Skiing the Catskills High Peaks with Julie McGuire - Backcountry Skiing, Spiritual Awakening & One Woman's Solo Record

Julie McGuire is a South Bronx high school English teacher, backcountry skier, and the first woman to ski all 33 of the Catskills High Peaks — mountains that top out at 4,200 feet and are far more rugged, technical, and unforgiving than most people realize.In this episode, Julie joins host Gabriella in a conversation that's as much about inner wilderness as outer wilderness. She shares how the abrupt end of her marriage sent her into the Catskills and how skiing solo through these dense, cliffed-out New York mountains became a spiritual practice, a healing journey, and eventually a record-breaking achievement documented in her award-winning short film, Queen of the Catskills.We talk about backcountry skiing in the Northeast, what makes the Catskills so technically challenging compared to Western and Alpine terrain, skinning up steep bushwhack terrain with no snowpack, following your intuition in the mountains and in life, the spiritual experience of solo wilderness adventures, and bringing her South Bronx students into wild places for the first time.Whether you're a skier, a hiker, a Catskills lover, or someone who's ever rebuilt their life one mountain at a time, this one's for you.Connect with Julie:📸 Instagram: @queenofthecatskillsny🎬 Queen of the Catskills — film still on tour, link in show notesConnect with Women in Wild Places:📸 Podcast Instagram: @womeninwildplaces🌿 Host Instagram: @outsidegabs🎒 Gear Lists & Favorites: shopmy.us/outsidegabs💬 Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend who belongs in wild places.Topics: backcountry skiing New York | Catskills High Peaks | ski touring Northeast | women in the outdoors | solo female adventurer | Catskill 3500 Club | wilderness and healing | outdoor education South Bronx | Queen of the Catskills film | ski mountaineering | nature and spirituality | women who ski | Catskills hiking | upstate New York adventure