Scholarship Recipient | 2023 Flash Foxy Trad Fest - North Conway

Before arriving at the festival, I had a good idea of what to expect. They had a detailed itinerary with all the information I could have asked for. The “find-a friend” excel sheet was incredibly helpful - I connected with a few folks who had similar goals to me before the festival began. To my surprise, on Thursday morning I missed a call from May and received a call from Lou. One of the guides was sick and they asked if I would be willing to fill in as a guide to facilitate the “Intro to Trad” clinic. An exciting turn of events! I said yes and redirected my plans accordingly. On Friday, I maintained my plan to climb with a new friend, Ely.

I arrived too late for the coffee meet up, so we scooted over to Cathedral Ledge. There were loads of stoked women and gender queer folk all over the cliff. I was jazzed. We got to the base of Thin Air and chatted with some folks while waiting for the party ahead of us to climb further. The climb was stellar - even a little unexpected rain did not kill our vibe. With only 20 minutes before my guide meeting when we got to the top, Ely and I ran down the Cathedral Ledge road in 10 and magically made it to the community center on time - guide mode activated.

As a queer guide used to being surrounded by mostly cis straight dudes, I was ecstatic about connecting with fellow women and gender queer guides and participants. We had a brief meeting about logistics and then the festivities began!

Friday night was fun - even a little rain didn’t stop the party. I appreciated Shelma’s land acknowledgment; I think all climbers should be aware of whose land we are recreating on. Bachata was a blast and the sparkle station brought a fun spice to the group. Saturday morning yoga was *exactly* what I needed. Daniel held space beautifully and it was energizing to start the day with yoga. I felt nourished, peaceful and connected to my body. Dinner on Saturday night was delicious and the following films were inspiring. Sunday morning’s talk on racial equity in the outdoors was eye opening. The Stewardship project was fun - it felt good to contribute to maintaining the trails at Cathedral Ledge. I appreciate Flash Foxy’s contribution to the land we were recreating on - so many folks showed up to help.

Facilitating the Trad Clinic was a blast. Cindy, the lead instructor, had great energy andall of the participants were stoked. It really warmed my heart to hold space for fellow women and gender queer folks to feel empowered to place their own Trad gear. On day two, I hung on a static line and supported the participants while they climbed and placed gear on top-ropes - they were all very attentive and excited to have hands-on learning experience.

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to attend the Trad festival as both participantand guide and I look forward to next year already.

With love, Jess :)

Jess Beneski (They/them)

Iliana hernandez (she/her)

Song Seto (she/her)