2021: A Year in Review
After a brief pandemic hiatus in 2020, Embark returned in 2021 with double the participants, and double the staff! Scroll to see what we we’ve been up to this year, with the support of our community partners.
Wilderness First Aid Day at Snowbird
In July, Snowbird hosted Embark for an all-day Wilderness First Aid workshop, taught by the leading ladies of Snowbird’s Snow Safety Team, Eliza, Margie, and Sandra. We learned about splinting injuries, heat stroke, hypothermia, and so much more. Thank you Snowbird!
Photos by Janelle Dransfield
Climbing at The Front
Our team met regularly at The Front to practice climbing, belaying, and to prepare for our upcoming outdoor climbing trips! Thank you to The Front for welcoming us, providing climbing safety instruction, and for your ongoing community support!
Photos by Janelle Dransfield & Rachel Ross
Uintas: Camping & Climbing
In August, our team spent 2 nights in the Uinta National Forest camping and climbing. Inspired Summit Adventures donated a day of guiding on the rock so that our girls could climb for hours and hours, and that they did! The Mangar sisters made incredible Nepali food (Meg’s favorite) for dinner, and the volunteers realized that they should probably never bother cooking again and just leave it to the real pros!
Embark’s deeper purpose also came to life over campfire conversation, as our girls shared their dreams, aspirations, and their plans to prove to the world that girls from ALL cultures can be strong, educated, and independent.
Photos by Rachel Ross
Zion National Park
Our final campout until next spring was a dream. We loaded up the trailer with gear and made our way to Zion. Zion Wright Family Ranch donated campsites to ensure we had room to spread out with a beautiful view. We climbed and learned to rappel at Lambs Knoll until the sun went down. Khadija and Moo Soe made Biriyani (Cam’s favorite) for dinner, and a few of the girls decided to build their weekend home inside the gear trailer rather than setting up tents in the dark. Life is good in the desert.
On Sunday morning, Meg talked everyone into getting wet and hiking The Narrows in Zion Canyon. Zero regrets!
Photos by Lindsay D’Addato
Our Growing Volunteer Staff
In 2021 Embark introduced Meg O’neill as our new Assistant Director. Meg is a skilled outdoorswoman with over a decade of experience in education and serving refugee populations. Under Meg’s leadership, Embark gained several new participants, and made changes in our programming to better serve our girls. We also expanded our staff to include several more incredible volunteers, committed to our mission of uplifting girls through sport. Check out our staff page to learn more, or get involved.
