By Chris Chou
I came to the Alpine Ascents 2025 Kulshan Affinity Climb without much knowledge of the importance and history of affinity groups. I left with a firm belief that these types of opportunities are a critical element of building community for underrepresented groups in the outdoors and that the impact can be felt by participants of all experience levels. In this day and age where initiatives focused around diversity, equity, and inclusion are becoming fewer and further between, I am grateful that opportunities that prioritize elevating BIPOC experiences remain available. This climb granted me a new, expansive definition of a successful mountain climb. In my many mountain outings prior to the Alpine Ascents Kulshan Affinity Climb, guiding clients myself or pursuing certifications, I had never before experienced the sense of belonging and community with my fellow climbers. The connection I found with folks I had just met that week was remarkable.
There’s something about getting on with a certification course or going after a big objective with a team – for me there’s usually nerves or a sense of pressure to achieve the goal or complete the task that comes along with the excitement of a new experience. Often this comes with a realization that I’m the only person representing a minority ethnicity among the group. I’ve become quite used to this – so much so that I hardly notice it anymore. It took me a little while with our affinity climb group to realize that the guard that I seem to subconsciously put up as a minority most of the time in the backcountry had never come out. In fact I was just being myself in a holistic sense and feeling relaxed and happy among people that had been strangers just a few hours ago.
Learning from BIPOC guides was something I had only experienced once before prior to the affinity climb. Throughout our time on Kulshan’s Easton Glacier route, our team of guides demonstrated a delightful mix of personality, generosity, technical skill, and mentorship that earned the group’s respect immediately. As an aspiring guide, the impact of seeing people who look like me; who come from backgrounds like me; who have faced some of the same adversities in pursuit of their personal and professional goals as me hit close to home. As a latecomer to professional guide work, I often harbor feelings of self-doubt and insecurity about the tremendous investment of effort and resources it takes to just be eligible to apply to guide professionally. Seeing our team leaders’ excellence and professionalism stoked my motivation to pursue my own goals; hearing their personal journeys reaffirmed my desire to continue forging my path as well. Jorge, Tammy, and Esteban’s generosity with us came through in many ways. They gave time to answer our many questions about the technical side of the climb, perspectives on guiding professionally, and everything in between. I knew quite early that this group was special, and we generally sought out opportunities to spend our down time together – a distinct difference from many of my prior experiences which would’ve seen me retreat to my tent much sooner.
Our climb was filled with beauty, the warm weather brought conditions that provided some challenging terrain, and our travels went off without a hitch. At the summit of Kulshan, we shared the watermelon and Tajin that Jorge hauled up and celebrated with a dance. Normally, this achievement would have been the pinnacle of the climb. Though tagging the summit of a new Cascade volcano certainly checks a box for me, the best part of the outing was truly just being among individuals that I felt a connection with beyond the shared interest of mountaineering. Looking back, I can honestly say that I’ve never had as much fun climbing a mountain as my time with the affinity climb group. It’s set a new bar for me – as a guide and as an alpinist, for what I aim for when I head to the mountains. I’m so grateful to now know each of the people that took part in the 2025 Alpine Ascents Affinity Climb. I headed home from the Park Butte trailhead with a new community of friends and feeling of belonging, something that will last much longer than the highs of simply reaching a summit.
