Khaetthaleeya Uppakham

Khaetthaleeya Uppakham is a co-founder and director of Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures. She is a member of the Thai National Rock Climbing Team and recently won the Silver Medal in Speed climbing at the Asian Indoor Games in Bangkok in November of 2005. In September of 2005, Kat became the first Thai woman to summit the Grand Teton in the USA by way of the Exum Ridge.

Kat is a highly experienced leader and personal motivator. She has had extensive experience working with international high school students through her work with Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures. Her recent experience on the Thai National Rock Climbing Team have added to her skills as an effective teacher of stretching and athletic preparation and thought processes.

Kat has worked with the Thai Authority of Tourism and the Sport Authority of Thailand helping to develop rock climbing as a new outdoor activity for youth in Thailand. She is the president of the Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Club and an active member of the rock climbing community working with local governments and educational organizations to help build a strong community.

Kat has appeared in photographs all over the world. She was recently highlighted in Cosmopolitan magazine Thailand as a “Woman Who Inspires,” and has also appeared Rock and Ice Magazine, the cover ofthe Omega Pacific Catalog, The Salt Lake Tribune, and other catalog sand publications.

Kat is a certified Wilderness First Responder with the Wilderness Medicine Institute.

Kat has spent time working with the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute, facilitating cross-cultural interaction among adult and student groups. Her work with CMRCA combined with other organizations help her to develop incredible motivational skills. She has also worked with Grand Dynamics Inc., Outward Bound Professionals, and the Boulder-based experiential-education program Where there Be Dragons. She is an incredible example of a modern Thai woman who has shed traditional barriers and succeeded in climbing mountains both literally and metaphorically.