The British Mountaineering Council and Mountain Training have launched a new online platform called OutdoorHer, a hub of outdoor skills resources and advice for women and girls, including tips on managing toileting, menstruation and the menopause while hillwalking or climbing outdoors.
© Veronica Melkonian/Women's Trad Fest
Alongside articles and videos covering general climbing and scrambling skills and gear advice, the platform shares simple 'how to' guides for managing bodily functions in the outdoors more easily—with the additional aim of destigmatising the topic—inspired by conversations with women who walk, climb and lead others.
OutdoorHer also hosts resources for outdoor leaders to help educate clients about these challenges. Upcoming areas to be covered on the platform include advice on pregnancy, women's nutrition and injuries.
"Women and girls belong in the outdoors and the aim of the hub is to remove the awkwardness of not knowing what to do so people know how to manage themselves or support others," a BMC press release reads.
The project follows England Netball's NETBALLHer campaign and The Well HQ's The Female Body Bible in its ambition to empower women and girls across the different life stages.
Cress Allwood, BMC Partnerships Manager, said: "We have always believed in the great, positive power of the outdoors to transform people's mental and physical health. This hub is designed to help women and girls feel comfortable in their own bodies so they can get the most out of our hills, mountains and crags."
Maddie Sweetman, Partnership Liaison Officer at Mountain Training, said: "Qualified leaders play a huge part in welcoming people to the outdoors and sparking a passion for adventure that can last a lifetime. Female hormone cycles and life stages can create an extra layer of challenge, which is why everyone should have access to the knowledge required to make things a bit easier. Our hope is that this new hub can help women, girls and leaders of all genders enjoy their adventures, be themselves and support those around them."
The BMC and Mountain Training are welcoming contributions to the resource from experts. Please contact emma@thebmc.co.uk with proposals and suggestions.
Comments
Not sure why there are down votes but perhaps it is because the links aren't working?
Sad little misogynists and bigots, unfortunately climbing has its fair share. Hiding under the cover of a dislike button. At least when they comment on the related social media posts you can attach a name to them.
Not surprising to see Maddie involved in good stuff like this, hopefully it's a helpful resource.
Long term it would be excellent to see something similar offering advice to reduce the barriers posed by disabilities.
The 'dealing with periods' advice could well have been taken straight from girlymonkey's excellent 'Aunt Flo' advice.
It looks a good resource. I'm sure I'll be using it for my DofE work.
I’m curious that this has become a thing. I’m getting on a bit now (50+) but don’t youngsters (and older women) still all talk about all this stuff freely? I do, my friends in mountaineering do. If not, why not? Men I know in the outdoor industry regularly carry period products incase students need them, as they should. When I first started out in the mountains it just seemed blindingly obvious to carry enough products to manage periods and bag and carry waste out.
General management of bodily waste is something that applies equally to men and women, whether poo or periods. Judging from what you find behind rocks these days men need as much education on what to do with it as women. There was an excellent book called “How to shit in the woods” which was an outdoor must read. Is it still in print? It was very good. Always a laugh to ask for it in the library.
Everyone has mood swings, good days and bad days and we should all take that into account; menopause, or whatever’s going on in people’s lives.
I worry that articles like this make women seem to be vulnerable, fragile and a problem in a way we aren’t? It’s an imagined inequality I’ve been working my whole life to dispel. If anyone’s reading the article thinking twice about having women in your party, please don’t. Most of us do already manage all these things with no trouble at all and we really, really aren’t going to be a problem.