Silverton Mountain Trip by Jody Radtke

From the desk of Jody Radtke, Program Director of The Women's Wilderness Institute

I've been thinking a lot lately about what makes up the essential qualities of a Women's Wilderness course. Last weekend I had the opportunity to really put this question into action as I went to ski at Silverton Mountain in southwestern Colorado.

We were a group of seven women. We laughed a lot. We shared good food. We supported one another, as well as challenged one another.

It was our 1st day of skiing together on this trip. None of us knew the area well, but we all wanted to get out; to make some turns & warm up in the backcountry before heading to Silverton Mountain the next day. We drove up to Red Mountain Pass thinking we would maybe ski the Commodore Run that day but had only limited information on the route and how long it would take us to travel it.

We had driven across the state just the day before. We were different ages, different fitness levels. We all love to telemark ski...oh, and of course, we love powder conditions.

It was warm out - too warm, and the snow was soft, but not sticky. Moisture was being pulled out of the snow, and that combined with a storm system moving in meant that we were traveling up and in to pea soup conditions. Visibility was les then poor. At times I could barely make out the skier ahead or behind me even though they were less than 50 yards away.

It was a long and at times steep uphill climb. We were starting to spread out. Our rest stops were turning into breaks where those who had stopped first to rest and wait for the others to catch up, were starting to get cold and needed to move on as soon as the last person arrived.The caterpillar affect.

Ok - so we weren't perfect. But something on the uphill climb did happen that was really cool... gals in the middle of the line of our group started to speak up... "let's make a plan... everyone speak up! - make sure you can see the gal in front of you as well as behind you". We didn't want to lose anyone, and we were invested in the well-being of everyone in the group.

The wind was picking up. It was cold. People were getting tired. Would we make it?... What does "make it" mean anyways? Make it to the top of the mountain? Make it over the pass & back down to the road? Make it back to the cars safely? Make it a fun experience? Make some turns?

That's something I appreciate about traveling with a group of women... care for one another and the quality of the experience for all as part of the decision-making equation. Yes, we did have fun, we did make it to the top - up, over & down, with lots of great powder turns along the way. Did we have an agenda? Yes. And it was multifaceted.

The next day, we were ready for Silverton Mountain. Many of use were nervous. Silverton has a reputation for being steep, technically challenging, and rigorous as boot-packing is an integral part of the experience. But we had done the Commodore Run the day before - in near white-out conditions and we had made it back safe and sound with plenty of laughter over an amazing shared dinner. We were ready.

Though there were some tears shed in the next 2 days of skiing at Silverton (come on - why not!? If you're scared, you're scared and it's ok.) Each challenge was faced as a group with open conversations including room for people to voice fear, excitement, questions on how to maneuver through the narrow couloir-terrain.

Our guide, Kim (the only woman guide on the mountain), was GREAT! She fit right in with our posse of gals and there were drinks in the quanzit-hut shared by all at the end of each day.

So what makes a Women's Wilderness trip unique? I could go on and on about research (learning styles, chemical differences between men and women), the amazing qualities of our staff (professional, intuitive, experienced, playful), the open environment, the opportunity to do things that at first may seem out of reach, the supportive community that fosters the opportunity to try new things... but that can be read about in other places.

Really, I think one just needs to FEEL it. Hmmm - maybe TWWI should run a trip to Silverton Mountain next year... any takers?

Jody Radtke is the Program Director of The Women's Wilderness Institute. She has been telemark skiing since 1996, and is a big fan of playing in the snow.