Women in High Places

Down here in Oz it’s hot, muggy and thunderstorm prone right now. But friends up in the Northern Hemisphere send reports of big snow dumps, just perfect for blitzing about on their snowboards. And yes, resort boarding and skiing can be a huge thrill and many resorts are making an effort to green their act (see here, here and here). But it’s sure hard to beat the human powered, environmentally friendly credentials of just donning a pair of telemark planks (or snowshoes, if you must) and leaving those resorts behind and going backcountry. So given that ‘tis the snowy season up north and women currently rule, with Africa just announcing its first woman President with Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, we thought we'd dedicate this post to getting more women into high places. The aptly named ‘Babes in the Backcountry’ specialises in just such ventures, mostly in Colorado and Cailfornia. But there are others (and no doubt many we’ve missed) such as Ski Like A Girl (SLAG) in Utah, Ultimate Groove all over the US and Jackson Hole’s Women’s telemark camp in Wyoming. Go Girls. Enjoy that winter wilderness.