Welcome to Summit Sisters!

August 11-13 , 2023 | Jamestown, CO

Summit Sisters by Women's Wilderness (2)
Summit Sisters is our largest Women’s Wilderness community gathering of the year! The weekend is centered around building our individual and collective resilience through workshops, shared meals and conversations, adventure, and community. 
This year’s theme is Being Human Together – embracing our nature, growing together in community, and leaning into imperfection in the process. Watch the video from event co-coordinators Kriste Peoples and Erin Jobe to learn more!

What's Included

Summit Sisters - What's Included
Here’s a short list of some of the workshop, activities and goodies you can expect!
  • Social identity and community building
  • Movement and dance
  • Outdoor survival skills
  • Creative and healing arts
  • Plant identification and connection to land
  • Reflective and restorative practices
  • Nature-based ritual, and much more!
  • Meals and snacks (Friday night dinner through Sunday breakfast)
  • Lodging/Camping for Friday & Saturday night
  • A full schedule of workshops, group discussions and activities all weekend
  • Cotopaxi mini hip pack stocked with SunBum lip balm and sunscreen
  • REI branded Nalgene water bottle and bandana

Pricing

Financial aid is available – click here to learn more and apply.

Bunk House (SOLD OUT)

$ 350
  • Dorm style beds with 4” mattresses and shared restroom facilities, linens not included. Each guest will have their own bottom bunk (with an empty top bunk). Up to eight guests per room.
SOLD OUT

Camping (SOLD OUT)

$ 300
  • Group camping in a field/wooded area adjacent to the main lodge. Space is limited, please consider sharing a tent if you are coming with friends/family. Access to nearby restrooms and showers is available.
SOLD OUT

About the Venue

Summit Sisters 2023 will take place at Cal-Wood Outdoor Education Center. 

Cal-Wood is a like minded non-profit organization that shares our commitment to removing barriers to accessing the outdoors. This 1,200 acre property is home to mountain views, cozy accommodations, spruce and pine forest, trails and wildlife, and delicious food in the mountains of Jamestown, Colorado. The venue is conveniently located just 35 minutes north of Boulder, Colorado at an elevation of 7,800 ft.

Meet Your Instructors

Instructors will be facilitating workshops and creating space for all women (cis, trans, nonbinary, LGBTQIA+) 18+ from all backgrounds, ethnicities, and abilities. 

Stay tuned to this page for event updates!

Jes

(They/Them)

Co-Facilitator

Jes Rau is a facilitator with decades of experience in supporting people in their journey toward collective liberation.  They spent seven years as the executive director of cityWILD, a nature-based youth development program…

Norma

(She/Her)

Co-Facilitator

Norma (she/her) is a healer, inspirationalist, poetic storyteller and racial justice catalyst who brings a creative background into her distinctive presentation form of activism and education…

Kriste

(She/Her)

Kriste is a passionate outdoor enthusiast who loves being in community while in nature. She’s all about bringing mindfulness and storytelling into the mix…

Lisa

(She/Her)

Lisa is a retired firefighter paramedic who finds physical and mental respite in nature, and loves to share these benefits with nature newcomers!

Erin

(She/Her)

Erin has been getting up close and personal with nature since childhood, when she was growing up on a farm in Arkansas with sisters, goats…

Jessie

(She/Her)

A former USAF S.E.R.E. Specialist (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape), Jessie has felt a strong connection with wild places since her childhood in Michigan.

Emily

(She/Her)

Emily has been working at the junction of mental health and wilderness for more than fifteen years, and is a former Executive Director of Women’s Wilderness.

Linh

(She/Her)

Linh is a proud refugee from Vietnam, a retired registered nurse of 38 years and sassy mother of 3, sister of 4 and friend of all.

Natalie

(She/Her)

Hi! I’m Natalie, a Denver, Colorado-based body-centered practitioner and facilitator. I’m also creator of a body-centered shadow coaching program called Return to Self.

Bianca

(She/Her)

I was born and raised in beautiful Colorado, and I am passionate about making yoga accessible to all communities. I’ve been teaching yoga for 8 years, but I also enjoy the little things in life…

Erica

(She/Her)

Erica has over 10 years of experience guiding and instructing a variety of outdoor adventures. While she didn’t grow up fishing, Erica is a self taught angler…

Cheyenne

(She/Her)

Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Cheyenne is a certified AMGA single pitch instructor, field guide and entrepreneur. Her passions include cultivating mentor-mentee relationships and expanding her skill set…

