Alice Held: Fierce Dedication
This is Part 2 of a 7 part series, introducing each of the 2022 Summit Scholarship Recipients. In this series we will share with you a bit about the background and stories of each of our Summit Scholarship recipients, in the same chronological order as the scholarship trips that they are embarking on.
The Summit Scholarship program exists to normalize women’s presence and achievement in the mountains. Sometimes, that means that a Summit Scholarship funds a woman’s first foray into the big mountains. Sometimes, it’s about unlocking the door to a new level of technical expertise. Enter 2022 Summit Scholarship recipient Alice Held, who is not new to the mountains by any means: the 24-year-old from Ann Arbor, Michigan, describes herself as “fiercely dedicated to mountaineering.” She resides in Missoula, MT, and is currently studying sports medicine with a focus on nutrition for multi-day endurance athletes.
Alice found mountaineering on the heels of an abusive relationship. Here is what she says about finding the courage to leave an abusive relationship, and embarking on a journey to regain her identity and heal herself:
“At this point, I was 21, and was allowing this intuitive call for something wild to take the reins. I knew it was leading me in the direction I was supposed to go in my life. When I stood on my first ever summit that summer, Mount Apikuni in Glacier National Park, the emotions that I felt were profound and nearly indescribable. I felt empowerment. I felt belonging. Everything clicked. Through mountaineering, I have been able to make the meaning I want from the trauma I have endured.”
To take the next steps in her mountaineering journey and receive formal instruction in safe glacier travel, Alice will be joining AWExpeditions’ Shasta Glacier I Course which is operated by Shasta Mountain Guides and starts on June 2. Her Summit Scholarship is one of two 2022 Summit Scholarships funded by The Cairn Project.
“I know that I deserve to be in spaces that don’t require me to prove myself the way I have to do in the male-dominated outdoors culture.”
We asked Alice a few questions about her upcoming glacier course.
What are you most excited about with regards to the Summit Scholarship? “Any opportunity to become less of a liability and more of an asset in the backcountry is extremely exciting to me. I love learning all that I can about recreating safely in the mountains. Most importantly, what always makes these experiences are the people you share it with, and I’m so stoked to meet some other ladies that crush it outside.”
What does it mean to you to climb Mt Shasta with an all-women team? “I have had to fight for every opportunity and summit I have stood upon. As a woman, I feel that I have to spend extra time and energy to be seen, heard, and taken seriously. What I love about women-specific spaces are that I can be freed from the labor of trying to convince someone that I am qualified and serious about my sport. I cannot count on two hands alone how many times I have had a man assume my skill level without ever asking me anything about myself. I know that I deserve to be in spaces (…) that don't require me to prove myself the way I have to do in the male-dominated outdoors culture.”
What do you think will be the biggest challenge? “The most challenging aspect of doing the glacier clinic on Shasta will probably be settling into the vulnerability of trying out something new that I know little about. But, the “growth zone” is where the magic happens…”
Thank you for sharing your truth with us, Alice. We hope that magic WILL happen, and can’t wait to bear witness to it!
Find out more about Alice and follow her journey on Instagram at @mtn.alice or on TikTok (mountainalice).
