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For 2022 we’re proud to announce Intro to Hiking & Hiking Training Body Inclusive, a new weekly or biweekly event for members and their guests (non-members). The ACC Calgary Section has always welcomed climbers, hikers and skiers of all body types (as well as genders, sexual orientations, races, religions, etc) into our events. We’ve always said “everyone is welcome to come along”, but that’s different from saying “let’s make sure everyone will feel welcome.”
This series of training events will offer an intro to hiking where women, men and non-binary folks of all body sizes will feel welcome. How will we be creating more of a safe space? We do have some suggestions on how to make all people attending feel welcomed (please review the guidelines below prior to attending).
Your trip leaders and host will also do their very best make you feel welcomed and included! And with that, if you do not feel welcomed or included, please talk to us, we want to hear your feedback.
Who are your Trip Leaders? Brett Bilon
As a guy with a high BMI (body mass index), Brett Bilon fully understands the common misperception that mountain sports are for thin, athletic looking people. An accomplished mountaineer and splitboard alpinist, Brett also enjoys alpine rock climbing, scrambling, fly-fishing, and photography.
Renee Little (she/her) Renee is an avid hiker/ rock climber and advocates for fat positivity and body liberation in both professional and personal communities. She believes the ACC Calgary Section can be a supportive environment for individuals of all sizes to feel welcome and be able to increase access to the outdoors so she’s willing to put in some work to make that happen.
Group Guidelines Go at your own pace – no one needs to feel pressured about pace or time. We will ensure no one is left behind and everyone feels heard and respected about their choices made for their own body.
Respect - We believe in representation for folks of all sizes, folks of all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, classes, abilities, genders and sexual identities. If you feel comfortable sharing pronouns on introductions please do. If you’d rather share them in conversation (or not at all) please approach this as you feel comfortable. For this reason, please do not make assumptions about people’s pronouns. Safety - No diet talk, no weight loss talk, no body shaming and no bigotry of any kind is tolerated. Our goal is to create a community event which is a safer space for marginalized folks. Support – If you need support or have questions please reach out or chat with us during our training events. We are here to help you about gear questions, logistics and want to support your learning and skill development.
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