A scene in Northern Mongolia from the documentary, “Nobody’s River.” The film follows the 2013 all-female expedition of one of the world’s greatest and least-known free flowing rivers, the Amur, from its remote Mongolian headwaters to its massive delta in Russia. The film will be shown April 14 at the Powerhouse Science Center as part of Backcountry Experience’s Women Outdoors adventure forum./Photo by Manaljav Altanchimeg

Girls gone wild

Adventure forum spurs women to find themselves in the great outdoors

by Joy Martin

If you’re looking for a sun-kissed woman, proficient in lead climbing, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, fire building, Dutch-oven cooking, Jack London-esque storytelling, nonprofit founding, filmmaking, travel writing and whiskey-sipping, then look no further. The Women Outside adventure forum is coming to Durango on April 12-14, and with it, all shapes and sizes of your dream girl.

On the agenda this year? Well, there’s the obligatory wet T-shirt contest, pillow fights, toenail painting, shopping, diamonds, raucous giggling, and of course constant chatter – like, everyone talking at once, especially as the booze starts to flow.

In between those hypothetical-but-potential events, some totally rad chicks will be sharing their stories at some of Durango’s hottest locations.

The three-eve affair kicks off Tues., April 12, at The Bookcase & The Barber (top secret password required). Sip on a Hunter S. Thompson or Rust & Stardust and settle in for a trip down writer’s lane. Through masterful storytelling and tricks-of-the-trade, learn from the real life experiences of Outside magazine correspondent Kate Siber and travel writer and co-founder of online publication, The Urchin Movement, Margaret Hedderman, as they speak on the rewards and challenges of being a creative in the outdoor industry.  

“Our relationship with sports, our bodies, and with being outside can take many forms and can shift in the most wonderful and surprising ways over time,” shares 35-year-old Siber over email.

A Massachusetts native, Siber’s writing career has taken her from working with the Associated Press in Italy to interning with Outside in Santa Fe, to her current home in Durango, where she finds “great joy in slowly ambling about the woods or the desert,” as well as pushing herself in backcountry endeavors. That is, when she’s not retracing Shackleton’s expedition to the penguin-bedecked shorelines of South Georgia Island across the frigid Atlantic Ocean.

“It doesn’t have to look a certain way,” says Siber of adventure. “Sometimes I think there can be this cultural pressure to be a badass. More power to you if you love hucking yourself off cliffs or catcing big air on your mountain bike ... but finding presence in the quietude ... is equally gratifying. Find what works for you right now.”

Hedderman, who is also the lead organizer for Women Outside is presenting on her “mishaps and unintentional adventures” during a trek across New Zealand, as well as sharing her insights on travel writing and chasing dreams.  

“I’d like to inspire someone to pursue that ‘impossible’ adventure they’ve always wanted to do but never thought they could pull off,” says Hedderman. “My hope is that Women Outside will become an annual community event that provides a positive and empowering environment for women of all ages who love the outdoors.”

As you leave the warmth of The Bookcase & The Barber, your head swimming with ideas and maybe that elusive spark of revelation that you, too, could be penning your adventures and sharing them with the world, get excited for Wednesday night’s special at Eno. (That is, if you’re not torn away by the Durango Running Club’s screening of “Kissing the Rock” at the Strater this same night ... busy week!)

Order a deep glass of Malbec and a cheese plate as Dawn Glanc and Angela Hawse guide you from the phantasmagoric wilds of Iceland to the top of 22,424-foot Ama Dablam in Nepal.

Climbing legend Beth Rodden, seen here, will be at the Powerhouse on April 14 to share her adventures in motherhood and the vertical world./Courtesy photo

After leaving the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia in the mid-1980’s, where she “took to heart the state motto, ‘Mountaineers are always free,’” Hawse came to the San Juans and started guiding ice. The profession has taken her around the globe, ultimately empowering other women to push their limits and reach the tops of the world’s highest places as well.

“We climbed (Ama Dablam) without Sherpa support, hiring only local women to help with logistics,” says 53-year-old Hawse. The all-women’s expedition raised more than $23,000 for the dZi Foundation, helping to start a safe house for young girls in Nepal.

More than half of the team was alumni from Hawse and Glanc’s guiding company, Chicks with Picks (www.chickswith picks.net), a Ouray-based climbing and skiing business they own with three other world-class guides. The Chicks love getting women out and about in the mountains safely – especially in the San Juans.

