Glaciers are for girls: the inaugural expedition of Girls on Ice Austria succeeded in empowering nine young women in August 2021

Abstract

Girls on Ice Austria, an organization that encourages young women to stretch themselves through wilderness and glacier travel, camping, science and art, successfully completed their inaugural expedition in August 2021. Nine girls from Austria, Germany and Italy joined science instructors specializing in glaciology and meteorology, two professional artists (an actress and a painter), and a professional mountain guide for an all-female, week-long expedition to Bachfallferner glacier in the Ötztal. The team learned basic mountaineering and climbing skills, conducted scientific experiments including measuring the daily melt rate of Bachfallferner glacier, and pushed their creative boundaries. The all-female nature of Girls on Ice, and Inspiring Girls Expeditions (the umbrella organization) is meant to show young girls that women are capable of successfully filling traditionally male roles (such as in glaciology and mountaineering), to introduce the next generation of girls to the world of mountains and glaciers, and to encourage them to bravely and confidently pursue these career paths.