
Big-mountain freeskier and ski-film star Lynsey Dyer keeps a cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue tacked to a hallway wall in her house as a reminder of the way things are for women in sports: that is to say, largely ignored. “I want it to be a female athlete on the cover, not just models,” she says. “That doesn’t seem to be too much to ask.”
Dyer, with fellow skiers and friends Vanessa Pierce and Claire Smallwood (pictured, from top), founded SheJumps, a Salt Lake City–based nonprofit with an eye toward building a community of like-minded women: strong, active and sick of the status quo. “I’m tired of seeing Britney Spears and Paris Hilton as role models,” she says. “We want to be a part of changing that.”
The group is pushing adventure-based empowerment for three grades of women: the never-evers, the backcountry pros and the active types in need of a little help from talented friends with extra gear. (Their slogan: “What would you dare to accomplish if you knew the only possible outcome was
success?”) This winter, SheJumps is hosting a campaign to get more women avvy-educated and into the backcountry, with classes, discounts and networks of similarly inclined ladies. Last fall, they offered a free two-day career conference for professional female athletes, with seminars on everything from finding an agent to exploiting the media. (Hey, wait a minute….) Salt Lake City contains a growing immigrant population, including a recent wave of Sudanese; SheJumps is working with local social services to gather women who might never otherwise set foot—or snowshoe—in Salt Lake’s surrounding wilderness. “It’s an incredible opportunity to educate people about these open spaces,” says Smallwood, and hopefully instill a passion for preservation.
As a nonprofit, SheJumps is also creating a grant fund to finance women’s adventures. “We’re here to philosophically, logistically and physically support women’s dreams,” Smallwood says. “We want women to make that jump, to build their confidence, to do something they didn’t think they could.”
shejumps.org
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