The Art of Being a Badass: Part Two

Let me guess... you've heard at least one of these before:

"Did your boyfriend drag you out here?"

No... I dragged him out here.

"This trail is easier, you might want to take this one."

I chose this trail. I can read a map. Plus, you look like you're struggling more than I am. There's a road that goes to the summit, why don't you take that?

"I could climb that too if I weighed 100lbs."

No. I climbed that because I train and because I am strong. My weight has little to do with it.

"Well that was rated 5.9, but you climbed it without much effort so I'll downgrade it."

I don't even have words for this one.

Working in and being a part of the outdoor community is amazing. I've meet some of my closest friends through climbing and playing outdoors. I've held roles at different outdoor companies and publications. For the most part, I absolutely love it. There definitely were times where I wasn't taken seriously as a woman (looking much younger than my true age doesn't help either), which can be a total downer when you're living your dream.

I've worked at two major outdoor stores. I cannot tell you how frustrating it can be to approach a customer who is clearly looking for a sales associate, just for them to turn down my help and find the closest male employee. Or when hiking and climbing, getting asked where my boyfriend is or being told that I'm hiking really fast or climbing really hard for a girl.

I struggled with this post. I want this series to be full of tips and tricks and fun stuff that us ladies can use outdoors. But I had a hard time with coming up with a way to combat the sexism I often see in the backcountry. I wanted to find a solution that would stop, or at least minimize this culture that says only men excel in the outdoors. Then I realized, we don't have to fix it. Sure, we can use it as an opportunity to prove ourselves... But we don't need to.

Being outdoors as a women isn't uncommon. There's a huge community of us and we all share in these experiences. We don't need to prove ourselves. But we can educate others. There's a whole community built around women in the outdoors. Next time someone downplays your outdoor achievements just because you climb or hike like a girl, direct them to organizations like the Outdoor Women's Alliance or SheJumps, both of which aim to provide opportunities to get women outdoors. Tell them about Ashima's killer V15/8c climb or Anish's record setting thru hikes on the AT and PCT. Show them the instagram pages of Becca Skinner, Jillian Lukiwski or Anela Ramos. These are all totally badass influential outdoorsladies who crush on and off the trail.

There are always going to be people who don't think you're fast enough, strong enough or good enough... Those people are wrong. The best climber/hiker/skier/runner/etc, is the one who's having the most fun. And us ladies know how to have fun on the trail. Next time someone makes a snarky comment about how messy your trail hair is, or tell your that you're not hiking fast enough or logging enough miles. Just smile and keep on moving.

Or you could just invite the skeptics on a backpacking trip with you and totally kick their butt.