Napa climber is the 1st Puerto Rican woman to summit Mount Everest

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A Napa climber is making history by becoming the first woman from Puerto Rico to summit Mount Everest.

It's the tallest mountain on Earth, standing more than 29,000 feet high.

Nicole Santiago reached the summit after weeks of climbing in extreme conditions - as part of an expedition led by an experienced Nepali guide.

Santiago spoke with ABC7 Mornings on her journey that took months of preparation and pushed her to her physical and mental limits.

"The person that I was that thought I could climb Everest wasn't the same person that got me to the top of the mountain," she said.

Santiago has been climbing for years.

She said when she started, Everest was only a thought in the back of her mind and she never imagined it would be a goal she could actually achieve.

"I didn't have the time, vacation time, and I definitely didn't have the money, and so a lot of it was me changing my perspective on things," she said. "I trained for a year, but I also fundraised and found sponsors, and all of that took a year as well, so I'm super grateful for everyone that supported me to get there."

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Santiago showed ABC7 the tough yet glamourous gear that helped her accomplish that climb.

"I bedazzled all my gear," she said. "I even bedazzled my oxygen mask, so I just had jewels all over me. I just wanted to represent women and be girly and show that you know there's different ways that you can be strong and climb mountains."

Bedazzled gear in hand and weeks after starting, Santiago finally reached the summit one of its busiest days eve, dark and early at 2 a.m. on May 20.

"That was a very surreal experience and overwhelming too, because it's not just that one day, it's all of the preparation and training when you get up there, like you feel it all when you're at the top," she said.

The climb is still taking a physical toll. Santiago experienced frostbite and is still waiting for feeling to come back in the front of her feet.

Still, she says the rewards and the opportunity to represent Puerto Rico far outweigh the challenges.

"My dad, he got teared up, and it just means so much to my family that lives there, that is from there, and I've gotten so much support from people, so it's yeah, it's so emotionally exciting for all of us," Santiago said.

You can watch her full interview with ABC7 Eyewitness News in the player above.