MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Winter / Spring 2018

20 MLCM WINTER/SPRING 2018 EDITOR'S MESSAGE Thanks, Feet and thank you, Mountain Life for bravely unearthing a camouflaged topic – gender inequality. It almost seems like a foreign notion at first. We are a strong community: sexism and gender inequity couldn't reside here in our bubble of adventure heaven. But it is here. And the systemic oppression of women that might be more visible in other parts of the world still hasn’t yet packed its bags and left us to our paradise. It’s interesting that for so long our culture just accepted that: yes, women’s prize money is different. Yes, it’s a challenge to climb the ranks in women’s action sports, and yes, men get paid more. Well, we’re calling bullshit. It’s a gosh-darn revolution, bitches! Every generation, the line of what is deemed acceptable shifts. And these days, the tectonic plates of how the world sees women are starting to collide, and shake things up.Women are no longer just asking what it really means to be a woman, we’re also tagging in for the fight. As ‘mountain, forest and ocean lifers,’ we hold a significant power to make more than just a ripple in the pond. This lifestyle of pushing boundaries and connecting to nature breeds movers, shakers, and modern-day warriors with enough fierce dedication and determination to follow through on whatever they choose. We can set a momentous impact on those around us, especially the generations to come. So here it is, a homage to some of the radical women that make wonderful role models for our boys, girls, and ourselves. This issue is also a stage to extend the message out to the world that there should never, ever be a limit set on anyone’s abilities based on sex, race, or anything else. The sky isn’t the limit any more. Send it! —Taylor Godber For a long time, mountain towns were total sausage parties – dudes everywhere. Snowboarding began to shift the ratio in the 90s, bringing more ladies to town, and mountain biking would do the same a decade later. InWhistler, the arrival of women heralded an era of unseen success.The world began to take notice of the little community in the Coast Mountains. The ski hills began winning awards, new plans were laid and buildings erected. A lot of stuff that had been kind of ramshackle for many years, began to shape up and come together. These days, Whistler has a female mayor and the tourism board is run by women; ditto for the Chamber of Commerce. A woman leads Whistler’s biggest charitable organization while another heads its biggest event promotions company. The publisher and editor of our only newspaper is also female and the local film festival, started by women, has achieved international acclaim for promoting both Canadian and female talent. Women are running key businesses, creating new futures, and dropping into whatever lines they goddamn feel like, on the mountain and in the backcountry. Women are empowered here in the mountains, and we’re all better for it. The sausage party is over. Except it isn’t, not in shred films, or magazines, or paycheques and contests. And while we at Mountain Life have always highlighted inspirational women within our pages, it’s clear that we need to make room for more. Less sausage, more bun. And so this issue is about, and dedicated to, the amazing women of the Coast Mountains. And to help keep the “mansplaining” to a minimum, we’ve invited Taylor Godber, a longtime contributor, athlete, and friend, to step in and help edit this issue. Take it away Taye, Ladies First. —Feet Banks FEET FIRST Guest co-editor Taylor Godber ascends the corporate ladder. TALON GILLIS