Lizzie Van Patten
Owner, She Moves Mountains
The Basics
Company Name: She Moves Mountains
Location: Washington and Oregon
Founded: 2017
Full-Time Employees: 7
Products: Skill-based rock climbing and backpacking clinics for women (cis, trans, femme)
Social: Instagram
Claim to Fame: The first women-owned and operated rock climbing guiding company at Smith Rock State Park
The Culture
The best thing about working here is:
working with strong, motivated women to create safe, encouraging and fun spaces where women feel comfortable pushing their limits.
When we’re not working, we’re:
out on personal adventures. Our instructors spend their free time in the mountains chasing personal climbing and outdoor goals.
What we’re reading:
Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue, Educated by Tara Westover, White Fragility by Robin Di’Angelo
What we’re listening to:
Anderson .Paak, Dixie Chicks, Janelle Monáe
If they made a movie about our workplace, it would be called:
Work Hard, Play Harder
Inclusion in the outdoors matters because:
nature should be a space of non-judgement and acceptance for every person. Through our clinics we want to enable women of color (cis, trans, femme) to recognize their strength and place in the outdoor community.
Five years down the line, it’s our hope that:
She Moves Mountains has contributed to increasing the number of women of color (cis, trans, femme) as certified-AMGA instructors and guides.