I’m Your Guide, and That’s All You Need to Know

Katrina Bloemsma had a head start. Growing up in Colorado with her “ski bum” dad, she learned to ski at three. Her high school had mandatory outdoor education, which meant bouldering, rock climbing and mountaineering were part of the curriculum. She had her brief periods of rebellion—when she thought she would rather do ballet or work for a congressman—but the mountains pulled her back.


Now Katrina is a senior instructor at the Seattle REI Outdoor School, and she has guided mountain climbing trips in the North Cascades and on Mount Rainier, Aconcagua and Denali. She talked to me about her experiences as a guide.


What’s great about guiding at REI?


We have women and men with very diverse leadership styles and skill sets, and we value them equally. That’s been very refreshing and positive. I’ve had the chance to mentor instructors who love what they do and who bring that passion to their teaching.


How is that different from the guiding industry as a whole?


Guiding is still a very male-dominated vocation. There are some amazing women who are helping challenge the norms, but the expectation of what makes a good guide is still really gendered. I left because I was looking for more women mentors and opportunities for growth in my career.


Have you ever felt underestimated?


All the time. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about that. How do I get my clients to understand that I’m the expert? It definitely changed how I approached people. I got very good at deflecting when it got uncomfortable, and finding ways to solidify my expertise on the sly. I felt I needed to prove myself more than the guy with a beard and plaid shirt who looks the “mountain man” part.


How did you overcome it?


My first climb as lead guide on Mount Rainier, I ended up with two women assistants, which was really rare. When I met my group—nine guys who went to college together—I thought, oh, this is going to be so hard. I set a really good tone, like, “Hey guys, I’m your guide, and that’s pretty much all you need to know.” They were really receptive to it and we had a ton of fun. At the end of the trip, they admitted they’d been skeptical about having an all-women guide team. Whatever gender baggage they brought with them, they met three women who challenged their expectations and they walked away with a very different perspective about what expertise looks like. That’s super impactful. I just changed how somebody thinks about things.































































































































































































































































قالب وردپرس

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

30 of the Best Places to Go Camping in Texas

Image
From the hill country to the rugged deserts of the southwest, Texas is as diversified a state as they come. Bordered by the Rio Grand, the Red River, and the Sabine, the state’s landscape is a mix of desserts, pine forests, prairies, beaches, and mountains. Interested in tent camping? RVing? Or do you want to escape into the solitude of the prairies, forests, and deserts of the Lone Star State? No matter how you are traveling, these are hands down the best places to camp in Texas. Bring your home with you when you travel around Texas. The best way to see all the sites this beautiful state has to offer is to hop behind the wheel of your RV or camper and get moving. From rustic parks to campgrounds with all the amenities, this list covers them all. Mustang Island State Park Just off the coast from Corpus Christi, Mustang Island offers 50 amp hookup sites only 50 yards from the water. While there are no fire rings at the sites, you can have a campfire right on the beach. The site
Read more

The Nature Fix: Our Connection to Water

Image
What do surfers, anglers, boaters and little kids in the shallow end of the pool know that the rest of us don’t? Playing in or near water is a surefire way to access creative states of “flow,” relaxation and bliss. I once knew this—most kids do—but was reminded on a recent family trip to western Maine. To research a book I was writing about nature and the brain, I had borrowed a portable EEG cap that measures electroencephalography, or electrical activity captured in neural oscillations, better known as brain waves. Early one morning, I slipped into a kayak and paddled out onto a small lake bordering the White Mountain National Forest. The boat nosed through a foot of soft mist resting on the water’s surface. I couldn’t see my paddle blade, but I could hear its drips, and the birds on the approaching far bank. Photo Credit: Florence Williams I’d been wearing the black plastic EEG cap around in other settings, notably while walking in a couple of city parks and along a rural road, all o
Read more

Beginners Guide To Fishing For Roach

Image
A common yet challenging catch for most of us, roach are a viable target for any angler. Dominic Garnett offers a host of tips and advice on how to catch this attractive species. Beautiful, obliging and found all over the UK: what’s not to like about the roach? Image courtesy of Dom Garnett. Is the roach Britain’s most undervalued fish? In the midst of current mania for carp and other heavyweights, many anglers appear to have forgotten this humble species. And yet once upon a time it was very different. In the early 80s, when I first began fishing, everyone fished for roach. They were common as muck, but fickle and fast biting enough to test the angler. In my case, the species has a lot to answer for, because a Thames roach was my first ever catch. Alas, how times change. These days I see fewer and fewer anglers trotting or tip fishing for roach, dace or bream. Carp and predator anglers now dominate. But what cracking sport (and vital skills!) they are missing out on in their hunt fo
Read more