Rebel Girls CEO Continued Mountain Climb After Father's Death

Rebel Girls CEO Jes Wolfe continued her climb up Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas, after receiving news of her father's death. Wolfe, who was 18 years old and at 18,000 feet at the time, decided to press on toward the summit. Her decision to complete the challenging ascent has become a central metaphor for her leadership style.

Wolfe recounted the moment she learned of her father's passing mid-climb, forcing a swift decision about continuing or aborting the expedition. She chose to proceed, a process that took several more days to reach the summit and descend. She described the descent as even more arduous than the climb itself, and returning home afterward as a separate, significant challenge.

Wolfe previously helped transform Rebel Girls from a Kickstarter project into a media company reaching millions of girls. She is also co-founding the San Francisco Signal, a new professional women's volleyball team in League One Volleyball (LOVB Pro). Her experiences with grief, risk-taking, and purpose offer insights into leading when plans change unexpectedly.

Wolfe had been training for months for the Aconcagua climb, aiming to reach the summit with mountaineering icon Carla Perez. The news of her father's death arrived approximately 5,000 feet below the peak.