She's ready to climb every mountain

When she was growing up on the North Shore, experiencing the outdoors was not high on Stacia Zukroff's agenda.

''I was a complete couch potato," she confesses.

The image of Zukroff lounging on a couch is one that those who know her today would find hard to conjure. Since a friend introduced her to hiking eight years ago, the Arlington resident has embraced the outdoors with notable passion.

As a major excursions leader for the Appalachian Mountain Club the past four years -- and chairwoman of the Major Excursions Committee since January 2004 -- Zukroff has headed expeditions to Nepal, New Zealand, Alaska, the Canadian Rockies, and, most notably, the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania this past December and January.

She continues her far-flung adventures next summer when she leads two excursions to Wyoming, one of them horse-packing and hiking in the Teton Wilderness and the other hiking in Yellowstone National Park and backpacking in Grand Teton National Park. In December, she will lead a backpacking trip to the Patagonia region of Chile.

Her infectious love of the sport and leadership abilities have made Zukroff, 35, a fixture in the Boston-area hiking community.

In addition to major expeditions, Zukroff, the director of the study abroad and exchange program at Babson College, leads Appalachian Mountain Club trips to New Hampshire's White Mountains. She has also begun leading trips for an outdoor program for women offered by Wild Women Outfitters, an Arlington retailer where Zukroff works part time.

''Her leadership skills are incredible," said Heidi Reilly, travel coordinator of the 90,000-member Appalachian Mountain Club, who noted that Zukroff has also been chairwoman of the Young Members Committee of the club's Boston chapter.

''Whether she's leading a local backpack in the White Mountains or a backpacking trip to Patagonia, she really leads by example. . . . She's really good at making it simple, trying to make it easy for people to explore new places. . . . She works hard to make sure people are out and about and learning more about the outdoors and enjoying it," Reilly said.

''What really comes to mind with Stacia is her sense of adventure and her willingness to bring a group of people together," said Jennifer Burns, director of the Wild Women Outfitters outdoor program and the store's marketing director.

''She just has a knack for speaking with people and making them feel comfortable and helping them try things they might not have otherwise tried."

Zukroff credits her parents, Carl and Sara Zukroff, with her appetite for travel. Growing up, she accompanied them on their travels, including an eight-month journey in South America when she was 4.

But it was not until she was living in Washington state in 1997 that she was bitten by the hiking bug. Her workout partner at the gym ''hated doing aerobics and machines. She said we've got these mountains right in our backyards."

The two hiked in the foothills round Ellensburg, Wash., and later in the Cascades. ''I took to it like a duck to water," Zukroff said.

Returning to Boston the next year, she continued hiking, initially with the Young Members Committee.

Zukroff decided to train as a major excursions leader in 2000, drawn by her love of travel and desire to lead trips.

''There are a lot of places in the world I would love to go to but can't afford to," she said. ''Through the major excursions, I get to travel and I get to pick the location." The travel costs of major excursion leaders are partially subsidized by the other participants.

When you're the leader, Zukroff said, ''everyone is counting on you. . . . You are responsible for the group. So it's a lot of responsibility. I wouldn't say I relish it, but I do certainly do it because that's my job," Zukroff said.

There is satisfaction to it, particularly ''showing people places I've been to, or sharing my awe of places I've never been to," she said. Zukroff also appreciates being around people who have a similar outlook on conservation, recreation, and the outdoors.

Each trip has its own flavor. Hiking through Nepal in 2003, the group stayed in Sherpa-run tea houses, where they got to learn a bit about Sherpa culture. Her group also came within a two-day hike of the base camp of Mount Everest.

Hiking and kayaking in Alaska last summer, her group was treated to great views of Mount McKinley, she said. Backpacking and kayaking in New Zealand in 2002-2003, her group found gorgeous views and very friendly people. ''But," she added, ''it's really far."

Zukroff headed a group of 15 who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. At 19,341 feet, Kilimanjaro is the highest free-standing mountain in the world, the tallest in Africa, and one of the highest nontechnical mountains in the world. Zukroff, who confesses to being terrified of heights, does not do technical climbing, which involves the use of ropes and other equipment.

A staff of 95 people supplied by a trekking company accompanied the mountain club's team.

''The biggest challenge [was] the altitude," said Zukroff, who does not use supplemental oxygen. ''You don't have to be super fit to climb because you are moving so slowly."

The change in scenery was striking, she said.

''Kilimanjaro has different ecological zones. You start in a tropical rain forest at 7,000 to 8,000 feet," witnessing birds and monkeys swinging through the trees. ''Then you are almost in an Alpine zone. Toward the top, it's all volcanic rock and no vegetation. And there are several huge glaciers at the top."

After Kilimanjaro, the group took a three-day safari through the Serengeti.

''It was very exciting," she said. ''We saw two hunts by cheetahs of gazelles. It was just like the National Geographic channel. It was very cool."