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2023 Schedule

Friday
3:00pm - 5:30pmCheck-in
5:30pmWelcome & Orientation
6:00pm - 8:00pmDinner + Opening Ceremony: Being Human Together - Community Conversation
8:30pmMovement, Embodiment, Dance
10:00pmQuiet Time/ Lights Out
Saturday
6:30amEnergizing Yoga to Welcome the Day
6:30amTai Chi
7:00amBreakfast
8:00am - 10:00amWorkshops:
Nature Hike (Moderate)
When Nature Calls, Leave No Trace
Touching in with the Present Moment
Prompted by Nature
Fly Fishing 101
10:00am - 11:00amFree Time
11:00amLunch
12:30pm - 2:30pmBeing Human Together - Community Conversations and Affinity Spaces
2:30pm - 3:30pmFree Time
3:30pm - 5:30pmWorkshops:
Connection - A Conscious Dance Experiment
Have you Met Your Wild Twin?
Nature Meandering and Mindfulness
Community Quilt Project
Staying Safe
6:00pmDinner
7:30pmInstructor Panel: Skills for Challenging Times
8:30pmMoon Salutations Yoga
9:15pmOh My Stars!
10:00pmQuiet Time/ Lights Out
Sunday
6:30amMorning Meditation: Embracing the Healing Nature of Stillness
6:30amTai Chi
7:00amBreakfast and Pack Up
8:30am - 10:00amWorkshops:
Evasion Skills
Lions, Bears, and Moose - Oh My!
Art in Nature: Exploring Colorado's Wildflowers through Scientific Drawing
Fly Fishing 101
10:00am - 12:00pmBeing Human Together - Closing Ceremony

Download Schedule

*schedule is subject to change

Workshop Descriptions

This list will be updated as more courses are confirmed.

Integral Tai Chi

with Linh
Integral Tai Chi is a health improvement program, combining Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and Meditation in one system that integrates body, mind, and spirit. This class serves to bring the vision of restoring health, engendering hope, and facilitating a healing process. This program allows you to generate and use energy effectively, enhance brain functionality, increase physical fitness, reduce stress, increase flexibility, lessen the effects of aging, and improve feelings of wellbeing. Requirements for class include: Yoga mat, t-shirt and sweatpants (no trunks or shorts), bottle water, and yoga mat.

Dance Your Now

with Natalie
Shake off your work week and put your everyday life on pause. It’s now time to focus on YOU. Settle into your body and the present moment by connecting through your dance! Nothing brings us into the now moment like lightly facilitated conscious movement and great music so bring your curiosity and let’s get this party started! (Dress in loose non-restrictive clothing that you can move freely in. We dance barefoot but bring comfortable shoes just in case the flooring isn’t the best.)

CONNECTION: A Conscious Dance Experience

with Natalie
We were born to be in connection. However, more and more often, we feel increasingly isolated, lonely, and cut off from others and, more important, ourselves. Experience what it feels like to be in full connection; with your body, with yourself, and in the company of others. Bring your curiosity and your sense of play; let’s see what magic we can stir up! (Dress in loose non-restrictive clothing that you can move freely in. We dance barefoot but bring comfortable shoes just in case the flooring isn’t the best.)

Energizing Yoga to Welcome the Day

with Bianca
Let’s welcome the day with an uplifting and energizing yoga flow that will help open our hearts and mind for the day we have ahead of us. Expect an upbeat yoga flow, we might even break a sweat! Don’t worry, we will have plenty of options to modify poses so you can choose and move through yoga postures that work for you and your body. This class is open to all experiences and every(BODY)! I look forward to flowing with you.

Surrender Softly: A Gentle Yoga Flow to Wind Down

with Bianca
Join me for a close-to-the-earth yoga flow to help you feel grounded, relaxed and ready to get an amazing night’s rest. This is a gentle yoga flow that will focus on deep breathing and the basics of yoga, with a goal to help you feel good from head to toe! Modifications will be offered, which allows us to choose what works best for us and our body. Having agency over our body and choosing which intensity works best for us is super important as we move through our practice, connecting us to our mind, body and soul. This class is open to all experiences, I look forward to flowing with you.

Morning Meditation: Embracing the Healing Nature of Stillness

with Kriste
The irony of ‘keeping it simple’ is that it also means being vigilant about protecting our space morning meditation, there’s just one goal: to be still. Together. No prior meditation experience is needed for this. Let’s gather in the shared experience of welcoming the morning slowly, seated, reflecting inwardly in silence, inviting presence as we awaken – together.

Writing by Nature: Experiencing the Elements as the Self

with Kriste
There’s no one way to experience the the natural world. For starters, exploring what it means to be in nature is where this workshop begins. Through reflection, journaling prompts, and observing one’s self in nature, we will consider what it means to not just be in nature, but to also be nature itself. This session takes place in the outdoors and includes free writing and group discussion. No prior writing experience is needed. Simply bring your curiosity, a journal, something to write with, and an open mind.

