This story first appeared in print in the February 2021 issue of Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine. Read the e-edition here:
Chaps with maps
In history class we were taught about ‘chaps with maps.’ Explorers, adventurers, and mountaineers, or middle-aged, white, privileged men as they’re also called. Natives were ignored, and women simply excluded.
Growing up I was obsessed with Cecile Skog, a Norwegian adventurer and mountaineer. She was the first woman to ever climb the Seven Summits and the two Poles.
That was in 2008. In 2014 a group of Nepalese women followed suit, and in 2018 Mrika Nikҫi became the youngest woman to complete the seven summits at 16 years old.
The last decade has proven that not only women can climb mountains, but that girls can too.
Female skiers are starting to appear on screen, and local camps such as Girls Do Ski and SheJumps work to boost women’s confidence.
Getting into the backcountry, however, can be a bit trickier if your DNA doesn’t spell ACMG, or if your lover-boy is more into party laps than kickturns. It’s the same dilemma as getting a job for the first time. Nobody will take you because you lack experience, but you will never get experience without anyone taking you in.
Ascent Mentorships
When Emily Wright moved from Whistler to Revelstoke she felt intimidated. Everyone around her seemed extremely fit and experienced, making her feel naked with her AST1 and few days in the backcountry.
Inspired by a similar program called Mountain Mentors on the coast, she created Ascent Mentorships coupling aspiring female athletes with experienced female ski tourers here in Revelstoke.
The all-female bachelorette blew up beyond Wright’s expectations, with 90 young guns jumping on the opportunity to be matched with one of the 24 mentors.
Female mentors and mentees
Intrigued by the idea, I met up with mentor Cassidy Randall and her mentee Jasmine Clancy for a quick backcountry lap.
Clancy moved out west five years ago to ski bigger lines and learn how to tour. Revelstoke had the cheapest season pass in B.C. on offer, and like many others she suddenly found herself Revel’stuck.’ But she quickly realized that getting an in with the ski touring community wasn’t as easy as just getting her AST1. The geologist and ski racing coach had been skiing her whole life, so her struggle wasn’t due to her lack of technical skills or fitness.
On the verge of giving up on this dreadful obstacle course, Clancy finally sensed a glimmer of hope when she read an article about Ascent Mentorships last year. Could this be the breakthrough she had been longing for? No more feeling like she’s “pestering” guys to take her out, no more unread messages and ghosting.
Randall on the other hand “lucked out.” She learnt how to ski in her mid-twenties in the mountains of Montana, and her boyfriend at the time was happy to introduce her to adventuring in the mountains.
Her job as a freelance writer also gave her the opportunities to stay at backcountry lodges and soak up knowledge from experienced mountain guides.
Revelstoke a unique bubble
When Randall first moved to Revelstoke four years ago she was baffled. “I thought oh my God, there are so many more women skiing here, why?”
The writer did some research on the topic and figured out that only 43 of Canada’s 5,000 ACMG guides were female. In Revelstoke however, a third of our mountain guides are badass women.
“There are so many mentors and women here who are willing to pass on their knowledge. It’s nowhere else that’s like this that I’ve ever heard of,” Randall said.
Exclusivist impatient mountain culture
Even though there is a strong presence of women in the local ski community and several ‘women’s only’ courses here in Revelstoke, Clancy struggled to find a sense of belonging.
Randall admits it can be hard to meet people without feeling like you have to ‘muscle your way’ into a group of women who are already established. It’s easy to think: “What if I’m not ‘cool enough’ to ski tour with these people,” Randall said.
“Until this winter, I’ve only toured with young men, a foot taller than me, and that are very fit, making the whole day a bit of a ‘suffer fest’ for me. I am fit, but it’s hard to get the invite to go out again. For me it’s reaching a threshold of how much vulnerability and rejection I can handle from people saying we are going to do this and I don’t think that’s something you can do,” Clancy said.
She’s not surprised that so few of her girlfriends are keen on touring, when the culture is so exclusive and when it seems like every day is a big mission with no room for patience. “Bro energy is so strong in this town,” Clancy said.
“There are all the traditional reasons: Not having role models, and the idea that you are going to hold the group back. You don’t want to be the girl who’s crying on the run, right? That’s the entire narrative you have to overcome,” Randall adds.
It also goes back to the roots of mountain culture being “incredibly masculine,” Randall said. “There is an idea that being vulnerable, compassionate, conservative, and cautious are not things that are valued in mountain culture,” she said.
Bar too high to learn in Revelstoke?
The nature of Revelstoke’s terrain and mythology automatically makes the bar triple the height. “There are just so many ninjas making you feel like if you aren’t the level of a guide, pro skier, or ski instructor and can ski Grizzly Couloir right off the bat, you can’t ask these people to go touring with you,” Randall said.
She believes that initiatives such as Ascent Mentorships is part of the solution. “Emily really solved the niche that is going to make the ski community so much stronger than it already is,” she said.
Mentorship: a two-way street
Both the women were suffering from ‘imposter syndrome’ on their first tour together. Clancy tried to downplay her strong skiing abilities, while Randall felt the need to utter the fact that she is not Christina Lusti or a ski guide.
However, the girls quickly became comfortable with each other and Clancy said she has already learnt so much. “It’s been massive in the sense of providing me with confidence, super empowering,” she said.
One of Clancy’s goals of the season is to learn how to facilitate a decision-making-discussion and having the courage to speak up, even though she doesn’t know “everything.”
“What I think it’s really interesting is how mentorship is a two-way street,” Randall said. After enduring several injuries and seeing friends go through horrific accidents in the backcountry, she has become a very conservative decision-maker. The mentor is excited to push her risk tolerance in balance with her mentee, who has more of an appetite for speed and big lines.
“I am going to learn just as much from Jas, as she is going to learn from me. It’s about paying it forward.” Randall said.
Not there yet
“There is a tendency to assume that we’ve already levelled the playing field, because there is more intentional coverage of women’s accomplishments
and obstacles facing women. We are starting to see progress, but there is still quite a gap,” Randall said. The mentor points out that Revelstoke is the mecca in North America where this is happening.
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