This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating three women’s stories, beyond their shells: a VP matriarch, an ER nurse moonlighting as a pro-skier, and an Olympian with an engineering degree. Almost as layered as our ski jackets or insulated jackets.
Lucy Sackbauer | Not All Heroes Wear Gore-Tex
If the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, then Lucy is pure mitochondria. Beyond being an Arc’teryx athlete, Lucy is an Emergency Room nurse in Sun Valley, Idaho. She has struck a balance that seems impossible, one that tests her limits both physically and mentally. Seeming to comfortably exist in a cyclical adrenaline rush; Lucy finds joy in the reset that both elements of her life provide her.
Lucy’s story is a reminder that living a fulfilling life is impossible without caring for yourself, and that caring for yourself is equally impossible without prioritizing the care of and respect for others.
Alannah Yip | Calculated Joy
Alannah is what you’d call “the total package.” She is strong in both body and mind. Her coach, Andrew Wilson, says that Alannah’s parents played a huge factor in her well-roundedness, raising her to value being a good person equally to being a good athlete. Outside of being an Arc’teryx athlete and an Olympic-bound, world-touring climber, Alannah is also a Woman in STEM, a mechanical engineer. After almost quitting climbing from a lack of joy, she went to university in Switzerland. While studying, she fell back in love with climbing outside with the aid of her women’s jacket, the dramatic landscape of the Swiss Alps, and the rush of high-mountain air cheering her on.
Alannah’s drive is the product of brainpower and fierce resolve, her ability, and talent the conjunctive result of her hard work. In a search for the feeling of freedom that climbing brings a brain as systematic as Alannah’s, you could call what she is capable of talent, but it is no doubt synonymous with unwavering determination.
Dominique Showers | A Meditation in Multitasking
Dominique’s battery is made of ionic willpower. With a mission more involved than “getting your foot in the door,” Dom aims for a seat at the head of the table – and not solely for personal gain. Instead, she is systematically dismantling the fraternity-esque culture of the outdoor industry from the inside out; sprinting from meeting to meeting, holding not one, but two, executive-level roles at Arc’teryx and bringing a powerful female voice to the top tier of the company.
With her finger on an ever faster beating pulse, Dom adapted motherhood, relationships, and self-care to act as enhancers – not hindrances – to her career.
In addition to recognizing the incredible women within our collective, we’re putting our words into action by partnering with organizations focused on increasing accessibility and career development within the outdoor space. Four $15,000 donations will be given to the below:
ACMG (Canada) – Supporting access and mentorship with professional guides for women and other under-represented/marginalized groups in the outdoors.
AMGA (US) — Supporting their Women’s Single Pitch Instructor Course, to increase access into guiding.
Flash Foxy (US) – Supporting the Women’s Education and Leadership Development Fund – Rock Climbing/Guiding.
Outward Bound (UK) – Supporting women’s outdoor leadership development.