CAROLINE GLEICH
The Mountaineer Who Took on Politics
By Taylor Hartman
Caroline Gleich is a combination of many things, but her story is grounded in the mountains. She’s an adventure athlete, an environmental advocate, a content creator with more than 222,000 followers on Instagram, a speaker, and a former candidate for the US Senate here in Utah. Her career is defined by adventure and discourse in nature and in the public arena. She champions environmental protection, social justice, and civic engagement, encouraging less hate speech and more civil dialogue.
A Life Shaped by the Wasatch
Gleich’s love of the outdoors began at an early age. Growing up as a kid, she and her family spent winters coming from Minnesota to Utah to ski. She would “count down the days” until the next family ski trip.
“From a young age, I knew that was what I wanted to devote my life to. I wanted to become a professional skier and a mountaineer,” Gleich said.
Gleich’s family moved to Utah full-time in her teenage years, after her half-brother tragically died in an avalanche while skiing near Big Cottonwood Canyon. She finished high school in Salt Lake County and started her undergraduate degree at the University of Utah. Gleich loved the landscape surrounding her.
“The Wasatch and Utah were always my dream places to live because of the proximity of the mountains,” Gleich said. “You can get to them so quickly.”
For Gleich, advocacy has always been an extension of her love for nature. The same drive that pushes her to summit peaks fuels her fight for conservation, human rights, and public service. Through years of mountaineering she saw firsthand the impacts of climate change and the toll it takes on mountain communities. She recognized the need for more voices in the fight, calling for outdoor-lovers to take an active role in advocacy.
“We need more environmentalists and outdoor recreationalists joining these conversations, showing up to the meetings and getting involved in these efforts,” she said.
She has also long used her platform as a content creator and influencer to elevate marginalized communities from advocating for cleaner air, reproductive rights, and equity and inclusion. Gleich believes that policy and activism must work together to create lasting change, much like the careful preparation and execution required in mountaineering.
Over the years, Gleich’s passion for activism eventually led her to an even bigger stage: politics.
“For everyone who feels frustrated, voiceless, or powerless, running for office is a really powerful way to turn that around,” she said.
That political journey, like mountaineering, would prove to be one of the most daunting challenges she had ever faced.
Passion Into Politics
In September 2023, Senator Mitt Romney announced he would not seek re-election, opening Utah's Senate seat for the 2024 election. Gleich, who had already built a reputation for her athletic achievements and for her advocacy on environmental and social justice issues, decided to run.
She launched her campaign, with an emphasis on the need for fresh perspectives in politics, particularly on climate change and public lands. She saw her campaign as a way to translate her advocacy into direct action, hopefully using her platform to elevate environmental issues and encourage engagement.
"I really see it as an extension of my civic duty. Democracy only works if people participate."
Gleich found the political landscape uniquely challenging. She described running for office as “by far the scariest thing I've ever done." But by drawing parallels between mountaineering and campaigning, however, Gleich found she could translate her skills in meticulous preparation, resilience, and the ability to navigate unpredictable challenges.
"A lot of the same things I would do before skiing a big line were really helpful for me as a US Senate candidate,” she said. “I had to use everything I've learned from the mountains in that run. The patience of waiting, strategy, and all the mindset aspects.”
Ultimately, in the November 2024 election, Gleich was defeated by then Republican US Representative John Curtis, who secured approximately 62% of the vote to Gleich's 33%. Despite the loss, Gleich feels her campaign highlighted critical issues such as climate change, public lands, and reproductive freedom, contributing to the broader discourse in Utah's political landscape.
The Chuting Gallery and Beyond
The Chuting Gallery is a well-known steep skiing guidebook written by Andrew McLean, mapping out 90 extreme ski descents in Utah's Wasatch Range. In 2017, Gleich became the first woman and fourth person to ski all 90 lines, an achievement that demanded not only physical skill but also mental resilience in a male-dominated field.
"That deep belief in myself carried me, because as a petite woman in the world, people have a lot of expectations or opinions about what I am capable of."
Gleich went on to achieve other mountaineering feats. In 2018, she summited and skied Cho Oyu, the sixth-highest mountain in the world. The following year, she climbed Mount Everest, despite a fully torn ACL.
"I've climbed Mount Everest without my ACL," she said. "I've climbed and skied big mountains on every continent and some of the biggest mountains in the world."
Beyond her athletic career and political run, Gleich testified before both the US Senate and the House of Representatives about the impact of climate change on winter sports, urging lawmakers to take action. And while she was not elected, Gleich saw the campaign as another opportunity to push for change.
"I was very grateful for the opportunity to serve Utah and to push for progress on issues like protecting public lands, cleaning up our air, and defending reproductive freedom," she said.
From her earliest ski descents to her bid for the US Senate, Caroline Gleich's career has been defined by persistence. Whether carving lines and breaking records in steep couloirs or navigating the challenges of political activism, she has remained committed to making an impact.