Staying Safe

with Jesse
There’s so many fascinating things to do in the wilderness, and what a wonderful place to recreate! If something goes wrong, however, it’s really nice to know what to do! So in this class we will be briefly outlining the five basic needs of a survivor with particular attention on survival psychology, water, as in how to find it, what the effects are on the body without it, and the pros and cons of different disinfection methods, and we will explore some natural navigation techniques. And though all of these are useful in a survival situation, they’re also a lot of fun! So I hope you can join me! See you soon sisters!

Evasion Skills

with Jesse
It can be really fun to be sneaky! So come, join me for some exploration into the techniques and concepts around moving quietly, and stealthily in the woods! We’ll play some games and maybe put on some camouflage and having a great time out, playing in the woods!

Community Quilt Project

with Cheyenne
Throughout history, quilts were used as symbols of storytelling, resistance and support and held a special place in women’s lives. Today, we carry forward this legacy and invite you to contribute to the 2023 Women’s Wilderness Community Quilt. Join us in crafting a square, sewing and creating a living symbol of togetherness, one stitch at a time!

Nature Hike

with Cheyenne
Experience the transformative beauty of nature on our Summit Sisters Nature Hike! This guided 2-3 mile moderate hike takes you through beautiful forest and fields and includes breathtaking views of Rocky Mountain peaks!

Nature Mindfulness and Connection

with Erin
Join me for an intentional “nature break” as we wander through Cal-Wood’s beautiful fields and forests. Inspired by the Japanese practice of forest bathing, we’ll take our time exploring and connecting with nature together through sensory experiences, creative and playful activities, and quiet reflection. We might use natural materials to create art, make some tree-riffic friends, and see the natural world with fresh eyes through guided meditation. As we practice slowing down and tuning in to our surroundings, we just might find some grace and gratitude for wherever we may be in our own journeys. Please bring water and a journal and pen (if writing or sketching are helpful processing tools for you).

Art in Nature: Exploring Colorado’s Wildflowers through Scientific Drawing

with Erin
Let’s be naturalists and get to know the flowers and plants of the Rocky Mountain foothills! We’ll hike around Cal-Wood and use our sketchbooks to record what we find. Which features are most important to note when we are identifying plants? Using our drawings, ID keys, and observations, we’ll learn about the diverse flora living in our backyards and build our naturalist skills. Please bring water, a notebook for sketching, and a pencil or pen.

Touching in with the Present Moment

with Emily
Join Emily for a highly experiential teaching on Touch-and-Go mindfulness practice. We will be moving around, interacting with others in the group, and interacting with nature as we build an embodied understanding of what it is like to touch in with the present moment, and what it is like to take a break from present experience. We will explore different cadences of being present with experience and participants will learn about their nervous system, their default mode, and other possibilities for relating to the present moment. Emily feels that these teachings are incredibly helpful in the task of being human!

Have you met your Wild Twin?

with Emily
Have you danced with them under the moon or lay with them in a meadow admiring flowers? Emily will tell a new version of an old, old story of the Wild Twin and how they were exiled from the human world and thrown into the forest, and how they were eventually courted back home and reclaimed. We will then explore this story as it lives on the land, and as it lives inside of each of us. The Wild Twin is the part of us that was told it was too loud, too needy, too much, too little – the part we had to push away to survive in life. Reclaiming this part allows us to reclaim our own vitality, and the wilderness is a perfect place to begin. You’ll have a chance to go out and sit in nature and listen for the call of your Wild Twin, and you will bring home ideas on how to court them home. This is exciting, vitalizing work – prepare to be creative, compassionate, and playful!

Oh My Stars!

with Lisa
Grab your headlamp with that night vision-saving red light and join Lisa in viewing the stars overhead! Star maps will be provided to assist you in locating prominent planets and constellations. And we’ll keep a lookout for shooting stars as we will be near the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. Learn a little about how the celestial skies influenced navigation and mythology and see the heavens much like our ancestors did.

Surrender When Nature Calls, Leave No Trace

with BLisa
Learn how to be a better environmental steward on your outdoor excursions! Lisa will introduce you to the 7 principles of Leave No Trace that guide humans in minimizing our impact on Mother Earth. Lisa will also incorporate a few games and exercises to help keep the principles memorable, including how to poop in the woods… because humans do it too, not just bear

Lions, Bears, and Moose – Oh My!

with Lisa
Wildlife encounters can be both exciting and terrifying, and no matter how you feel about spotting a fellow creature in the wilderness, Lisa can give you the important info you need to safely co-exist with all sorts of wildlife on your outdoor adventures.

