Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2019 - 63

From the Road: All-Women's SPI
"THE RESULT WILL BE
THE LARGEST COHORT
OF WOMEN OF COLOR
EVER CERTIFIED TO INSTRUCT SINGLE PITCH
ROCK CLIMBING."

TAKING THE LEAD
Bethany Lebewitz and
Genevive Walker coil rope at
the end of Day 1 during the
first all-women Single Pitch
Instructor Course in Nevada.

Empowering All

Irene Yee

The first all-women's Single Pitch Instructor course will create
a new generation of diverse climbing leaders ready to expand
the reaches of the sport. by Bethany Lebewitz
"TOGETHER WE KNOWA LOT," ELAINAARENZ
says while looking out at the eager faces during the first ever all-women's Single Pitch
Instructor (SPI) course on Southern Paiute
territory in Nevada last December. The
weekend would only reinforce those words.
One of a handful of women American
Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) certified Rock Guides, Arenz is the only AMGA
woman SPI Course Provider Trainer in the
U.S. She led the course along with certified
AMGA Rock Guide and SPI Provider Tracy
Martin. Erica Engle, a certified American
Mountain Guide/IFMGA Guide, observed as
an SPI provider in training. The trio represents half of the six women SPI Providers and
Assistant Providers in the U.S.
The team brought a wide range of experience to the event and addressed topics rang-

ing from top-site anchors to navigating a
male-dominated industry. Developed by the
AMGA, American Alpine Club, Flash Foxy,
and Brown Girls Climb, the first affinitybased course to be created within the AMGA
provided an opportunity that the women
who attended had never had the chance to
experience before-doing it on their own.
This is the state of our industry: Despite
women having high participation rates in
the outdoors, leadership positions continue
to skew toward men. According to Outside
magazine, only 8.3 percent of climbing rangers are women. This disproportionate representation is echoed in a report by the AMGA.
According to its 2013 State of the Guiding
Industry Report, only 11 percent of the
guides who participated in the survey identified as female (there is no data reported

on the racial and ethnic breakdown of these
instructors). With nearly half of outdoor participants identifying as women, better representation in outdoor guides and instructors is
imperative to create positive experiences for
everyone. The SPI course gives women an entry point into the guiding industry.
The collaboration drew high engagement
from interestred climbers across the country,
and the majority of the applicant pool identified as women of color, including Black and
Indigenous women-a result rarely seen in
these types of programs. The weekend-long
course provided intersectional programming
meant to intentionally instruct and support
participants from diverse backgrounds including queer women and women of color.
"Hanging off a cliff using one of the new
trad gear systems I'd just learned to set up
and trusting the knowledge of my instructors-trusting that I intrinsically know my
gear and have the skills to use it-this was
one of the most empowering experiences I've
ever had," says Sasha McGhee, a Brown Girls
Climb leader.
The climbing community is growing. It's
dynamic and diverse, and the leadership
in its guides and instructors should mirror
those changing demographics. This year,
many of the course participants will pass
their SPI exams. The result will be the largest cohort of women of color ever certified to
instruct single pitch rock climbing.
"There's something special about working
with people you can relate to as a person of
color. Unfortunately, it's a gem to find," says
Genevive Walker, a New Hampshire-based
climber. "However, I'm lucky enough to say I
found that gem in our cohort." O.R.
-Bethany Lebewitz is the founder of Brown
Girls Climb (browngirlsclimb.com).

Summer 2019/ OUTDOOR RETAILER 63

http://www.browngirlsclimb.com

Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2019