Sunny Stroeer
Occupation: Mountain athlete, guide service owner & adventure photographer
Hometown: Obernburg, Germany
Sunny Stroeer is a record-setting ultra-distance mountain runner, high altitude mountaineer, and advocate for gender equity in the big mountain realm. Prior to becoming a full-time mountain athlete, Sunny spent her twenties working in finance and strategy consulting after attending Harvard College and Harvard Business School.
Sunny’s passion is to push herself physically and mentally in the backcountry, in environments that push the limit of human endurance. In between ultra efforts and big climbs, Sunny resides in Kanab, UT, where she and her husband co-own one of the region’s premier backcountry outfitters: Dreamland Safari Tours. Sunny also launched AWExpeditions which offers women’s expeditions to high altitude peaks around the world. In addition, Sunny serves as the Executive Director for the AWE Summit Scholarship Foundation that breaks down barriers to entry to the big mountain realm for women from all walks of life.
Highlights:
Fun Fact:
‘I ran my first ultra marathon off-the-couch with three weeks notice — only a few months after I’d learned about the fact that such a thing as “ultra” marathons even exist. The full story is in Men’s Journal here.'
What are you looking forward to?
‘I look forward to continuing to challenge myself and push my limits in environments where I am not sure what to expect; my long-term goal is the South Pole. I am also looking forward to sharing many more summits and trails with AWExpeditions teams.’
Tell us about an interesting trip/climb/expedition where you’ve taken your LOWAs:
‘I have literally taken my LOWAs all around the world so it’s hard to pick a favorite adventure. Among the top 3 are the Iditarod Trail (where LOWA kept my feet comfortable and free of frostbite!), China’s Qilian mountains, and the Tuckup Trail in the Grand Canyon.’
Sunny’s passion is to push herself physically and mentally in the backcountry, in environments that push the limit of human endurance. In between ultra efforts and big climbs, Sunny resides in Kanab, UT, where she and her husband co-own one of the region’s premier backcountry outfitters: Dreamland Safari Tours. Sunny also launched AWExpeditions which offers women’s expeditions to high altitude peaks around the world. In addition, Sunny serves as the Executive Director for the AWE Summit Scholarship Foundation that breaks down barriers to entry to the big mountain realm for women from all walks of life.
Highlights:
- Iditarod Trail Invitational 350 Mile finisher, ski (2021, 2022)
- Grand Canyon Tuckup Fastest Known Time (2021)
- Grand Canyon R2R2R-alt women’s Fastest Known Time (2020)
- TransQilian 100km overall speed record (2019)
- Ouray 100 Mile Endurance Race, first place women (2018)
- Pfiffner Traverse - 76 miles with 55,000ft of elevation change, overall unsupported speed record (2018)
- Aconcagua 360 Route - 65 miles with 33,000ft of elevation change, first woman to complete the route in a single push (2018)
- Annapurna Circuit - 136 miles with 66,000ft of elevation change, women’s speed record (2017)
- Aconcagua Normal Route Basecamp-to-Summit - 6 miles with ~9,000ft ascent, women’s speed record (2017)
Fun Fact:
‘I ran my first ultra marathon off-the-couch with three weeks notice — only a few months after I’d learned about the fact that such a thing as “ultra” marathons even exist. The full story is in Men’s Journal here.'
What are you looking forward to?
‘I look forward to continuing to challenge myself and push my limits in environments where I am not sure what to expect; my long-term goal is the South Pole. I am also looking forward to sharing many more summits and trails with AWExpeditions teams.’
Tell us about an interesting trip/climb/expedition where you’ve taken your LOWAs:
‘I have literally taken my LOWAs all around the world so it’s hard to pick a favorite adventure. Among the top 3 are the Iditarod Trail (where LOWA kept my feet comfortable and free of frostbite!), China’s Qilian mountains, and the Tuckup Trail in the Grand Canyon.’