“These are some of the best mountains anywhere in the world,” says Hawse, who is one of only nine IFMGA-certified female guides (International Federated Mountain Guides Association) in the U.S.

Hawse and Glanc were invited to the forum by 29-year-old Lindsey Hamm, moderator for the forum and one of the Women Outside masterminds, who is in the process of receiving her AMGA (American Mountain Guides Association) certification. When the occasion arose last summer to help get this soiree off the ground, Hamm didn’t hesitate.

“I was like, ‘hell yeah, let’s do it!’” says Hamm in an email. “FINALLY! It’s hard to find other females to climb, hike, bike or just go outside with sometimes, so we figured this would be a perfect opportunity to bring everyone together.”

Drawn to Southwest Colorado by climbing prospects, Hamm came to Durango four years ago to work with Kling Mountain Guides, based out of Backcountry Experience.

“You have one life, one body, one time to go outside of your comfort zone,” says Hamm. “Don’t let a job, friends, family, relationships keep you from doing something you’ve always wanted to do. Go for it! This is the time!”   

Before you grab your harness and run out of here, don’t miss the crux of the forum on Thurs., April 14, at the Powerhouse Science Center. This closing night stars climbing legend Beth Rodden, as she shares her thoughts on motherhood and the vertical world, followed by a film about four women kayaking the Amur River through Mongolia, Russia and China, and a grand finale panel discussion with Siber, Glanc, Hawse, Rodden and Kristen Carpenter-Ogden of Verde PR.

Besides gleaning tons of information from these talented, successful athletes, writers and business owners, you’re also invited to participate in a drawing to benefit local nonprofit San Juan Mountain SOLES.

Founded by Ashley Carruth and Rachel Landis, Sistas on Leadership Expeditions (SOLES) bridges the gap between high school girls and big mountains through hiking, biking and backpacking. The mission is to “build a community of young women in our region who actively lead themselves and their peers to pursue healthy, fulfilling lives and contribute to the betterment of the San Juan Mountain region through environmental stewardship, civic engagement and mentorship,” according to their website, sanjuanmountainsoles.weebly.com.  

Thirty-something-year-olds Carruth and Landis share nine years of collective educational experience in Durango that reaches from Carruth’s humanitarian classroom at Animas High School to Landis’ influence as Director of the Fort Lewis College Environmental Center. SOLES is their solution to “recognizing the importance of sports and outdoor adventure in instilling confidence and providing healthy outlets.”

“Sisters will carry the lessons gleaned from their SOLES experience throughout and beyond their high school experience,” says the SOLES website, maybe someday sitting on the panel at a Women Outside forum many years down the road.

Intrigued? Well, all that’s left to do is clear your calendar for one or all of these nights, and do as your told:   “Get out and get some!” says Hawse, who adds that all you need to bring to the free events are your “curiosity, thought-provoking questions and a positive attitude!”

And money for booze, of course.

“Take some ownership of the experience,” says Glanc. “Ask questions and seek the information you need. Engage yourself fully so you can get the most out of every clinic.”

“And bring your A game,” says Hamm.

Don’t worry, you tirelessly competitive nutcases. Your A game will be answered with opportunities to win big.  

“This event wouldn’t be possible without the very generous support of our sponsors,” says Hedderman in an email, noting the invaluable aid of Backcountry Experience, Osprey Packs, Outdoor Research, Mountain Equipment, Ibex, Black Diamond and Alpine Bank, who have donated some “AWESOME prizes” for a giveaway.

But wait. There’s more. We’d be foolish to jump right into so much gnar without a stretch session, so the warm-up for these action-packed twilight hours is the not-so-chick release of Luke Mehall’s memoir, American Climber, at Maria’s Bookshop on Monday evening at 6:30 with beers to follow at Carvers.   

So grab your chalk bags and bring your besties; focus your glacier goggles and strap your helmets for three nights (four, if you go hear Luke’s tales) of stories, inspiration and fellowship surrounding our favorite thing to talk about ever, besides boys, fad diets, tan lines, celebrity crushes and moisturizers: the endless, red-hot thrills of the great outdoors.

For more on Glanc and the growing field of women in mixed climbing, check out www.outsideonline.com/2057971/why-you-should-know-women-mixed-climbing.