Affinity Space Conversations: Being Human Together

with Jes & Normal
Affinity spaces are opportunities for people with a shared identity to connect for social support, learning, and growth. Summit Sisters affinity spaces are intended to allow for a brave, open, and honest exploration of what it means to be human together. We will begin these sessions together to gain a shared understanding of affinity spaces, break into affinity spaces for dialogue, and return to one another for sharing and bridge-building.

Community Conversation and Welcome

with Jes & Norma
What does being human mean to you? Could being human together mean getting messy together? Our stories have created the world we live in. This is your invitation to create a space where we can be human together by building bridges that help us understand our interconnected stories. Throughout this weekend we’ll have opportunities to explore and connect through conversation and activities about identity, race, and the Women’s Wilderness community. Join us for the amazing adventure that awaits!

Intro to Fly Fishing

with Erica
In this clinic, Erica will help us learn the fundamentals of fly fishing. Intermediate and advanced participants are welcome to join to improve technique, however the majority of our time will be focusing on beginners and those new to fly fishing. This will be a special time to learn, enjoy the beautiful outdoors, and walk away with lifetime memories in a supportive environment. If you have your own equipment, feel free to bring, however all gear will be provided for up to 10 participants.

What Women are Saying

“The workshops engaged me in activities and ways of thinking that i hadn’t experienced before.”

“I very much appreciated being in a multicultural women’s community in nature. I appreciated the sharing circles, ceremonies, and chanting. I was practicing letting my hypervigilant guard down and reconnecting with nature”

“This weekend really got my wheels turning about how I prioritize time in nature and my ability to seek out time and space there whether on my own or with others. It was so pleasurable being outside in a different setting than I’m used to.”

“So wonderful to spend a few days with friendly, kind and different individuals in a beautiful setting. I left feeling refreshed, grateful, and excited to come back.”

Frequently Asked Questions

This event is open to all women and non-binary people that are comfortable in a femme centered space. All races, ethnicities, ages, sizes, and experiences levels are welcome at this event.
This year’s Summit Sisters retreat takes place at the beautiful Cal-Wood Outdoor Education Center in Jamestown, Colorado. The roads leading up the retreat are passable by all vehicles, high clearance or 4WD are NOT needed to access the area. The property is a secluded and awe inspiring natural space with rock outcroppings, forested areas, mountain views, wildlife, nature trails, and several beautiful outdoor and indoor gathering areas.
The address is 2282 County Road 87, Jamestown, CO 80455. All guests are responsible for their own transportation to and from the retreat. Women’s Wilderness will not be arranging rideshares. However, when registration closes, we will provide a spreadsheet for all those interested in carpooling to coordinate among themselves. Please plan your travel accordingly.
The elevation is around 7,800 ft above sea level.
Temperatures in August in Jamestown typically range from highs in the 80s to lows in the 40s. So – come prepared with t-shirts and sunscreen, as well as warm clothes and a warm sleeping bag for night time if you are camping.
Cell service will be pretty spotty to non-existent. We encourage folks to take a cell phone break for this weekend! That is part of the magic of getting outside for an extended period in the outdoors! There is a landline phone accessible for urgent and emergency phone calls.
A shared bathroom and shower space is accessible to all participants and conveniently located.
No! This is a GREAT opportunity to acquire skills if you are new to the outdoors OR a seasoned outdoors-person. There will be Women’s Wilderness staff available for questions throughout the weekend, and it’s a “choose your own adventure” atmosphere. All workshops are experiential, and you can expect to have some good discussions, time to learn a variety of skills, and a wealth of activities to participate in. We do underscore that this is an event for people who are interested in learning, engaging in community, and being outdoors.
Cal-Wood has a fully equipped cafeteria and meeting space, and their staff will be serving and preparing all of our meals during the weekend. They have a reputation for delicious food! Cal-Wood Kitchen prepares healthy and nutritious meals from scratch using whole ingredients. They can fully or partially accommodate most dietary needs, with the exception of Celiac Disease related gluten allergies and other severe allergies from trace amounts of contaminants. Participants with severe allergies will have the ability to bring their own food and access to a microwave and refrigerator. See here for more information. Snacks will also be available!
Around 80 women! So – if you are an extrovert, there will be plenty of chances to make new friends and hang out in big groups. AND, if you are an introvert and thrive on quiet time and small group interactions, you can get that, too. The workshops will be in small groups and the property is BIG – lots of room to roam and find space to quietly connect to nature.
We do not require or organize sign ups for the specific workshops or outings. The weekend is yours to make it what YOU need it to be in each moment, and to choose how to participate as the weekend evolves.
This will be a drug and alcohol free event. This is not a “party” as much as an opportunity to build community and for people to come together in an intentional way that is meant to be more satisfying, fun, and connective than our day-to-day interactions where we are often rushed, tied to our cell phones, and otherwise distracted by minutiae.