I used to often ask myself “why aren’t there more women in freeriding?”. For a long time, I couldn’t tell you why. I just knew there was more to it than having a certain amount of courage and fitness. Then, while I was working as a young guide in Sölden in the winter of 2003/2004, I learned that the biggest fear for a lot of my female clients wasn’t a fear of injury, but a fear of holding up the group.
The thought that they might not be able to keep up – that others would have to wait for them – was enough to stop these women from going freeriding. That’s when I got the idea to teach freeriding to all-female groups. My theory was that when women are amongst themselves, they would feel more comfortable to stretch their abilities and learn something new without obsessing over whether they are good enough.