This text is part of the special International Women’s Day booklet
No more playing second fiddle to the men: today, women love to cover themselves in mud, perform on a bike path or negotiate a class V rapid.
Last summer, a dozen women gathered at the Massif du Sud regional park, in the Chaudière-Appalaches region, for a 24-hour bivouac in the forest in autonomy. The idea? Learn to master survival techniques and prepare for your next expeditions. Unthinkable a few years ago, it is commonplace today. While women have long been content with hiking or cross-country skiing, more and more of them are taking up white-water kayaking or rock climbing, which bring more adrenaline.
We can even say that we have been witnessing, for about five years, a surge of women in sports hitherto “reserved” for a predominantly male clientele, such as off-piste skiing or mountain biking. According to Katy Bond, Managing Director of Rocky Mountain, the famous Canadian brand based in Vancouver, “the increase of women in mountain biking is at an unprecedented level, making it an emerging market”.
Learn with confidence
“There is not the same level of strength or performance between men and women, explains Marie-Christine Daignault, founder of Éditions Filles de bois (which publishes the magazine Roots, devoted to mountain biking) and member of the board of directors of the women’s mountain biking club Les Tordues. A woman who practices with a group of men is always a little at the limit of her strength and that can be discouraging. Especially when they compete with men in activities that require a good dose of physical strength or adrenaline.
A finding that helps explain the proliferation of 100% female clubs, which offer them the opportunity to learn new techniques in a relaxed manner without pressure. “It allows them to gain confidence in a less competitive and more friendly atmosphere,” she adds. Because the outings with these clubs very often end around a drink or a meal; going outdoors with the girls is also an opportunity to expand your group of friends and find activity partners.
Surpass yourself in pleasure
Between girls, empathy and solidarity are very often present. The proof, these participative events which are intended only for women, like the White Lips. For the past few years, this event has brought together more than a hundred skiers fond of powder skiing in one of Quebec’s favorite destinations: the snowy slopes of Mount Miller, in Murdochville, in the Gaspésie–Îles-de- Madeleine. We see all ages, all levels of practice, but the same joy of surpassing oneself and helping one another.
Same observation during an expedition on one of the wild rivers of the North Shore: “We see more and more women in the river, says Shéril Gravel, from the Pink Water community, dedicated to the emancipation of women in white water. And the emergence of female models shows that it is accessible to everyone, whatever their level of practice. »
More technical, less “in strength”, women commonly demonstrate a deep desire to improve during the practice of activities, this is what Lorie Ouellet, professor-researcher in outdoor intervention, has observed for the past ten years. at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi. “When women climb together, for example, they are the ones who make the decisions [et non pas les hommes]. They therefore have more opportunities to take on more active roles and develop their skills and autonomy. Because, even outdoors, stereotypes sometimes die hard.