Introducing: Women of Mountaineering
The AWE Summit Scholarship Foundation was born through our desire to help make the mountains more accessible to women from all walks of life. Initially, we focused on tackling a key barrier to entry head-on: money. Through the Summit Scholarship Program, which is soon going to enter its fifth year, we raise funds to send scholarship recipients on big adventures at minimal cost to themselves.
That said, money isn’t everything. On the contrary – there are so many barriers beyond the financial aspect, from a lack of role models and mentors to second-generation gender bias and microaggressions in the mountains. Making the mountains more accessible goes so far beyond defraying the cost of expeditions. It’s about community and representation, about building welcoming spaces and elevating the stories of women in the mountains.
That’s why we are excited to see communities like Women of Mountaineering come together on social media. It’s also why we decided to produce the first (ever?) Women of Mountaineering calendar, and why we are beyond excited about the terrific group of inspiring and trailbreaking women who are featured in the inaugural 2023 edition of the Women of Mountaineering calendar, including Kristin Harila, Melissa Arnot, Wasfia Nazreen, and many more. Even more – in the process of curating the 2023 calendar, we connected with so many women of mountaineering with incredible stories that we are already excited to start working on the 2024 edition, too!
Melissa Arnot on the cover of the 2023 Women of Mountaineering calendar
All proceeds from the Women of Mountaineering calendar sales go directly towards creating more scholarship opportunities as part of the annual Summit Scholarship program, applications for which usually become available in December or January and stay open for 6-8 weeks.
Join us in our mission to make the mountains more accessible for women from all walks of life, and order your 2023 Women of Mountaineering calendar today. We ship worldwide.