Mount Everst - Only the sky above

Helga Hengge was the first German woman to successfully climb Mount Everest and the first American woman to do so from the North Side (she has dual citizenship). Reaching the summit of the highest mountain in the world was the highpoint of an exciting career between the extremes of creative work and outstanding mountaineering achievement. Helga grew up in Chicago and Munich, Germany, where she started her career as a fashion editor at VOGUE. In 1991 she moved to New York to study marketing, philosophy and film at the New York University and graduated in 1995 with Honors. Working as a freelance fashion editor on international campaigns she travelled around the world on assignments. In 1996 she discovered her passion for climbing and within a couple of years scaled many peaks on her way to the top of the world. In 1999 she took up the challenge of the treacherous North Side of Mount Everest and reached the summit on May 27th 1999 via North East Ridge in Tibet. Her dream of scaling the Seven Summits took 14 years to complete - and when Helga reached the summit of Mount McKinley in Alaska in May 2011, she became the first German woman to stand on top of the highest mountains of the seven continents. In her inspiring presentations and keynote speeches Helga Hengge takes her corporate audiences to the top of the highest mountains in the world. Accompanied by spectacular images she shares her passion for adventure, for pushing physical and emotional boundaries in the face of overwhelming challenge, and the secrets of success. Helga has been a professional speaker since 2000, presenting her keynotes worldwide. Helga Hengge has written a bestseller about her Mount Everest experiences, "Mount Everest: Only the sky above".