2026 Mentorship Program
She Moves Mountains exists to empower and educate women—including cisgender and transgender individuals—and gender minorities through technical climbing clinics and community events.Â
In the guiding industry, only 15% of working guides are women. Of that 15%, only a small portion are Women of Color or from the LGBTQ+ community.
Our Mentorship Program aims to change these statistics and help reshape the present and future of guiding.
Mentorship Program Details
About
Guiding as a career is full of hurdles. It's a large financial and time commitment, and qualifying for rigorous training programs requires a high level of experience and skills to begin with. Needless to say, there's a lot of privilege involved.
We established the She Moves Mountains Mentorship Program as a way to both address and counter the barriers to entry (and the gender disparities) in our industry.
The program aims to provide individuals the opportunity to explore what it means to be a guide in a supportive and encouraging environment. To create a space where you can shadow current instructors and ask questions about the realities of becoming and being a full-time guide.
We welcome women (trans and cis) and non-binary climbers who feel comfortable in a space that centers women.
How It Works
In an assistant role, participants will have the opportunity to shadow 2 clinics. Duties may include setting up top-ropes, cleaning routes, monitoring belays, coiling ropes, and helping with demonstrations.
We believe strong mentorship relationships and representation within the climbing community are invaluable, and we see our relationship with mentees as a partnership. In addition to support and guidance, She Moves Mountains will offer 3-4 free workshops for participants to help them build the necessary skills for tackling guiding certifications.
Details & How to Apply
There are six spots for new applicants for the 2024 season. If you are interested in becoming a guide or instructor but are unsure about the initial financial investment, this is a great opportunity for you!
You must have availability to attend one of the mentee training days in March/April at Smith Rock State Park, or arrange an alternative training with a guide. Training dates will be communicated to applicants before the end of the application window.
Basic requirements are weekend availability (2pm-6pm) at Smith Rock State Park (OR) or Mount Erie (WA) from April to September, including a day of training at the beginning of the season.
Ideally, candidates will feel comfortable leading sport at the 5.9 grade and above, and will already be familiar with the basics of traditional climbing.
Most importantly, we want to use our resources and platform to help diversify the climbing community and reach underrepresented and marginalized groups. If this mission speaks to you, we want to hear more!
The application deadline for the 2026 season is January 31st, and participants will be notified by February 15th.