Conversations About the Long Climb to a More Equitable Backcountry

Mountain and alpine sports can at times be gate-kept, ultra-masculine ‘boys’ clubs.’ How can we be a part of the positive change we want to see in our beloved sports? We delved into these questions and more at a recent NGM Circle event.

By Mason

A tall, well-built man trudges through the woods. Rugged beard, well-worn boots, an axe in his well-calloused hands. Or maybe it’s a climbing rope, or some skis. 

Statistically speaking, he is also probably young, and white. 

At least, that’s what I imagine comes to mind when I ask people what they think about ‘masculinity and the mountains.’ Jacked lumberjacks. Flannel. You know, ‘mountain men.’ 

Over-the-top stereotypes aside, I love outdoor sports and adventuring. My main passions are climbing and backcountry skiing. I think these sports have the potential to change lives, and help people realize their full potential—both in these sports and in other areas of our lives. 

At the same time, the homogeneity of these sports gives the Oscars a run for their money. From snow sports to climbing, the slopes have been male-dominated, and overwhelmingly white and affluent—for a very long time. That, my friends, is why I was so keen to organize this NGM Circle event! 

For anyone who missed it, the main themes were really around exclusion and inclusion in outdoor sports and adventuring. 

So how have diverse people—people of different races, genders, sexual orientations, and so on—been excluded from outdoor sports and adventuring?

Well, one of the ways this begins is with colonialism — no surprises here. 

One of our speakers, Jennifer, spoke about the politics of land, and the sense of entitlement settlers have regarding the naming of places. It’s been a pattern since the first colonizers landed on the eastern shores of Turtle Island: settlers enter into unceded First Nations land without permission, and ‘discover’ or ‘conquer’ places that Indigenous peoples have long, pre-existing relationships with. 

The entitlement to name is baked into climbing culture. If you have developed a climbing route, or climbed it for the first time, you are deemed the ‘First Ascensionist’ (FA), and have the right to name it whatever you want.

In a sport dominated by young-middle aged white men, I am sure you can tell how this has played out. 

At best, some names are cringe-y. At worst, they are racist, misogynistic, homophobic and transphobic. I will spare you the details in this post, but a perfunctory google will solve that problem for you. 

When the name of a space offensively targets a minority group, some may think it’s funny, but others think ‘I don’t belong here.’ 

Jennifer has studied the impacts that the names of climbing and mountain biking routes have on the people who access them.

In our conversation, what stuck out for me was the imposter syndrome some female-identifying participants felt when they saw the names of these routes. They shared vulnerably about how hesitant they were to speak up about their discomfort because they didn’t feel they were good enough climbers, or that they would not be taken seriously. Often, they would say nothing and ‘suck it up.’ 

So the issues here are multifaceted: whose land are we on? How do we treat the land that we are on? Do we have consent to be here? Once here, do we have consent to name these spaces? How can names include, exclude, or otherwise impact different people?

There’s also a “boys club” culture of competition, risk-taking, and command-and-control leadership in outdoor sports and adventuring. 

I love a good challenge, and risks are what drive people to these spaces — they want the rush. It’s not that these things are inherently harmful. But we should talk about how pressures in these spaces to take more risks could result in injuries and worse. 

Many women, nonbinary and gender non-conforming people are brought into backcountry sports by men, and in the process many have spoken up about not feeling truly safe, included, and incorporated into the decision-making that happens on a day at the crag or on the slopes. This is one very clear way that power dynamics are upheld in the backcountry, and can lead to both uncomfortable and legitimately unsafe experiences for new inductees to these environments.

Another speaker, Andrew, reflected on the ways that safe spaces are created in climbing gyms, and what gets in the way. He noted that ‘spraying beta’ (giving unsolicited advice on how to navigate a climb) happens disproportionately often to women-identifying people. In discussion, people reflected that the beta-spray they experience can be highly invalidating, and is at times the beginning of unwelcome flirting. 

So how have outdoor sports and adventuring changed to better welcome and include diverse people?

Well, people are rising to the occasion. Our first storyteller, Brett, explained how she co-founded Mountain Mentors to create mentorship opportunities for women-identifying, non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals to learn and grow in backcountry pursuits. 

Brett explained the ways that mentorship has uplifted participants, and built their capacity to engage with these sports so that they are safe, but also fun! I was so grateful that Brett was the first speaker of the night. She spoke broadly about what masculinity in the mountains meant to her, and left us all with a real truth-bomb ringing in our ears as we went into our first break-out rooms. She said: 

“Masculinity is a social construct, something we perform. If it’s constructed, we can also deconstruct it and build something better.” 

Truly, we all have the ability to build something better. 

There are so many ways that leaders in these spaces can create more welcoming and safe environments. Our final storyteller of the evening, Andrew, the owner of The Hive Climbing Gym, explained some of the ways Hive is striving for inclusion. The Hive holds courses for women-identifying folks, has created gender-neutral changing spaces, and holds training for their staff to use inclusive language and avoid harmful practices. 

As he spoke, one participant said in the chat that ‘it is so amazing to see someone from industry here, having this conversation with us.’ I could not have agreed more.

Andrew is clearly a passionate climber, who believes in the positive change that is happening in our beloved sport. That being said, he told us in the Zoom room prior to the event that he was nervous, and did not know what he was doing here as a speaker. As the lone male-identifying storyteller, next to two people who live and breathe feminist work and research respectively, I couldn’t blame him. He isn’t an expert on intersectionality. 

I think a lot of us feel like imposters when it comes to advocating for a better world. I took courses on the subject in university, have volunteered and worked in this space for years, and I still ask myself: “Am I doing this right? Does what I say or think matter?”

What struck me about Andrew was that he modelled exactly the values we cherish at Next Gen Men: vulnerability, reflexivity, and humility. 

I told him that as long as he speaks from that place, shows his self-awareness, and brings an open mind to the discussions that take place, he is exactly the person for this job. Andrew nodded his agreement, and we let the participants into the Zoom room.

Additional Resources

Here is a list of some of the resources that came up in our conversations at the event. Enjoy! 

ReflectionsNext Gen Men AdminMasculinity, Sports