A Climbing Career to Lift Up Women: Countering Sexism, a 42-Day Arctic Expedition, and Building Athena Rock Climbing with Kelly Fields

You can join Trailtober TODAY and still get a chance to win trail shoes, electrolytes, gear patches and more – sign up now! 🍂 The mountains themselves might be unbiased, but the systems we live in are not. Kelly Fields is a rock climber, certified climbing guide, and owner of Athena Rock Climbing, a nationwide guide service with a specialty in multi-pitch trad climbing and a primarily all female guide staff. Kelly’s been building a career around climbing since 2004 and took part in a historic Baffin Island expedition with a team of all women in 2025. Angie and Kelly talk about: Why Kelly left college to pursue big-wall climbing The sexism she faced (and still faces) as a guide How she built Athena Rock Climbing from a desire for ownership and community Why women make excellent climbers The physical and emotional dynamics of a 42-day all-women expedition in the Canadian Arctic Internalized misogyny and how we unknowingly carry it into the outdoors Inviting men into conversations about gender equity outdoors Join Trailtober for a chance to win trail prizes and to help close the gender gap outdoors: https://cairnproject.org/trailtober-2025-challenge Check out these resources: 🔗Athena Rock Climbing 🧗‍♀️ Athena on IG 📱 Kelly on IG 🥾 Become a Trailblazer 📅 Women of Mountaineering Calendar 🎙️ Share your story on this podcast! Submit for Field Notes here. Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app! Make sure you subscribe to the ⁠See Her Outside Podcast⁠ so you don’t miss a story! Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure (GEA Alliance). Hosted by Angie Marie Lake and edited by Alyson Castonguay.