MUMS ON M O U N TA I N S Empowerin g women i n t he ou t d oors Story and Photography by | Carla Imbrenda
As a Mountain Leader and a mother of three, Carla Imbrenda wanted to put her wealth of knowledge to good use, to advise,
support and encourage more women in the outdoors. With that in
mind she established Mums on Mountains – which she’ll launch
in 2023 – with a course to cover the basics, from finding the right
S
taring up at the last section of snowy slope ahead of us,
the skies are bright blue and the sun is warm and friendly
with a good few hours left in the day, but we are at the very limit of turnaround time.
A huge pair of green eyes look out at me from under her red
kit needed for hiking with children and babies, to plotting routes
bobble hat, ‘I think we can do it Mummy’. Positive, energised
‘Pregnancy and motherhood is a phase of life that can often
worthy-snow, Awen, who has just turned 5, stands with me
and basic navigation skills.
leave you feeling more vulnerable than ever before,’ says Carla. ‘I wanted to see friendships formed with other women who share their concerns and cravings, and create a safe space for like-minded mums and mums-to-be to stretch their legs and their boundaries.’
Here, she explores what it means to adventure with kids,
sharing her own valuable insights to get more mums on mountains.
and excited simply from finally reaching fluffy, snowman-
at 2700m looking at the summit of the Pic Du Bigorre in the French Pyrenees. As much as I would like to push through
the last 187m of what has been a fairly straightforward hike, experience tells me this would not be sensible.
With the decision made, we turn and take one last look
at the long-awaited summit observatory building and cast our eyes wide across the huge open view of endless mountain
peaks around us. We descend to an abandoned refuge a little way back, swig some lukewarm hot chocolate and layer up
ready for the long descent, arriving back at our car just as the last light fades from the sky and the ground turns back into a deadly ice rink.
With a thirst for adventure and a love of all things
outdoors, finding a way to combine motherhood with spending time in the mountains has made me resourceful,
resilient and probably a little selfish too. That’s the thing with becoming a parent: your magical little folk are born and along
with them comes a fairly long stretch of ‘parental guilt.’ You’re suddenly very aware that the world feels the right to have an opinion on everything you do!
Whether planned or not, pregnancy is really only the
beginning of the different challenges that rise up. While
“Keeping your body and mind healthy while it goes through the incredible process of growing your baby can only be good for you.” 60
physical and hormonal changes are taking place and the body
adapts to growing another human being, women can also
often feel that the expectation for life to carry on as normal is high. Work, exercise, socialising and all the bits in between. But what is realistic? Is continuing to be adventurous and active in the outdoors even possible?
