por Monserrat Alvarez Matehuala
The opportunity to participate in this professional development is not one I take lightly. As a local leader, I believe that it is my responsibility to continue to invest and make time for my personal development and expanding of knowledge at my own pace. When I started out working as an outdoor educator, I had very little technical knowledge in traditional “recreation” and for a long time, it made me feel like I did not belong. Throughout the years, my employers and mentors invested in my learning and helped become a better outdoor educator, climber, and eventually an aspiring mountaineer. As a woman of color, I put a lot of unnecessary pressure to overperform, know the most, and be “perfect” in my role in leading others outside. I have since then learned that I don’t need to be perfect, or know the most, but that my personal learning needs to be about me. Yet outside of me, it has everything to do with my community. When I am learning and growing in my role as a leader, my community learns and grows with me.
I find myself now in a place where I am looking to feed my curious mind and need for growth at my own pace, as well as growing with the needs of my community. Over the last two years of living in Colorado, it is clear to me that there are few spaces for communities of color to exist at the intersections of mountaineering and alpinism. There is one woman of color mountaineer in my community, that is it. While Ari is an inspiration and it fills my heart to see her lead ice, summit mountains, and teach mountaineering courses, it is also hard to grapple with the fact that for a long time she is literally the only one. This fuels my fire and personal motivation to gain more knowledge to offer mentorship and exposure to more technical terrain for the next generation of people.
Thank you Latino Outdoors for supporting me on this course. The two days I spent building winter anchors and practicing crevasse rescues would not be possible without the support of our regional leaders and national staff. I feel more equipped and ready to not only put my skills to practice but more importantly share what I have learned with my community. Whether it is offering mentorship or advice to someone seeking to enter the sport, or facilitating a skills share with my community, I look forward to passing it on.
Monserrat Alvarez Matehuala is a Guachichil & Mexica mujer was born to Mexican immigrants in Ventura, CA but grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina where she fell in love with the outdoors. Monserrat is an outdoor educator, instructor, community organizer, climber, and danzante. As a bilingual instructor, she uses her language skills to teach Spanish-speaking communities as a certified Single Pitch Instructor, Apprentice Alpine Guide, JEDI consultant, and Master LNT educator. By day she works at the American Mountain Guides Association, by literally any other minute she can spare she is either supporting the outdoors community or tending to her flock. Along with being an LO volunteer, she is part of the national leadership team for Brown Girls Climb, a women of color owned and operated organization that uplifts and celebrates women of color in climbing. She also instructs part-time and loves to work with communities of color.