Lenin Peak above the red and green valleys of the Pamir, Kyrgyzstan
Lenin Peak, Pamir, Kyrgyzstan

Shea McCrary

General Manager and incoming owner, AWExpeditions

Based in Las Vegas. Climbing since 2019.

2019working in climbing since
2022guiding since
7countries climbed in
6,961 mhighest summit

Upcoming

Where I'm going next.

A climber on the crater rim ridge with the rope running back down, Pico de Orizaba
Pico de Orizaba
Shea McCrary resting at camp on Chopicalqui, Cordillera Blanca

How I got here

I grew up in Missouri, where camping meant a cabin with a microwave and a creek day was the wildest thing on the calendar. Nobody in my family climbed mountains. Nobody had a pack or crampons or knew what either of those things were.

That turned into an environmental science degree, then climbing gym management, then just, well, climbing. Then search and rescue. Then the summit of Aconcagua with half a dozen women in front of me.

The path was not linear. It was always pointed uphill.

From the last few seasons

A roped pair moving up a steep snow ridge under a mackerel sky
Pico de Orizaba
Two climbers on the summit ridge before dawn
Chopicalqui, summit day
Shea McCrary coiling a rope in the snow at high camp
Chopicalqui
The team eating at a long red table in base camp, peaks behind
Base camp, Peru
Shea McCrary and a teammate stopped on the walk in
Cordillera Blanca
Tents lit from inside under the Milky Way at high camp
High camp, Peru
Alpenglow on the peaks above high camp
Chopicalqui
Three climbers pulling faces for a selfie at base camp
Lenin Peak
An AWExpeditions rope team celebrating on a summit, Cordillera Blanca01

AWExpeditions

The company I run. Expeditions in Peru, Kyrgyzstan and Argentina, for women who are serious about high altitude.

A climber on a narrow ridge under a mackerel sky, Pico de Orizaba02

Field notes

Trip reports, plus essays in Summit Journal and for AWExpeditions.

A rope team on a knife-edge snow ridge, Cordillera Blanca, Peru03

Climbing record

Every peak, route and certification, and 1,280 routes logged on Mountain Project.

Shea McCrary on a summit with her ice axe raised, Cordillera Blanca, Peru
Cordillera Blanca, Peru

Credentials

General Manager, incoming owner
AWExpeditions: Peru, Kyrgyzstan, Argentina
Guiding since 2022
Working in climbing since 2019
Wilderness First Responder
NOLS Wilderness Medicine
EMT
Emergency medical technician
Technical Ropes Team
Red Rock Search & Rescue, Nevada
NASAR member
National Association for Search and Rescue
Summit Scholarship Foundation
Special projects, and the Women of Mountaineering Calendar
B.S. Environmental Science
University of Arkansas
Languages
English, conversational Spanish, some French and Russian