My name is Chloe. I am proud to say I am the trail blazer of The Mountains are Women. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Colorado. Dreamy places, right? While I grew up in outdoor spaces, I did not grow up hiking, kayaking, skiing, or backpacking like a lot of my peers did.

My first backpacking trip was 30 days in 2018 in Moab (wild to think that was my first trip), after graduating high school early and receiving a scholarship from Outward Bound. What I am about to say next is going to sound cliche, but this is a space for that. That month, without a doubt changed my life. While I wanted to quit and return to sulking in bed and doom scrolling on my phone for the first two weeks, I soon learned that I felt my strongest, my most beautiful, and my most powerful self when I was outdoors. I found community and solace, I did not know existed.

After Covid hit in 2020, I followed the saying, “if not now, then when?” and started my journey in seasonal work. I began woking in Glacier National Park during my junior year of college, and the day after I graduated the following year, I moved to the Flathead Valley full time. I have since bopped around working in Missoula, the Flathead, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Park working as both a guide and educator.

While I have always adored my time outside, I also loved and still do love the color pink, scrolling Pinterest, going to spin classes, romanticizing every little moment, and wearing glitter for every occasion.

I have often struggled with imposter syndrome as a female in the backcountry, I am desperately reminding myself that I am “allowed,” into these spaces, the ones that are often dominated by white cis gendered men. Thus, this project was born.

The Mountains are Women is for the novices, the intermediate, and the experts. It is for the women who fit in every and all niches, for the women who have yet to find. their niche, for the women who have been pushed out of their niche, for the women who don’t want a niche. This is for the women teaching and learning with empathy and compassion. This is for the Women who support women.