Too Rowdy?

It all started with a 1980s climbing magazine that I found at work one day and dusted off. There was an article in there about Lydia Bradey, the first women to summit Mount Everest with out supplemental oxygen. IKR, so sick. The story was about some drama surrounding the legitimacy of her summit because some salty climbing bro she was caught in a love triangle with was mad at her and was talking shit. Two things, first, it’s crazy that a story about some incredible feat by a women was shrouded in the drama of men. Men ruin everything. And two, it sparked my (what would come to be an obsession) interest in women in the outdoors. Bradey was just trying to do her dang sport, and climb mountains be a badass and fulfill whatever being outside does for her, and in the end men wouldn’t let her have even that. They doubted her, shamed her, and tried to stop her from excelling in what was then a very male dominated sport. Toxic masculinity was the battle she had to fight, on top of the lack of oxygen at the top of everest, and one that still lurks in the outdoors today. However, I quickly learned that toxic masculinity is a way more complex disease than I thought, and was forced to face it myself. See my previous article “Adventure is out there and so is Bro Culture.” Since reading that Rock and Ice article my journey as grown immensely with the people I’ve conversed with, listened to, and adventured with. Webs have been intertwined, lines drawn, and so much laughter and tears sounding this one commonality: how have men ruined things for you, even if they don’t even realize they’re doing it, specifically in our respective outdoor industries?    

Recently I was camping with some college friends reminiscing about our time working for our universities’ outdoor adventure program. This group of friends are primarily paddlers and I pondered aloud “I wonder why not that many femme mountain bikers came out of the OAP…?” And then I realized something, something that has brought me full circle to an open conversation I’ve been having with myself and my peers and random men I meet at bars for years now. A conversation that has hugely shaped my identity as a femme cyclist in her 20s. This on going conversation has finally brought me to the climax of it all. The solution of it all perhaps? The solution to the question ‘how can I as an individual contribute to diversifying the outdoor community’.

However, to fully answer this I have to go all the way back to a dingy basement bar in Leavenworth, WA. Home to copious mountain bike trails class five white water, hiking, tubing, etc. Leavenworth is a dream of a little mountain town. And it was here that my journey brought me that day. I was chatting with some local boys about the various outdoor activities in town and it was here that I first asked one of my favorite questions to ask cis white males. “So, are there a lot of women who white water kayak?” “no not really” “maybe one” “no” “hmm, interesting, so why do you think that is?” and in unison the boys responded “oh, it’s too rowdy” meaning too hard, the white water is too challenging for a women paddler to enjoy or even attempt. I was shocked. 

The next day while on a group ride I meet, drum roll please, a local female paddler. I ask her the same question “are there a lot of women in the paddling community here?” “no, not really unfortunately” “and why do you think that is?” too which she responded “Well, it’s just not a very inclusive paddling community here. No one is super willing to take you out and show you the lines, clean you up when you swim, watch out for you. Paddling has a steep learning curve and no one is really willing to slow down for a day. I luckily had an older brother who took the time to teach me the lines and watch out for me until I was good enough to hold my own.” So it was not that the white water was too rowdy for women, it’s that the community is not inclusive enough. Sports being too rowdy for women? that’s the exact kind of toxic thinking that has us all in this mess to begin with. 

Cut to Durango Co, I’m sitting at yet another bar with a ski bro instead. Were talking about backcountry skiing / split boarding. I ask if its hard to get into this sport around here. What are the conditions like, accessibility, etc, but most importantly what is the community like. I tell him how my friend took me the season prior and just based on her knowledge of my snowboarding skills and such she decided it was worth the risk to take a beginner out and we found the necessary gear and sent it and had a great SAFE time. The man thought for a second and said “yeah okay, I’d probably take you out once but then find a “group of girls” to pair you with for the rest of your beginner season. which is a problematic statement on so many levels. But what really stuck me was that he was only willing to take me out once.

After a few months of chewing on these thoughts, I realized I am no better than this cis white male sitting in front of me. When was the last time I took out a beginner to go mountain biking? I criticized these men for wanting to get rad all day every day when I am guilty of doing the same thing. If I ride my mountain bike seven days a week, why not take one of those days to show someone new a great chill trail. A beginner women, a beginner BIPOC, maybe even lend my bike out to someone who doesn’t have access to a bike?? 

I had a conversation with a friend and he asked what can he do as a cis white male to encourage diversity. I told him just invite people out. Invite people to join the ride. And then follow up. It can be really intimidating showing up to a group of men going to ride mountain bikes. But that follow up text or even better that ‘lets ride to the meet up together’ text, thats what will get me to actually show up. Getting invited is half the battle, feeling welcomed and safe in a space is the rest of it. I should take my own advice.

I’m scrolling on Instagram and come across  a post by [probably the most popular] snowboarding brand in the business and it says “everyone has a story, and we all have someone who showed us the way…who will you share snowboarding with this winter?” and boom, that’s it. Take out a beginner. You don’t have to be getting rad and doing gnarly shit all day every day. Diversifying the outdoors is going to require checking our toxic masculinity at the door (yes that includes us ladies too and our toxic masculinity) and creating a safe space for beginners and Trans/Femme/non- binary and BIPOC. Invite someone out, follow up, and make them feel welcome. Just once a week or once a month, make it a 2021 goal. And I tip my hat off to Burton for publicizing this notion. So once more for the people in the back! Who will you share an adventure with this year?