As a clinical psychologist, avid climber and backcountry skier Sara Boilen can’t help but combine both her profession and her love for the outdoors.
Her experience in both has fueled her passion for women’s only trips, classes and backcountry education.
“When you’re in a learning environment, its really nice to feel as comfortable as possible,” Boilen said. “And for a lot of women, an all-women learning environment makes that possible.”
That’s why Boilen became an ambassador for SheJumps, a nonprofit that promotes women’s and girl’s participation in the outdoors.
Boilen helps organize women-specific events in the Flathead Valley and collaborates with other organizations, including Friends of the Flathead Avalanche Center (FOFAC) and the Whitefish Mountain Resort Ski Patrol.
SheJumps is partnering with FOFAC on Saturday, Dec. 14 to host a Women’s Companion Rescue Course for adults at Whitefish Mountain Resort.
The course will teach backcountry rescue skills that would be used following an avalanche burial. “We all hope we never have to use it, but if you do, you really want to know your stuff,” Boilen said.
Participants will run through several stations to practice their skills. Rescuers will practice a beacon search, where an individual locates another transceiver using radio signals. The second station will practice probing, where rescuers use a metal rod to probe through avalanche debris to find victims. In the final station, rescuers will practice unburying victims using appropriate shoveling techniques. Following the stations, the women will integrate those skills in rescue scenarios.
“We know that while people in the backcountry tend to practice digging (snow) pits and checking out snow, they’re less likely to practice the hard skills of a companion rescue,” Boilen said.
That’s why the organization decided to conduct a rescue course as an early season refresher.
Boilen says there’s also some avalanche literature that suggests co-gender backcountry groups are more dangerous.
“We don’t know why,” she said. “One of the hypotheses is that women are less likely to speak up in a mixed-gender scenario and men are more likely to assume safety if women are going along with group decisions.”
She says women often ski with a male partner, but women’s courses not only create a less intimidating environment, but participants are able to find other female backcountry partners.
While SheJump’s vision creates a women’s learning environment, Boilen says it’s also a place to meet other women to recreate with.
“You might walk out of there with some partners — how cool is that?” she said.
Last winter, SheJumps collaborated with the Whitefish Mountain Resort ski patrol to host a Junior Ski Patrol day during which 30 girls clad in tutus learned the ins and outs of ski patrolling.
Boilen says SheJumps plans to host a Junior Fire Fighter day next summer, where girls can learn what it’s like to be a wildland firefighter.
SheJumps is a nonprofit based out of Salt Lake City and offers free or low-cost programs to women and girls ages 6 and up all over the country.
For more information, visit www.shejumps.org.