Rosemary Saal is an American mountaineer who at age 19 was a member of the first all African American climbing team to climb Denali in 2013. At age 25 she was the technical co-leaders for the first all-Black U.S. expedition team to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, in 2018.[1]
On May 12, 2022 she was part of the first all-Black U.S. expedition team to summit Mount Everest. [2]
Saal was born in Seattle, WA. Saal started climbing at age 12 at Smith Rock State Park in Oregon,[3] after joining Passages Northwest (now GOLD – Girls Outdoor Leadership Development). Saal is a graduate of NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School).
Saal actively advocates for breaking down racial barriers in the outdoor community by volunteering for the GOLD program, and using her climbs to raise awareness for minorities accessing the outdoors. Rosemary Saal told the Washington Post, "There’s been an intentional lack of access for black people. When Hillary first summited [Everest], black people couldn’t even vote in this country."[4]