JACKSON HOLE WOMAN, Jackson Hole News&Guide, Wednesday, October 16, 2013 - 29
The Montessori School of the Tetons
“Whoever touches the life of a child touches the most sensitive point of a whole which has roots in the most distant past and climbs towards the infinite future.” - Maria Montessori
Limited space available Call for information 733-2747 BRADLY J. BONER / NEWS&GUIDE FILe photo
Colleen Batty Davis flashes a smile after hitting a target with a semi-automatic rifle at the Jackson Hole Gun Club in 2011. Jackson Hole Shooting Experience will offer .
Focus on skills,
Located at 1240 B Huff Lane, behind MovieWorks 263441
not stereotypes
Women-only programs build confidence. By Emma Breysse
T
his winter Lynn Sherwood will invite the women of Jackson Hole to take a shot at reducing the testosterone in the atmosphere where she works. And when Sherwood says “take a shot,” she’s not kidding. She’s one of the owners of Jackson Hole Shooting Experience, where her passion is helping women and youth learn their way around guns and bows. This winter and again in the spring, Sherwood said, the Shooting Experience will feature a class series focused specifically on women. “It’s a really encouraging environment to be in,” she said. “We foster that environment where it’s emotionally safe and safe in a practical sense as well.” The Shooting Experience’s classes are among many opportunities in the valley for women, especially beginners, to learn new skills in arenas where the cultural stamp is primarily made by men. They range from women-only camps at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to reduced-rate Ladies’ Night at Enclosure Climbing Gym. Sherwood and others who facilitate women-only training opportunities said that being able to focus on the skills, not on the stereotypes, can be the deciding factor between trying something new and taking a pass. “We live in Jackson, where a lot of the women are very self-empowered, but Women Build days are the only
time that the majority of the people on the build site are women,” said Veronica Mulhall, volunteer coordinator for Habitat For Humanity of the Greater Teton Area. Mulhall is responsible for the ways Jackson’s office observes international Women Build Week, a period when the housing nonprofit sets aside time to encourage women to volunteer on its job sites. Habitat doesn’t require people who want to volunteer at its housing projects to have construction experience, but it does require them to do construction work, from using circular saws to hammering nails to assembling walls. “Nothing against the guys, but it can be intimidating,” Mulhall said, “and working with the idea that women can’t do construction can be intimidating. We try to create a safe space where everyone can have fun and maybe feel a little more comfortable picking up that tool they’ve never seen, or asking the stupid question.” Even in skiing, which draws both sexes to Jackson Hole, things can be easier when no boys are allowed. That understanding led Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to form and expand Elevate, a ski camp for women. “We are really trying to grow women in the ski world,” resort spokeswoman Anna Cole said. “To be able to do that without your husband and without your family can be great, and losing that intimidation factor really makes it easier to learn and make progress.” Cole participated in Elevate last year, the first-time instructors included female pro skiers such as Jess See SKILLS on 35
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