Caroline George is a passionate alpinist and internationally certified mountain guide who has worked and played all over the world with a penchant for ice climbing, in which she competed on the world cup circuit for three years.
She is a mother to a little girl, which has empowered her to use the mountains as a vector for more equality and inclusivity for future genretions. She was the guide for the Swiss Alpine Club’s first women expedition team and is currently the technical coordinator, ambassador and consultant for Swiss Tourism’s 100% Peak Challenge, a platform that aims to get more women to the mountains and in the outdoors.
This is a fascinating chat ranging from Caroline’s adventurous parents who took her to do all sorts of things as a child but nonetheless encouraged her to get “a real job”, to her training as a lawyer at the same time as she discovered ice climbing and a mountain community that gave her a sense of belonging that she hadn’t felt before.
We talk about inclusivity in the mountains and the “invisible mountain” that women have to climb before they even get to the foot of the real thing. The shattering facts - that the Swiss Alpine Club did not accept women into mountain huts until 1980 and that for a very long time the British Alpine Club would allow dogs as members but not women - are jaw-dropping.
The ripples and effects from the successful 100% Women Peak Challenge have been so exciting and we talk about how leadership roles become more attainable for women who have challenged themselves to do something physically hard which gives them the confidence to take on more roles, which in turn inspires younger women to do the same.
We stray into the territory of how language and art make men the dominant gender and women the “other” and then on to a female guide is just as safe and experienced as a male guide with the same training and hours in the mountain.
We finish with the #challengecatie which, I can report for the first time ever, was completed before the release of the episode and which was a 95% success… Listen to the end to hear all about it and understand that a trip to the cinema crumbled my resolve!
IG: @carolinewaregeorge
Website: https://www.intothemountains.com