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Why Women Guides are Better Than Male Mountain Guides?
During Mont Blanс ascent maidservant Marie Paradis suffered so much, that begged her companions “to throw her into the nearest crevasse to end her misery”.
Nevertheless, she descended successfully and became the first woman on the highest Alps point (Y1808), and now you can find a street, named after Marie, in European outdoor Mecca, Chamonix.
Nowadays a lot more women have guts to build their careers in climbing and guiding, not to mention Lucy Walker, first woman on Matterhorn (Y1871) and one of the founders of Ladies’ Alpine Club (Y1909).
Mountain Planet’s experts analyzed their own experience and conducted some questioning among the guide’s clients: this article come as a result. Most respondents opted that women are the best mountain guides: read below what vox populi tells.
1. Women are better in memorizing and remembering
Women are better in mentorship, this quality has been laid in the course of evolution (while men were running after mammoths, ladies learned to putting in cave-inhabiting way of life). Since then, most men can keep in sight only one task, and women are ready to distribute attention among several aims. A good quality for a mountain guide!
Gwen Moffat is the first British female Mountain Guide (Y1950) with BMG (British Mountain Guides). During 1940-s she was a military trainer for British airmen, and then became a writer and issued more than 30 books. Now she is 94 years old; she last climbed a mountain in 2014 at the age of 90.
2. Women are best communicators
Women are more open and talkative than men, they have better watchfulness skills. On that basis they are ready to take the client under the wing, and their male colleagues loose on this count. At the same time the woman guide can urge one client to compose oneself, and say a compliment and cheer to another.
Also woman guide can keep the conversation on the large selection of topics: from cooking to outdoor sports and car repair, and back to parenting. And they not be shy to share this information with you!
On top of that the probability of using an abusive language by a female guide is a lot fewer than that of her colleagues of opposite sex.
Juliana Garcia — first certified IFMGA woman mountain guide in South America. Now she is the guide for renowned Mountain Madness Adventure Agency, which was founded by Scott Fischer. Juliana is known for her machismo struggling in outdoor sports and mountain activity.
3. Woman does not overdrive you on the route
Strong leadership, as one of the main men characteristic, can interfere with mountain guide profession. On the way to the summit male guide is ready to be carried away with enthusiasm and may leave the clients behind. Women, on the contrary, pay more attention to every client and leave with no care even the weakest trekking or ascent participants.
And woman on the route for sure would not overdrive any client to exhausting.
Dawa Yangzum Sherpa was born in Nepal. In 2017, when 27 year old, this woman finished IFMGA program and take a position of first certified Asian woman mountain guide. K2, Everest, and Ama Dablam are in her climbing baggage now.
4. Women are more responsible and disciplined
At large, men rely more upon their will and determination, then on collective opinion. And women are better in tending to play by the rules and not violate them because of personal ambitions. Likewise, female guides are less disposed to “frighten” the clients with needless route details, they do not expose anyone to unnecessary risk.
Angela Hawse — the 6th American woman mountain guide, certified by IFMGA. In 2011 she was honored by “Guide of the Year” Award with American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA). “Guiding made me who I am,” — Hawse says. — “It gave me confidence and taught me to think on my feet. I really can’t imagine having a different job”.
5. Woman guide does not say “You can’t do it”
Despite the fact that the situation is gradually changing, the number of female guides is inferior to the number of male guides. In order to become a guide, a woman in any case has to exert much more effort to prove that she deserves it. After going all this way, lady guide does not tell you: “You can’t do this trek” (or ascent); she will try to motivate to win over — over the mountain or in the self-contest.
And they are ready to help in choosing the equal route for anyone while staying delicate and sensitive.
Tanya Naville is a French ski and mountain guide. In 2017 she started Women's’ Skimo Project, dedicated to skitour in different parts of the world. Tanya collect and share women experience about this activity in order to show the stepping of the woman to the “men world” of mountaineering and mountain guiding.
***
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Register on Mountainplanet.com as a guide, outdoor enthusiast or athlete, share your experience and emotions and let’s make the mountains safer and accessible together — for people who are looking for memorable outdoor experiences.
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