“When you look at mountaineering and outdoor adventures from a purely analytical standpoint, it’s full of suffering. There’s the physical pain, the environment is always trying to kill you. It can be isolating, it can be dangerous, it can be scary. What makes all the difference is who you’re doing that with and whether you can trust them.”
Isabelle Riddle
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Isabelle Riddle is a Bozeman, Montana based woman who spent over 75 days on wilderness adventures in 2023. In 2024, Isabelle was a recipient of the Summit Scholarship Foundation, giving her the opportunity to climb Mt. Baker in an all-women’s climb. We spoke with Isabelle after the climb on the See Her Outside Podcast.
Isabelle and Angie talked about:
- The gap between outdoor industry inclusivity statements and actual inclusivity in outdoor adventures
- How Isabelle’s experiences as a woman with Native American heritage shape her relationship with nature
- The difference between all-women’s expeditions and mixed-gender expeditions
- Self-advocacy and the feeling of being tokenized on an adventure team
- Managing the feeling of being the “weakest link” on a team
- How Isabelle’s vision limitations affect her climbing on steep terrain
- “Breath before steps”: a reminder for mountaineering and life
- Team dynamics on Isabelle’s women’s Mt. Baker climb
- Supporting adventurers with chronic illness
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You can help us close the gender gap outdoors and beyond:
- Become a Trailblazer. Your Adventure Fundraiser makes wilderness experiences possible for adventurers like Isabelle.
- Check out the Summit Scholarship Foundation.
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The Cairn Project
Mobilizing to empower young women in the outdoors through grantmaking.