Turning big dreams into big plans
Visualise standing on the summit of your dream mountain; the peak you saw on your last trip that you never thought you’d be able to climb. How would it feel to achieve that goal, and what’s stopping you from trying?
What holds us back is often fear – fear of failure, injury, or worse. Women are also more likely to suffer from imposter syndrome, where self-doubt limits our ambition. But what if we flipped the narrative and stacked the deck in our favour? Break big dreams into small steps, build confidence in your skills, and suddenly, those goals feel achievable.
Take the fear of being too cold, for example. Many women, despite their love of the outdoors, worry they can't handle extreme cold. But with the right preparation, smart layering strategies, and proper gear, cold-weather adventures can be enjoyed, not just endured.
The secret to staying warm isn't just layering – it’s how you layer. Take over-layering: adding each layer on top of the last without removing anything, ensuring layers fit comfortably over each other.
Why does this matter? If you take off a jacket to put on another layer, you lose precious heat. By layering over the top, you keep that warmth, which can make a real difference to your comfort and safety in very cold conditions. With legwear, over-layering is often your only option as it’s impossible to add thermals underneath once you’ve started out.
Strategies like this can open up new possibilities. Just ask Alys, who has Reynaud’s syndrome – her hands and feet lose circulation in the cold. Winter climbing had become too painful, but when invited on a mountaineering trip to the Andes, she couldn’t resist. By focussing on her clothing strategy, she was able to summit several peaks in Bolivia in comfort.
On the summit ridge of Huayna Potosi at 6,088m
So, what cold-weather adventure have you always dreamed of? A high-altitude peak? A polar expedition? Whatever it is, the first step is finding strategies to help make it achievable – mentally, physically, and with the right gear.
And that’s where we come in, to guide and support you every step of the way.
The adventure you’ve always dreamed of is closer than you think.