Women’s Backcountry Scholarship Winners
New Runner-Up Recipient
Thanks to Myia’s generosity to pay it forward, we were able to extend the Women’s Backcountry Scholarship runner-up prize to Angie Madsen. We chose Angie for her go-getter attitude and commitment to providing winter recreation opportunities, that would otherwise be inaccessible, for young Girl Scouts. Angie is also a member of her local Search and Rescue team and a Wilderness First Aid Instructor who wants to grow as an outdoorswoman and community leader.
Angie’s Essay
You know that joyous thrill you get watching someone you care about achieve the very thing they thought was impossible? Especially when that person is a freaking rad, young Girl Scout trying a snow sport for the first time, after she thought she’d never get to do it? It is strange to be sometimes more enlivened by somebody else’s accomplishment than your own. The mountains are mysteriously humbling like that.
I imagine that my friend and outdoor adventure mentor Katie felt the same way when she first took me to the local volcanoes. Katie had led trips in Antarctica, kite-skied across Greenland and become a general badass. Meanwhile, I had never before held an ice axe nor worn crampons. I was just an ambitious, curious gal who had caught a whiff of the stoke in the Cascade air after moving to the Columbia River Gorge. Soon after we met, Katie taught me to camp in the snow, and side-by-side we climbed Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams. I caught the bug.
As an avid summer adventurer on a part-time, non-profit budget, it truly never crossed my mind that I’d get to camp on a snowy peak someday, let alone summit glaciated peaks. Nine-year-old me would have been elatedly stunned to know that future. So, immediately after the first summit, I vowed to use my role as the Outdoor Program Specialist at Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington to introduce our K-12 girls to snow sports and winter activities that would otherwise be inaccessible to them.
Over the past year and a half, I’ve poured my dang persistent heart into developing new outdoor programs for Girl Scouts across these two states. A lot of projects included shamelessly asking local businesses to give Girl Scouts a solid discount or special opportunities for adventures like snowshoeing and Nordic skiing. And a lot of it was done by myself, including my pipe-dream-turned-reality “Snowvernight,” when I organized an overnight snowshoe and snow camping trip for Girl Scouts on Mt. Hood. Although the sheer amount of planning gave me actual stress-induced chest pains for the first time in my life, it was undeniably worth it to witness the stoke on the girls’ faces. Snowshoeing is now unprecedentedly popular with our girls, and Nordic skiing is catching fire, too.
Paradoxically, the chill of the snow lit a fire in my soul, and I’ve been trying to up-level in not just my professional work, but my personal and community ambitions as well. I’ve since joined the local Search and Rescue team, become a Wilderness First Aid instructor, and signed up for an ultramarathon. Yet through it all, there is a nagging feeling, like I’m meant to swap the snowshoes for a fresh challenge of skinning up mountains. I’m envious of those who can summit Loowit before heading to work. I crave to test my skills in situations that require risk management and tough decisions. I want to grow as an outdoorswoman, leader, and adult Girl Scout!
Between my and my partner’s nonprofit jobs and our disheartening student loan balance, backcountry skiing feels improbable to reach. I have a Craigslist pair of downhill skis, but I so rarely get to ski, since resort lift ticket costs are so absurd. My eyes remain peeled and hopeful for a low-cost opportunity to expand my skillset and have some good ol’ type two fun while I’m at it. Backcountry skiing would help me more confidently respond to backcountry emergencies, offer more exciting wilderness medicine courses, and create group opportunities for womxn and girls in the community.
Above all, I endeavor to learn and experience enough in my own body and soul that I’ll be able to give similar opportunities for the 14,000 Girl Scouts in my council to confidently and competently explore the backcountry snow. If you could see their faces, you’d understand why.
Angie Madsen is a skier from Stevenson, Washington who is committed to helping young girls grow through winter recreation opportunities. As the Outdoor Program Specialist, Angie hopes to help Girl Scouts gain confidence and competence to explore the backcountry snow. Visit Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington for more information.