Sophia Danenberg is a petite adventurer of brains and brawn. A Harvard-educated environmental scientist by day, and a fearless mountain climber on her days off.

By her 34th birthday, Sophia had already scaled a slew of mountains around the world, from Denali to Kilimanjaro.

In May 2006, she conquered the most iconic of them all, Mount Everest. Traveling without a sherpa, she carried her own gear and supplies, and mapped out her route – two things few Everest climbers have the cojones to do.