“OUT in the Wild is not an affinity group that hosts climb nights. We’re a guide company that creates spaces so that people can learn technical skills to go and be comfortable and confident in spaces that historically haven’t been spaces that people from our community have felt comfort or confidence in.”
— Patrick Dunn, Founder, OUT in the Wild
It starts with one.
Patrick Dunn grew up on the Jersey Shore but spent as much time in the forest as he did on the beach. He wishes he’d gone to college for outdoor education, but as a gay teenager, he thought he would be safer in art school, living in a city. Turns out, he didn’t like art school. Or city life. He wanted to be in the mountains. So he left the city and began climbing with commitment—but always with an underlying wariness about whether his sexuality was a hindrance to real belonging. Realizing he might have to make the community he craved, he decided to start a queer-led guiding company.
“I started OUT in the Wild because I didn’t want to feel like I was the only one. I wanted to find queer climbers like myself who like to do the more technical things, who climb outside, and who I could relate to more. If I wanted to find those kinds of climbers, I thought I needed to create a space to teach them, but then in the process I found all these other queer guides who I didn’t know existed. Including Sof.”
Patrick Dunn, Photographer, Guide, Founder, OUT in the Wild
And then it grows.
“Climbing is awesome because of the people. It’s social, it’s community oriented, it’s wonderful. And it is a highly complicated, highly technical and expensive sport, and your safety and your enjoyment hinge on your ability to understand those technical systems. You have a better time on the wall when your ropes aren’t getting tangled. But building skills takes time and patience and mentorship. The day you eat the fruit is not the day you plant the seed.”
Sof Petros,
Creator of the Queer Multipitch Mentorship Program; Guide and People and Partnerships Director, OUT in the Wild
Four mentees signed up.
“I wanted to build a progressive small-group curriculum that offered safe mentorship and peer support to help people become competent and welcome participants on multi-pitch climbs. So we can empower people to feel confident in building their skills.” — Sof Petros
Sixteen people applied for the chance to commit to the Queer Multipitch Mentorship Program. Four were chosen for the first intake. The program offered these mentees 20 contact hours over five days of technical instruction from three queer guides, with peer support and extra socializing. They “graduated” with a supervised multi-pitch climbing day. They emerged with new skills and new friends.
“As you build expertise, we can flip the script from a story about what you’re lacking, to one about becoming a good mentee. Even before you’re ready to swing leads on a multi-pitch, there are valuable ways to contribute. You can get dialled at racking gear and keeping ropes tidy, you can help rig the rap system—you can share in the risk management. It’s not like you have to earn your keep, but you share in the experience differently when you contribute as you’re able.” — Sof Petros
Pay it forward.
“People are aching to have friends who are aligned and understand who you are and how you move through the world. Intermediaries like guide services or community groups can help those people find each other. The hope and intention is that our mentees will become the people who are able to be resources in the future. Even if they don’t have all the certifications, they can give back to other people and can be mentors in some way.” Sof Petros
What The Mentees Said
“My climbing abilities had plateaued for several years at single pitch sport climbing. Immediately after this program, I was able to feel confident in multipitch sport climbing outdoors with a partner.”
“I now feel like I have a whole world of outdoor climbing as my oyster. And I met a climbing buddy in the class with similar goals and experience. This friendship is invaluable as well. I hope I can someday give back this same instruction to someone like me!”
“It helped me have a fulfilling climbing season. I’ve been craving some ownership within my climbing journey and I think this was a big step for me in taking that back.”
“I feel more confident in the systems and more trust in myself as choosing what is safe.”
Learn More at outinthewild.com
OUT in the Wild is a West-Coast based, queer-owned, and queer-led guiding business that strives to uplift and develop queer leaders and guides, while teaching the skills and knowledge to allow LGBTQIA2S+ community members to succeed in outdoors spaces.
Through the No Wasted Days Community Grant Program, Strategic Partnerships, and the work of our community teams, Arc’teryx supports organizations like OUT in the Wild that drive equitable access, knowledge, and skills building in the mountains, and environmental stewardship of the lands we recreate upon. We hope this series of stories inspires you as much as these partners inspire us.
Photography
Patrick Dunn | Snoqualmie Pass | Washington State
Snoqualmie Territory | sdukʷalbixʷ (Snoqualmie) and Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla
