De-colonize Mountaineering with Climbers of Color

Seattle-based Climbers of Color sold out their first ice-climbing clinic—a two-day event that took place in Bozeman, MT, last December. Photo Credit: Alex Taylor Kim

Don Nguyen, 32, is the first-generation Vietnamese-American cofounder of Climbers of Color, a nonprofit that provides mountaineering workshops for diverse outdoor leaders. He lives in Tacoma, Washington and has accumulated over two decades of experience as a climber and outdoor guide. His goal is to build a strong community of climbers of color who don’t just consume outdoor recreation as “users,”—but help produce it too, as guides, mentors and leaders. 

Vasu Sojitra, 28 is the first adaptive athlete for The North Face and the Adaptive Sports Director for Eagle Mount Bozeman, an outdoor nonprofit, that works with people with disabilities to help improve their access to the outdoors. He’s also the Program Coordinator for nonprofit Earthtone Outside MT, which helps people of color in Montana build connections outside. Sojitra is a first-generation Indian American and a vocal advocate for disability rights within the outdoor industry. 

North Face athlete Dr. Fred Campbell and outdoor guide Don Nguyen taught introductory level ice-climbing skills during the clinic. Photo Credit: Alex Taylor Kim

Both Sojitra and Nguyen met in 2017 during a potluck. That led to a discussion about setting up an ice climbing clinic in Bozeman’s Hyalite Canyon, the venue for the annual Bozeman Ice Festival. The culmination of 10 months of planning occurred late last year. 

On Dec. 14-15, 2019, Earthtone Outside MT and Climbers of Color (CoC) organized their first two-day ice climbing clinic for ten BIPOC participants. The event took place in Bozeman, MT, a predominantly white “adventure town” located on Crow, Salish-Kootenai, Northern-Cheyenne, Niitsitapi, Shoshone-Bannock, and over 30 other nations’ land. 

Humaira Falkenberg , is a Portland-based member of Climbers of Color and a ski patroller. Photo Credit: Alex Taylor Kim

The instructors were North Face athlete, Dr. Fred Campbell - a Seattle-based data scientist with nine years of climbing experience and Manoah Ainuu - a North Face athlete with over eight years of climbing experience. The pair were joined by Sam Elias, an alpinist with Syrian heritage, Matt Zia a Chinese American climber, and Marcus Garcia, who coaches for the U.S. Olympic climbing team. Overall, the clinic was designed by people of color, for people of color - that included photographers Alex Kim and Chris Donovan who helped document the event.

The Day 1 guide and instructor team consisted of [L to R] Matt Zia, Don Nguyen, Fred Campbell, Sam Elias and Jeff Johnson. Photo Credit: Alex Taylor Kim

Funding for the event came from Earthtone Outside MT‘s annual programming. They assisted with clinic fees, travel funds, lodging, vetting, and screening, which allowed the clinic cost to be set at a more affordable $50 per scholarship participant - including fees, travel, and lodging.

“We knew we weren’t gonna get money from the public, so focusing our efforts and fundraising towards grants was what we did,” said Sojitra. “Although some people weren’t happy with not using social media, word of mouth helped a lot - it filled up in an evening!”

Part of the clinic included familiarizing participants with types of specialized gear. Photo Credit: Alex Taylor Kim

Climbers of Color doesn’t typically advertise events online. “The last time we advertised online, we received a lot of harassment,” recalled Nguyen. “There are still a lot of white people who think marketing to BIPOC segregates the outdoor industry. I would invite them to look around and open their eyes to the fact that people of color don’t occupy these spaces to even a proportional degree, and when they do they are often viewed as the consumer, the user - not the guide, the leader, or mentor.”

The purpose of the event was to build teamwork in addition to teaching new skills that can empower climbers of color to return to their communities as “leaders, teachers and resources,” said Nguyen. Another aspect of the event was to provide an opportunity for participants to demo gear including cold weather parkas, ice axes, boots, crampons, helmets, gloves, and full gear from head to toe. 

Andrew Tangsombatvisit, PNW climber and mountaineer enjoyed the hands-on aspect of the clinic. Photo Credit: Alex Taylor Kim

“Overall, the clinic was a success,” said Nguyen. “Although primarily a regional organization, Climbers of Color is always looking for opportunities to expand the model to other states.” The next big thing for Nguyen is to “decolonize mountaineering [...] mountains, parks, and trails have Indigneneous names that have been displaced along with indigeounous communities.” Part of the mission of Climbers of Color is to ask how the organization can serve indigenous communities better.