What happens when you fill a Swiss mountain hut with 35 women and three Italian men? It sounds like a punchline should follow, but while there was much laughter, the initiative Explore & Be from mountain guide Isabelle Santoire was inspirational and certainly no joke.
To learn the answer, Tiffany Saibil joined 30 women, five female guides, and a mountain doctor on an overnight ski tour to the Cabane Brunet (2,103m) near Lourtier, Valais in Switzerland. The tour was part of Explore & Be , a new initiative to ‘ignite, inspire, and connect’ women while they re-discover, learn and exchange mountain skills. Here Tiffany records and shares her experiences of the gathering.
‘Isa’ – mountain guide and organiser Isabelle Santoire – is more than dynamic and her energy is matched by the other guides, each with their own spin: Swedish Ulrika Asp, whose laughter can be heard from the next valley; Cecile Thomas, focussed but humorous; Julia Virat, a young guide from Briançon with a relaxed happiness; and German Heike Schmitt (Aosta based), known for her ice climbing prowess. For every guide there is a handful of excited women of varying age, profession, and nationality. They are ready for anything it seems, some more apprehensive not yet comfortable with the gear but happy to follow, others can’t wait to get up a mountain.
A female-only group of this size in the mountains is rare. Having worked with women’s groups on professional development in sport and business I try not to encourage gender stereotypes but having also spent time in male environments I can’t help but notice a few differences here.
Filling the hut with females for the evening seminar. Photo: Hugo Vincent Photography.
Gore-Tex and giggles
The first thing anybody sees coming across this group from afar is how colourful they are. Radiating like a beacon, their smiles and positivity shine as bright as their rainbow of Gore-Tex. Mountaineering in dresses is long behind us, gone too are the days of pink being too ‘girly’, and even that term is now in question. The next thing your senses have to adjust to is the chatter – talking and laughter are around every corner. Although there is a focus in the sessions on avalanche skills (this hut was actually avalanched in 1937, rebuilt in the current location in 1942) these ladies seem tireless as they reconvene in the hut for a stretching session, adapting postures between boot liners and touring skins.
Amongst it all were the Italian guys with their aperitivo, thinking they won the lotto of mountain huts, but they remain content as observers and as they are staying the night are privy to our evening seminar with Dr Marie-Ann Magnan, ENSA physician (French national school of ski and alpinism). Female specific topics were discussed like effects of birth control pills on physiology in high altitude / expeditions, mountaineering and pregnancy, and the notorious cold feet.
Beating the early-morning blues. Photo: Hugo Vincent Photography.
Nothing phases these women, not even early mornings. At a time in the hut when people are normally mentally waking up or focussing, the laughter kicks in stronger than coffee. Amongst the colour and giggles, however, there are determined women. We split into groups ranging from those fixed on the summit of Mont Rogneux (3,083m) through to beginners. Any large group has some level of competition but overall I feel much less of the aggressive competitive tendencies or ‘one-upmanship’ which can overtake an event. Here there is more collaboration, the foundation of Explore & Be.
The Swiss are known for keeping their huts a certain way so I ask the Cabane Guardian Jean-Marc what he thinks of this female invasion. Grinning, he confirms the experience was positive and laughs about the amount of talking. Not phased by the number of vegetarians, he did note that many of the women ordered from the kitchen individually rather than by group, apparently not what the hut staff are accustomed to and even a slight contrast to the collaborative approach throughout the two days.
Left: Archive photo of Cabane Brunet (1930-1939) from the private collection André Groux Lausanne. Photo: Courtesy of notrehistoire.ch .
Final thoughts
Hugo Vincent, our photographer, concluded with these thoughts: "With women, the pushing of each other has a different meaning, a group dynamic where everybody (including him) seemed to feel part of one unit with the main goal of having fun, learning and sharing." Admitting that, despite being the worst skier of the lot, he felt accepted right away, enabling very natural shots.
For my part, I found the initiative to be a supportive environment for sharing mountain experience with colourful, energetic, and driven women.
Authored by Tiffany Saibil.
Photo Credit: Hugo Vincent Photography Alpine Photography http://hugovincent.tumblr.com/
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