Diva Trek

Black Diamond are a Girls Best Friend

2009-03-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

By Sharon Page

Heather Paul and Leslie Ross have a couple things in common: Both are great backcountry and telemark skiers, and both are founders of successful adventure companies that specialize in courses geared toward women. Paul's Ultimate Groove and Ross's Babes in the Backcountry offer a great way for women to learn about snow safety, teleskiing and riding, and mountaineering in a supportive, non-competitive environment, free of ego and full of fun.Heather Paul started skiing on the icy runs of New Hampshire, and eventually opted for the powder laden slopes of the west. Still not sated in her quest for ultimate freedom, she ditched her alpine skis, donned free-heel gear, and joined the world of Telemark. It was downhill from there (so to speak)! She won a bronze medal in the World Telemark Championships and founded Ultimate Groove in 1996.

What motivated Heather Paul to start her company was a gap she perceived in clinic offerings oriented specifically toward women. Telemark Skiing was a specialized sport as it was, and women interested in dabbling in the free heel world were often seeking women specific instruction to no avail. So she started offering just that in the powdery bowls of Alta, Utah and Alpine Meadows, California.What’s kept Heather grounded through all of her success is simple: The opportunity to encourage other women to participate with the utmost confidence in a sport traditionally dominated by men.

First Sherpa to Top of Seven Summits

2009-02-18T18:35:00.000-08:00

Acclaimed mountain guide Lakpa Rita Sherpa confirmed his place in Sherpa and mountaineering history on February 13th when he stood atop Mount Kilimanjaro and became the first Sherpa to climb the Seven Summits—the highest peaks on every continent. Africa’s highest peak was the last of the summits for the 43-year old Sherpa man, who has been climbing since 1984 and first climbed Mount Everest in 1990. He was joined on the five-day journey to the top of the snow-capped 19,340-foot Kilimanjaro by Leavenworth, Washington alpinist Joe Puryear, who has documented the venture at http://www.climbafrica.blogspot.com/.

Sherpa Adventure Gear (http://www.sherpaadventuregear.com/), a Renton, Washington manufacturer of apparel for mountain sports, sponsored the climb of Kilimanjaro.The experienced mountain guide found Kilimanjaro easy compared to other high altitude ascents, but “extremely beautiful and interesting,” Lakpa Rita Sherpa wrote in an e-mail. “The route we climbed was very convoluted with much back and forth and lots of up and down. However the descent was straight down.” He was surprised that “it was very, very crowded on the mountain,” noting he and Puryear passed over 200 people the morning they reached the summit.

They arrived at dawn on February 13th after a four-hour climb from their final camp with weather that was very cold but clear. To celebrate at the summit, "we danced and sang a traditional song with our local partners," wrote Lakpa Rita Sherpa.

Diva Trek

2008-04-23T19:09:00.001-07:00