Her father, a corporate lawyer and a collateral descendant of John C. Calhoun,[2] sent her to an exclusive private school in Greenville where she excelled in sports, particularly hockey and skiing.
[3] Calhoun's parents separated while she was in high school, and her younger brother Gib died by suicide shortly after she left college.
[5] Calhoun began her career in mountain climbing as an Outward Bound guide in Colorado after graduating from college.
[3] She later became a guide for the American Alpine Institute, with whom she led climbs in Peru, Bolivia, Alaska, Argentina, and Nepal.
[3] After receiving her MBA, she founded Exum Mountain Adventures, a guiding company based in Salt Lake City.