Ep 8.20 Mentorship and community building What is mentorship? How does it strengthen a community? Is mentorship even the right word? Let’s dive in… Backcountry skiing and riding can be an intimidating sport to get into. We all know the avalanche and first aid courses are a must, but it can be hard to connect with more experienced backcountry users to practice the skills. How does a person find that mentorship of a more experienced backcountry traveler and build a community of like minded people interested in getting after it and safely shredding the pow? There are organizations around North America (and probably around the world) dedicated to helping new backcountry skiers and riders make those connections. Tune in for conversations with the fine folks from such organizations as The Avalanche Awareness Beyond the Boundaries Society, Ascent Mentorships, State of the Snowpack, and Colour the Trails. Respectively, these organizations open doors and create opportunities specifically for youth, for women, for all backcountry users in a specific locale, and for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour. These organizations provide mentorship in different ways: in a course setting, one-on-one, in a live event setting, and in a group. They are a small selection of the awesome groups creating opportunities for new backcountry users, and creating community in the process. Several other organizations are referenced in the episode. They are listed below. This podcast is all about creating a stronger community amongst those with a curious fascination with avalanches. If you have an organization in your area that is doing great work opening doors, providing opportunities and building community – share it in the comments below this episode, or on the related Instagram post. Thanks for being part of that community! You can find our guests on social media at: https://www.facebook.com/AvalancheAwarenessBeyondBoundaries/ @kootenaymountainculture https://www.facebook.com/ascentmentors/ https://www.ascentmentors.ca/ @stateofthesnowpack @colourthetrails @jujumil Other groups referenced in the episode: @mountain.mentors @incluskivity @theladyalliance @aiare_official @ilsacrew @hoodstowoods @mwv_icefest @phil_henderson Other episodes referenced in the episode: 5:18 – Mt.Jumbo, Missoula Montana 6:23 – Graeme Marshal, High School Avalanche education 8.1 – Ken Wylie, IFMGA mountain guide. 6.11 – Judson Wright 5.13 – Keith Robine 4.4 Brenden Cronin Music for this episode by Gravy @gravy.tunes www.wyssenavalanche.com www.gordini.com https://opensnow.com/ https://www.safeback.no/