Samantha Larson Issue #39

Peak Performer

By Jenny An
Published: March 1st, 2009 | 9:44am

Samantha Larson has a soft, almost shy voice — not what you’d expect from the youngest non-Nepalese woman to climb Mt. Everest. But making it into the record books has never been a big deal for the 20-year-old Long Beach, California native. Climbing has always been a family affair.

Her father, Dr. David Larson, introduced her to climbing when she was ten. By the time she was 12, Samantha and her pop had reached the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. “He decided that the fastest way he’d climb it would be if he brought me along whether or not I wanted to,” Samantha says with a laugh.

Climbing became a special activity between father and daughter; “My dad is usually pretty busy so it’s nice to have time with him,” Samantha says. “My parents are divorced so I lived with my mom and climbed with my dad.” The climbing duo is the only father-daughter team to complete the seven summits, the seven highest peaks of the seven continents.

“Originally, [climbing] was just a really fun thing to do with my dad,” Samantha says, “and I liked that I got to travel to all these places.” Eventually, those aspects transformed into a genuine love for climbing. She took a gap year from college to train for Mt. Everest — which she summated at only age 18.

Though the traveling is a major perk, it doesn’t come cheap. Climbing has often been seen as a rich man’s sport but, according to Samantha, her father’s successful career as an anesthesiologist wasn’t necessary for the team to complete a two-month expedition up Everest. “Part of the year off was getting sponsorships,” she says, “it takes some luck and a lot of motivation” but she believes that anyone can fund the trip.

Since Samantha’s first peak, she’s climbed one major peak each year and often refers to her teenage years by which mountain she climbed. Still, she’d describe growing up as normal. “It’s not like I had to halt everything else to achieve this goal,” Samantha says. “I didn’t set out to be the youngest to [climb the seven summits], but it’s cool that it worked out that way.”

Although Everest is the highest peak in the world, it’s not the final frontier for climbing enthusiasts. Though she’s hush-hush on what her next conquest is, she doesn’t deny that there’s “something on the back burner.”

Today, Samantha is a sophomore majoring in earth systems at Stanford University and studying takes up most of her time. Still, she climbs whenever she gets the chance. “It’s an experience that’s so removed from regular life. You can search your whole life for the feeling that climbing gives you.”