Big City Mountaineers

Big City Mountaineers provides free, fully outfitted and professionally led, wilderness mentoring paddling expeditions, backpacking trips, and overnight camps for youth from unfairly marginalized and disinvested communities. Our model removes material and social barriers to participation in outdoor activities. We outfit our students from head to toe to ensure they are warm, dry, and safe. Many of our students do not see themselves in popular representations of outdoor culture so we provide a community of peers with whom they can share these experiences, while surrounding them with caring adult mentors to provide support and encouragement. We strive to increase their understanding of how natural spaces are connected to their lives back home and can serve as a resource for greater personal wellbeing and happiness. Our expeditions provide a safe and supportive environment for youth to develop teamwork, an increased sense of self, an understanding of their place in the world, a passion for lifelong learning, and a commitment to environmental stewardship.