SheJumps program helps bring inclusion to the backcountry

This winter, SheJumps awarded a Snowpack Scholarship to 12 women and non-binary folks in Oregon/Southern Washington interested in furthering their safety knowledge in mountains, especially for backcountry avalanche awareness. The affinity course, which took place Feb. 11-12 on Mount Hood, brought together members of the mountain community who want to create more access points to such knowledge and awareness.

SheJumps is a nationally-recognized nonprofit with a mission to increase the participation of women and girls in the outdoors. “We offer more than 130 programs a year, with a commitment to keep at least 35% of programs free or low cost,” said Robyn Gelfand, SheJumps national program director. Programs include the Snowpack Scholarship, which launched in the Pacific Northwest five years ago.

Co-founders Krystin Norman, Yulia Dubinina and Charlotte Guard created the scholarship program specifically to build up the community of women in the backcountry. What began as 30 partial-to-full avalanche course scholarships have more than doubled, with 86 spots awarded in various locations across the country this winter.

Introductory course

The course itself is a three-day, 24-hour introduction to snow science and avalanche rescue. It covers topics ranging from terrain evaluation to proper usage of gear, to navigating group dynamics. For the Level 1 Course hosted on Mount Hood, SheJumps partnered with Mountain Savvy, a local provider of American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) Level 1 and 2 REC certifications, as well as basic skills and rescue courses.

Dave Watson, co-owner of Mountain Savvy and long-time patroller at Mt. Hood Meadows, felt the program emphasized the demand to foster an inclusive learning environment for the participants. While he didn’t personally instruct, “I am very fortunate to have had two amazing and highly experienced women teach the course for Mountain Savvy,” he said. “Anna Hicks and Tarah O’Connor delivered a great course and I received great feedback from the participants.”

Based in Hood River, Hicks has been an AIARE instructor for the past four years, and a guide at International Mountain Guides since 2015. “I have instructed a few SheJumps programs in different disciplines and they always feel like a very welcoming, safe space where people feel comfortable asking questions and being vulnerable, which is critical for learning new skills,” she said.

The camaraderie between the participants impressed Hicks during the course. At the end of the second day, “when the whole group got back together, there was immediately a positive hum, with people sharing with each other what they did all day, a few people helping a splitboarder with some stubborn bindings, people sharing out snacks and talking about what they liked about their skis, bindings, jackets, or other gear. I was standing a little away from the group and just got a powerful sense of fulfillment and happiness with what I was observing.”

SheJumps also brought on Utah-based instructor O’Connor for the course due to her efforts of creating equitable access points and inclusive spaces in the outdoors. For the past four years, she’s worked as a full-time avalanche educator for AIARE and before that, as a ski patroller.

“It was a highlight hearing so many non-binary and female-identifying people say how much they appreciated being able to learn in an affinity space where they felt free to show up as themselves and ask the ‘silly’ questions,” she said. “After the course, I hope each student leaves with the knowledge of how to plan a day in the backcountry, where to locate information, and hopefully they have a few new friends and backcountry partners for future adventures.”

The sentiment rang true for Mindy Wu, an Oregon-based participant in the course. “This was a chance to learn about the backcountry and how to stay responsible, stay safe, all while having fun. What was most incredible, was gaining new friends and ski buddies from the course,” she said. “It can be difficult to move alone to a new city, as I did this past September, keep up hobbies, and find outdoor pals, but this was such a wonderful space of amazing people who I’m looking forward to keep learning with!”

The course also provided an opportunity for Kathleen Schut and Katie Heitkemper, two second-year ski patrollers at Mt. Hood Meadows, to shadow the instructors to further their careers in the snow industry. Shadowing is a key requirement to become an avalanche instructor, and requires observation and assistance in the field. Watson from Mountain Savvy stressed the impact of this.

“Avalanche education is multi-faceted. Instructors must be highly certified, have a depth of experience in the backcountry, be an expert skier or splitboarder, be well practiced in managing a group of various abilities, and be adept in terrain selection for participant safety,” Watson said. “All of this while delivering complex material to meet the learning outcomes of the curriculum. Finding qualified instructors is a challenge, male or female. So the fact that we have two highly experienced women shadowing the course and taking steps towards the required certifications is a really big deal for us.”

Inclusive environment

Both Heitkempter and Schut were struck with the inclusive environment at the course, and hope to continue working with SheJumps and Mountain Savvy. “I was impressed with how well everyone communicated and worked through challenging decisions as a group,” said Heitkempter. “I learned the benefits of creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable speaking up and declaring their strengths and weaknesses.”

Added Heikempter, “I hope to continue my own avalanche education and work towards becoming an AIARE instructor. I’d like to see more scholarships and grants to allow those who don’t often have the opportunities to enter these spaces safely.”

Schut felt similarly. “During the debrief, I was looking around the group and thought: Not only is this an all-women course but there’s also diversity. There are different ages, different bodies, different ethnicities, and different gender identities,” she said. “You don’t realize the lack of diversities in places until you’re in a place of diversity. It was really cool. This was all provided by SheJumps through scholarships.”

The experience encouraged her to continue forward with SheJumps programming. “Personally, this course reinforces why we’re trying to bring SheJumps events to Meadows,” Schut said. “Next year, I’m pushing for our patrol to host a Shejumps Wild Skills Clinic, Junior Ski Patrol Day, and another day for adult women to shadow pro patrollers on the clock.”

To get involved with the SheJumps Snowpack Scholarship, reach out at snowpack@shejumps.org. To stay informed about 2023-2024 applications, follow @shejumps on instagram or sign up for the newsletter at shejumps.com.