Backcountry Experience panel at SIA: Inside the Female Mind

DENVER, COLO. This past Friday at SIA, Backcountry Magazine Assistant Editor Louise Lintilhac led Inside the Female Mind, a discussion panel focusing on how women approach decision-making, group dynamics and problem solving in the backcountry. The panel, held at the Backcountry Experience’s booth, was comprised of journalist Berne Broudy, freeride athlete Lynsey Dyer, freeride athlete Pip Hunt and photographer and guide Kt Miller.

The Backcountry Experience women’s panel at SIA. From left: Louise Lintilhac, Berne Broudy, Pip Hunt, Lynsey Dyer and Kt Miller [Photo] Ben Pritchett

“It was nice to have women from different fields talking about communication in the backcountry,” says Lintilhac. “It is important to discuss the issues that both foster and inhibit female decision-making from professional skiers to general outdoor enthusiasts because it makes other women aware that we are all challenged in one way, shape, or form to speak up and contribute effectively in a group backcountry situation.”

It turns out, SIA attendees took note: the panel had the highest audience attendance out of this year’s Backcountry Experience’s discussions and panels: a sign of growing numbers of women interested the backcountry, and perhaps, a broader interest in group dynamics and their safety implications out of bounds.

“A lot of women perceive themselves to be alone in their backcountry experiences and having a panel like this proves that it is a shared experience,” Lintilhac says. “On the panel, we talked about how the road to empowerment in a backcountry setting is education—something that is true for both men and women—and I think that hearing that point helps newcomers to backcountry travel feel as though they have more control over their personal backcountry participation.”

Berne Broudy, Pip Hunt and Lynsey Dyer discuss female communication in the backcountry. [Photo] Ben Pritchett

And to address the rising numbers of both men and women traveling off-piste, Backcountry Experience is partnering with AIARE, Know Before You Go and The Avalanche Project to promote backcountry safety and awareness annually at SIA.

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