ridge on Denali, high above the Alaska Range

a Friends of the Summit Scholarship fund

All-Women Denali Scholarship Fund

Help a woman who is ready for Denali, but can't cover the cost, join the 2027 All-Women Denali Expedition.

The climb

Twenty-two days on the highest peak in North America

Denali rises to 20,310 feet. Climbing this very high, very cold peak via the classic West Buttress route requires roped glacier travel, heavy packs and sleds, and a lot of time in tents waiting on weather.

This fund helps women who couldn't otherwise afford it join an all-women Denali expedition. Its first award goes to a climber on Alaska Mountaineering School's 2027 All-Women Denali Expedition, guided by Michelle Leonard, Nadine Lehner and Morgan Comey.

An all-women rope team on snowshoes on the Kahiltna Glacier, with Denali's peaks behind them

The goal

Bring her share down to about $3,000

Tuition for the expedition is $13,200 per climber. Our aim is to lower the cost for one climber to about $3,000, so we're looking to raise $10,000 and up. Anything beyond that helps the next all-women team.

$0$13,200 tuition
$13,200

Tuition, including the glacier flight, park fees, food and group gear.

$10K+

What we're raising, so one more woman can say yes.

22 days

On the mountain, roped together, as one all-women team.

The numbers are a guide; every gift moves her closer.

Why it matters

It's a specific breed of human who wants to spend three weeks trudging their way up a big peak, pulling a sled and shoveling out camp and wearing many puffies along the way. Yet for the women who have joined our two previous all-women's teams, this experience has offered far more than it took: lasting friendships, a deep sense of accomplishment, and new stoke for tackling hard outdoor objectives.

We've watched climbers grow more confident in their own skills and judgment, and many have gone on to make mountaineering a central element of their lives, personally and professionally. We'd like to make that experience possible for women who are ready for it but can't cover the cost. Denali is a tremendous learning opportunity, and accomplishment, for someone interested in a career outdoors. We hope this scholarship can catalyze greater gender equity in mountain guiding, and give someone a jump-start on an important next step in this field.

Michelle, Nadine & Morgan

Give

Put a woman on Denali

Your gift goes to Summit Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and is restricted to this fund.

Online giving opens soon

By check: payable to Summit Scholarship Foundation, memo Denali Fund, mailed to 5151 Rock Ledge Lane, Kanab, UT 84741.

Stock or donor-advised fund: email sunny@summitscholarship.org.

Apply

Ready for Denali?

Applications due November 15, 2026

Open to women anywhere in the world who already meet Alaska Mountaineering School's Denali requirements. Denali isn't the place to learn mountaineering for the first time.

Application opens soon

A panel of two longtime NOLS instructors and Denali guides, Morgan Comey and Michelle Leonard, reviews every application.

How the fund works

You give

Gifts go to Summit Scholarship Foundation and stay restricted to this fund.

The panel selects

The reviewers interview finalists and recommend a climber. The Foundation approves every award.

She climbs

The fund pays tuition directly to Alaska Mountaineering School. She's on the rope team in June.

Summit Scholarship Foundation, doing business as the GEA Alliance, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 87-2236254). Gifts are tax-deductible as the law allows. The Foundation holds the fund and approves every award; 8% of each gift supports its administration. Money not used in 2027 stays in the fund for the next all-women Denali team.