Her first break came in l977 when she joined an all-women’s expedition to Mount Logan. Then in l983 she had her first big success with the Cassin Ridge on Mount McKinley which “really changed my attitude. I didn’t see myself so much as a woman but as a climbing partner. I came back with a lot of confidence.” Expeditions to Makalu (1984), the south face of Aconcagua (1984), and the northeast face of Huascaran Sur (1985) followed. By 1986 she realized that she was “ready for anything.” Her ascent of Mount Everest by the difficult west ridge and north face was first for a North American woman, but as her friend Albi Sole recalled, “It’s not because she was a woman that she got to the top, it’s because she was the right person for the job….”

After Everest she had moved on to other adventures. Much in demand as a public speaker, she travels North America sharing her experiences and her approach to risk. In l988 she married and is now raising a family. Much of her time nowadays is taken up organizing a private school she started in her home town of Canmore, Alberta. In l997 Sharon received the Summit of Excellence Award at the Banff Mountain Film Festival.

Sharon explained her motives in a recent interview. “The constants that I have tried to maintain through all of these things are …the steep learning curve, the intensity, perhaps a certain degree of risk… and tremendous adventure… and that ongoing, never ending quest for self knowledge”. — from Chic Scott’s Pushing the Limits

Bernadette has degrees in English literature and music, with specialization in performance and analytical theory. She spent two years in the music program at The Banff Centre performing contemporary music with her ensemble, Fusion 5.

Bernadette has taught music privately and at the college level. She spent six years with Jasper National Park before moving to the Banff Mountain Film Festival. She was director of the festival since 1988, as well as acting as festival juror on festivals around the world. During her time with the Festival, it grew from a weekend film event to a 12-month, global touring program with an international program of films, authors, speakers, and exhibitions spanning seven continents. Bernadette is the co-editor of Voices From the Summit: The World’s Great Mountaineers on the Future of Climbing, published by National Geographic, is author of a chapter on heli-skiing in a National Geographic publication, is editor of Extreme Landscape, and co-editor of Whose Water Is It. She is author of Ritratti dalle vette, alpinisti fotografati da Craig Richards, published in Italian in 2003. Her most recent book is I’ll Call You in Kathmandu: The Elizabeth Hawley Story, published in 2005 by The Mountaineers Books.

Bernadette is past chair of the board of trustees for the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, and a founding member of the International Alliance for Mountain Film. She was an invited speaker at the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2001 to launch International Year of Mountains.

Bernadette spends most of her discretionary time in the mountains, climbing, ski touring, hiking and riding. These travels have taken her to the mountains of Japan, South America, Africa, Europe, and Tibet, as well as the North American Ranges.

The ones she has so far completed are:

* 2002 — first person to climb a rock route on the 1000-foot (300-metre) high face of Mt. Yamnuska every month in a calendar year. Easiest route climbed was Redshirt (5.7). Most difficult was Dreambed (5.11b)
* 2003 — first and only female (and sixth person) to climb all 54 peaks over 11,000 feet (3350 metres) in the Canadian Rockies
* 2005 — first and only female (and sixth person) to climb all 34 routes on Mt. Yamnuska as listed in the 1977 Urs Kallen guidebook to the mountain

Jillian has lived and worked in the Rocky Mountain National parks for over 15 years. She got to the Rocky mountains through a rather circuitous route. She has worked for national parks and national historic sites in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Management positions have included Senior Policy Advisor for the seven mountain parks, and Director of cultural and natural resource management for national parks and historic sites in Alberta and British Columbia.

Jillian has a love of the outdoors and of mountains. She is an avid hiker, backpacker and skier.

In 1996, shebecame the first American woman to climb three 8000-metre peaks (Everest, Cho Oyu, and the first American woman to climb Gasherbrum II). Charlotte still rock and ice climbs on a regular basis, but has been sidetracked at home the last few years (and hasn’t really been back to the Greater Ranges). That is about to change!

Charlotte was on the board of the Access Fund for seven years and is currently on the board of the American Alpine Club.

Under her direction, clients gain self-awareness through personality assessments, dynamic experiential work on power and purpose, and interactive exercises that teach skills for respectful confrontation. It is the combination of these elements that provide clients practical tools to lead more powerful lives. She has appeared in numerous newspaper and magazine articles including Today’s American Woman, The Business Journal, BizLife, Women’s Sports Foundation, and the Cincinnati Enquirer. As president of USA Climbing, she transformed a faltering organization into a powerhouse national governing body, growing from 800 to 7,000 members. She is currently involved with efforts to bring climbing into the Olympics, and meets extensively with international leaders in Europe, Asia, and Central and South America. The lessons she has learned and communicates about power and transformative change are firsthand and timely for any organization wanting to go to the next level.

Debra is also an accomplished public speaker and the author of two publications: bestselling The Seven Aspects of Sisterhood: Empowering Women Through Self-Discovery and Lead From the Inside Out. She currently lives in south Florida after relocating from North Carolina.

Kim has been an adventurer and outdoor instructor since 1979. She has worked as an Outward Bound instructor, course director, ice climbing guide, Antarctic survival instructor, Aspen ski patrol, and Himalayan trek leader. Alongside Chicks with Picks, Kim started a new program in 2001 called Mind Over Mountains (adventure retreats for women). In 1998 she was the expedition leader on a Himalayan first ascent that raised over $70,000 for the Friendship House, a Nepali safe house for girls at risk. Since then, she and her husband Jim Nowak started The dZi Foundation, a small non-profit foundation dedicated to health, education, culture and welfare of Himalayan mountain communities.