Girls Lead for Life

Girls Lead For Life is free a weekly after-school climbing program for 6th-12th grade girls.

Over the course of 10 sessions, instructors use climbing as the vehicle to deliver a curriculum that opens access to social support, cultivates resilience, and teaches emotional regulation skills to support challenges commonly faced by adolescent girls and nonbinary youth.

No prior climbing experience is necessary. We start with climbing shoe and harness fitting, tying knots, belaying, climbing commands and climbing technique.

Participants Will Practice:

Indoor Rock Climbing

Climbing Safety

Leadership Skills

Self-Advocacy

Community Building

Positive Self-Talk

Interpersonal Communication

Building Resilience

Emotional Regulation + Coping Skills

and more!

PARTNER WITH US

If you’re interested in bringing this program to your community please email youthprograms@womenswilderness.org

CURRENT PROGRAM PARTNERS

Englewood Middle School

La Luz Education

PLAYPass Boulder

Boulder Housing Partners

If your youth is part of one of these schools or programs and you’re trying to register them, please email Savina at youthprograms@womenswilderness.org

"Climbing outside, I felt like I was on top of the world."
- Program Participant
"I discovered that I'm stronger than I thought I was"
- Program Participant
"My favorite part was climbing with the group, because they're so supportive."
- Program Participant
"I always felt courageous at GLFL."
- Program Participant
"I wanted to get stronger and be more confident, and it helped me get what I wanted."
- Program Participant
"I felt courageous when I helped a climber get past a part in a really hard climb. I felt really helpful and confident that I could help."
- Program Participant
"I learned that I can be a really good teacher and I am trustable."
- Program Participant

HERSTORY

Girls Lead for Life (GLFL) began as a pilot program in 2017 at Earth Treks (now Movement Gyms) in Golden.

There was an overwhelming desire at Women’s Wilderness to expand our programming and reach girls beyond summer programming. A lot of indicators in the community showed that we could potentially start a program that specifically focuses on under-resourced and underrepresented youth in the Denver metro area.

There are a lot of co-ed climbing programs on the Front Range, but few that cater to girls who face barriers to entry for the sport. Since 2017, we’ve moved our programming to Englewood and Aurora to offer access to girls in the Denver metro area who may not otherwise get to climb. We couldn’t do it without the help and support of Movement Gyms!