Scared and Brave as Hell

Fifteen years after summiting Everest, Alison Levine's still climbing mountains and calling bullshit.

Alison Levine defies every expectation of what a mountain climber should look like. She's petite, polished and poised, more Jackie O than bearded adventurer. But don’t let the exterior fool you: she’s a total badass.

A record-breaking mountaineer, she captained the first American Women’s Everest Expedition—one of only a handful of people at the time to complete the Adventure Grand Slam, climbing the Seven Summits and skiing to both poles. But for all of her jaw-dropping feats, what really sets Alison apart is her ability to translate these wild adventures into unforgettable lessons about leadership, grit, and being comfortable with discomfort. Her New York Times bestselling book, On the Edge, weaves together stories from her time on the mountains with sharp, funny, and often moving insights about how to lead through chaos—something she now speaks about to audiences all over the world. She has delivered more than 1,500 talks to mostly business executives; the lucrative speaking gigs, she says, keep her on the road 75 percent of the year.

Whether she’s dodging avalanches or business buzzwords, Alison always brings her energy–-both honest and relentless. In this Q&A, she opens up about her childhood, the climb that almost broke her, and the creative project she’s dying to bring to life.

AMC: Your childhood sounds both adventurous and unpredictable—roaming around downtown Phoenix, sneaking into courtrooms to watch Sandra Day O’Connor, and embracing an unusual level of independence. How do you think that shaped your resilience and appetite for risk later in life?

A: Oh, I was definitely a fiercely independent child… mostly out of necessity because both of my parents suffered from mental illness. My mom had such severe depression that she’d often just lie in bed in the dark all day. My father suffered from bipolar disorder and when he was unmedicated (which was often), it felt like grenades were going off left and right. I wanted to be anywhere else but at my house. And because I felt no one was really looking out for me, I developed a strong sense of self-reliance, which has served me well throughout the rest of my life. I know it sounds sort of dark— and it was a lot of the time—but I drew a lot of strength from my upbringing and still do.

AMC: Arizona has produced a surprising number of strong, independent women who push boundaries. Do you think growing up in the so-called “Wild West” influenced your ability to navigate extreme environments– whether in the mountains, boardrooms, or on stage?

A: Ha! I joke about this with my childhood friends all the time! We always talk about how there is just something really special about the kids we grew up with in Phoenix. But I am not sure if it is due to the geographic pinpoint or due to being a proud Gen Xer. [We] just figured shit out on our own and didn’t expect to be coddled or spoonfed throughout life. We didn’t expect participation trophies. If someone had a beef with someone else, they just duked it out and then hugged it out afterward. We didn’t hold grudges. We developed a thick skin, and it wasn’t just from all of the UV exposure.

AMC: You’ve faced challenges that might have deterred others: three heart surgeries, Raynaud’s disease, and some of the most unforgiving conditions on the planet. What was the first major setback in your life that forced you to redefine your limits, and how did you push past it?

A: Well, getting diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition was probably the first setback that really hit me hard. It felt like a backhand across the face. Because all of a sudden I was limited in the things I was allowed to do. And no amount of determination or resilience was going to change my situation. I had to adjust my expectations in terms of what my life was going to look like. Because my doctors were unable to stabilize me on medications for a while, routine things that my friends were doing were off limits for me; I was not allowed to drive and was even cautioned about going up stairs. And that's why, after my second heart surgery, I felt like I wanted to make up for lost time. It was eighteen months after that second procedure that I climbed my first mountain.

AMC: You’re known for your relentless spirit—not necessarily being the fastest or the strongest, but for never giving up. How do you cultivate that kind of mental toughness, and what advice do you have for people who struggle with self-doubt?

A: Listen, we have all had those times where we did not feel good enough, fast enough, strong enough. And what I want women (and everyone!!!) to remember is that you don’t have to be the best or fastest or strongest climber out there on the trails every day. You just have to be absolutely relentless about putting one foot in front of the other. That’s who gets to the top of the mountain! The people who will not quit — even when it’s really frickin’ hard!

AMC: Young women today have more opportunities than ever, yet many are paralyzed by fear—fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, fear of taking risks. What would you say to a young woman who is struggling to realize her own power?

A:I wish I could tell you that I am immune to feelings of fear -- but that is so far from the truth! And when I feel fear, I feel it deep inside my bones; like, it just permeates every inch of my body. And it does not help me AT ALL when someone tells me, “Don't be scared!" That does nothing for me. So I had to just embrace this mindset that you can be scared -- AND BRAVE-- at the same time. You can. Say that 10x every morning. Believe it!

AMC: Mountaineering requires not just physical endurance but also the ability to make high-stakes decisions in extreme conditions. How has your time on the world’s highest peaks influenced the way you approach challenges in everyday life, whether in business, relationships, or personal growth?

A: Well, I have a fairly high risk tolerance, because I have always believed I could bounce back from just about anything in life. Short of a terrible accident or a serious illness affecting someone I care deeply about, there is not much that can rattle me because I know I have the ability to get over it at some point. Having to turn around 270 feet from the summit of Mount Everest during my first attempt was pretty gut-wrenching, because our entire team had put SO MUCH into it. We all trained our asses off. I scrounged for sponsorship dollars for months before landing the Ford sponsorship, and then of course we wanted to make them proud by getting to the top— and we DIDN’T MAKE IT. Unlike many of the wealthy people on the mountain who were able to fund their own trips , I had no idea if I would ever have a chance to go back to the mountain and give it another shot. So that failure felt very final to me, if that makes sense at all.

AMC: How do you look at the next chapter of your life? Are you still climbing? Done with that and climbing other proverbial mountains--? What are your dreams?

A: YES! Still climbing. But I also have an item on my bucket list item I’m working on now. I’ve always wanted to write/produce/perform a one-woman show where I tell the whole story of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition. Yes, I have been telling the story on stages for 17 years, but it’s the corporate-friendly version, and I leave out a lot of what actually happened to me on the mountain. There is some dark stuff that went on that I have never publicly spoken about; there are also some beautiful parts of the experience that I have never shared. I think this will be an emotional rollercoaster for audiences if I can make this show a reality. Will anyone come see it? I don’t know. But I know that I don’t want to go to my grave (and don’t worry — I’m not going anytime soon) without having shared the hard truths from that trip.