Mountain Life Moment: Mountain Mentoring

Christy Mahon on the Power of Mentorship

By Stio

January 8^th, 2018

This is the story of an unlikely mountaineering duo: a 14 year old girl and a National Geographic nominated Adventurer of the Year.

Words and Photography by Christy Mahon

"It seemed like the mountain kept growing and growing and we'd never get to the top, but we finally did," Elsie wrote in her journal. "Before we left, I wasn't sure I was up for skiing a 14,000-foot peak. But I did anyway, and succeeded. I realized that you just have to do things, and then you know you can."

Wise words from 11-year old aspiring ski mountaineer before she set out to ski Mt. Quandary, one of Colorado’s famed 14ers. While the ascent of Quandary only took Elsie about three and a half hours, the real journey to the top began almost a year prior. Elsie had contacted me about doing a school mentorship project, which pairs a student with an adult mentor in a field of the mentee's choosing.

Mountain Life Moment: Mountain Mentoring

I was immediately impressed with her ability to pair ‘passion’ with ‘work’, something that we as adults often don’t realize is possible until it’s too late. I also was impressed that no other 6th grader had yet thought of doing a mentorship in ski mountaineering, and that the first student to do so would be a girl. Understanding how much confidence it took to ask me, I had to say yes and was excited to spend the next year working up to our final project of skiing one of Colorado’s 14,000 foot peaks.

Being in the mountains wasn't new to Elsie, her family is avid skiers, bikers, and climbers. However, training to ski one of Colorado’s highest peaks and learn how to travel safely in the backcountry went beyond fitness. We started that spring with ski of a local 13,000 ft peak, followed by summer climb of not one, but two 14ers in one day, including the difficult traverse between Mt. Harvard and Mt. Columbia in the Sawatch Range of Colorado. I assigned readings from "Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills," the book considered to be the go-to source for learning the ins and outs of ski mountaineering. During the fall, we went for pre-season trail runs and in the winter, we went to the local ski hill to practice using crampons and ice axes. We met with a member of Mountain Rescue to go over maps and learned about avalanche safety. Elsie also became familiar with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center and would read the daily snow reports each morning.

We also talked a lot about grit and perseverance, and that feeling of wanting to quit when things get hard. We experienced first-hand what it felt like to “bonk”, and how to move through it. For me, it was important to share that everybody feels this way, and that the key to success is to keep moving forward, one step at a time, as this eventually leads to a lifetime of achievements and greatness.

This mentorship was so special because it gave me the opportunity to pass along the wisdom that my mentor had shared with me 18 years prior. I’m not sure which one of us got more out of the project, for me it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. It made me realize that we all need mentors. Everyone “needs” a mentor and everyone should “be” a mentor. This is how we build community, and in this ever growing, fast-paced world, this couldn’t be more important than it is today.

In the end, we made it to the summit and completed our goal. But like most adventures, the best part is in the journey, not the final destination. When Elsie submitted her final log, which needed to include 30 hours toward the project (15 hours of which is spent working directly with their mentor) she had recorded 96.25 hours over the nearly 12 months.

Elsie said she learned two major concepts - to always "be prepared" and to "always go”, a mantra that I use myself when I am not sure I feel like doing an adventure. She also says that her key to success is “the motivation of the other side. You cannot see what is on the other side of the peak, so if you keep wondering what is on the other side, it keeps you going." Sounds like words to live by to me.

Being a mentor makes me a better person. I find myself having to live up to the advice I give like having confidence in yourself, believing that you can do anything you put your mind to, and that you become anyone you want to be. Our mentorship project has no end. We plan to ski at least one 14er together each year until Elsie graduates from high school, and it's a friendship that is likely to last a lifetime.

About the author: Christy Mahon is an avid mountain adventurer based in Aspen, Colorado who stays busy by running, climbing and skiing high peaks at home and around the world. She was the first woman to ski al of Colorado's 14ers and, along with partners, the first to ski Colorado's 100 highest mountains. When Christy is not bagging peaks or logging miles, she works as the Development Director for Aspen Center for Environmental Studies.