Industry News
We all wish that as we go through life it will provide us with moments of joy, excitement, and happiness. Taking the good times with the bad times means that we also have to accept the challenges and obstacles as we go through our journey of life. In the end, we hope for better times than bad ones, but the human strength of not giving up and facing the challenges we all must face is what separates the great ones from the average person.
Caroline Gleich has faced many obstacles throughout her life that she has been able to overcome and achieve. She has climbed Mt. Everest and 8,000-meter Cho Oyu despite being told that she was too small and not strong enough to accomplish it. Gleich is an avid climate activist, human rights promoter, and advocate for gender equity. Her next challenge will not be trying to climb another mountain, but to climb the stairs of the U.S. Capitol building as a U.S. senator.
“I’ve been an underdog my whole life with skeptics questioning my height, strength, and bravery for scaling the world’s tallest mountains. Yet, I’ve summited Everest and Cho Oyu. I’ve broken records and defied limits. Running for the United States Senate to represent the people of Utah is undoubtedly an uphill climb, but I’m no stranger to overcoming challenges.” – Gleich posted on her Instagram page.
She filed for her candidacy at the Utah State Capitol and announced that she would be running for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat on Monday, January 8, 2024. The senate seat will be left vacant this upcoming election because long-time Republican Senator Mitt Romney has chosen not to run again. So far, the only other Democrat to file to run for the open position is Archie Williams III. Gleich has never held public office but is confident that she is up to the challenge.
“As I start this climb towards the U.S. Senate, I carry with me the lessons learned from reaching mountain peaks and navigating life’s terrain,” Gleich wrote on her Intstagram. “My commitment is unwavering—to empower, to protect, and to advocate for a brighter future.”
Gleich is no stranger to promoting environmental issues and has advocated to Utah state lawmakers to take measures to protect the Great Salt Lake. The Minnesota native first moved to Utah in 2001, having lived in both Salt Lake City and Park City, and plans to continue to fight for the environment and social justice, climate action, and gender equity. “When we talk about big, ambitious environmental goals like saving our Great Salt Lake, people are going to say it’s impossible, and we can’t listen to what anyone else says that we’re capable of,” according to Gleich.
- Related Article: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, WY, Owner Donates to Political Candidate Who Opposes Climate Action
If Gleich does receive the Democratic nomination, she will face several republican candidates who have filed their candidacy for the senate seat. They are current Representative John Curtis, former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, late Senator Orrin Hatch’s son Brent O. Hatch, Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, and former Lee staffer Carolyn Phippen. The Utah State Senate seat will not be easy for Gleich to win where the last democratic senator to be elected was Frank Moss in 1958. First Gleich will go on the campaign trail to face Archie Williams III for the open Senate seat, while the frontline Republican candidates are Congressmen John Curtis and former Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives Brad Wilson.
She has received endorsements from other professional athletes, including professional freeskier Julian Carr. He received the 2021 George Mallory Lifetime Achievement Award, the ‘Photo of the Year’ award from Powder Magazine, the prestigious Sickbird Award on the Freeskiing World Tour, along with being an X-Games Gold Medalist. Carr wrote on Gleich’s announcement on Instagram post by simply writing, “Go get em.”
Gleich’s announcement to run for office was in response to Sen. Romney’s call for “a new generation of leaders” to become involved in politics. Her vision for Utah and the country is to produce positive changes regarding people, the environment, gender, and climate action. “As I start this climb towards the U.S. Senate, I carry with me the lessons learned from reaching mountain peaks and navigating life’s terrain. My commitment is unwavering—to empower, to protect, and to advocate for a brighter future,” Gleich wrote.
