Each mentor and mentee fill out an application providing details on who they are, their experience as well as their goals. Kootenay Wild Mentors pairs mentors and mentees together based on these applications, with the aim of creating successful 1-on-1 mentorship partnerships. The more information you share on your application the better picture we have to try and create a good match. Throughout the season mentorship pairs agree to meet once a month for their respective sport seasons and work together to achieve the mentees goals. 

The program is currently open to all marginalized genders including women, women-identifying individuals, non-binary and gender non-conforming people. We ask that all applicants are 19 years or older.

Mentee’s are asked to have the basic gear needed to participate in their chosen sport. Winter mentees are required to have their AST 1 (or taking AST 1 before the program start date). As well as access to backcountry skiing equipment, including all avalanche rescue equipment. 

Mentors are required to have multiple years of backcountry experience, and have their own gear.

For winter an AST2 or higher, or ability to demonstrate sufficient competence and experience in the backcountry.

There is a participation fee. Mentees pay $60 which covers the insurance for both them and their mentor and a few dollars worth of the program operating cost.

Mentors are asked to pay $10 which helps support our programming. If the mentor fee is a limiting factor, it can be waived.

Each mentor and mentee is insured through the Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC, and will be required to sign a waiver to participate in our programming.  

We require each participant to have access to the personal equipment necessary for their activity. If this is a barrier please reach out, we have some resources and gear available to lend out.

Summer

Trail Running:

• Running shoe

Hiking:

• Hiking boots/running shoes (depending on your goals, running shoes might be sufficient)

• Backpack

• Water bottle

Rope Climbing (Mentees and Mentors):

• Climbing shoes

• Harness

• Helmet

• Personal anchor (sling)

• Chalk bag

Rope Climbing (Mentors):

Your mentee may not have the following items:

• Belay device

• Rope

• Quick draws

• Anchor setup

Bouldering (Mentees and Mentors):

• Climbing shoes

• Chalk bag

Bouldering (Mentors):

• Crash pad

Winter

-Touring skis or splitboard

-Touring ski boots or snowboard boots

-Ski poles

-Climbing skins

-Avalanche transceiver (3 Antennas, 457MHz)

-Avalanche shovel

-Avalanche probe

-Day touring backpack, medium sized (about 35-40 liters)

Kootenay Wild Mentors serves communities in the West Kootenay area. Applications are accepted for Nelson, Castlegar, Rossland, Slocan Valley, Nakusp, Kaslo and everywhere in between.

Kootenay Wild Mentors recognizes that it is based on the unceded traditional territories of the Sinixt, Ktunaxa, Syilx and Secwepemc Nations. We acknowledge and honour all nations across BC on whose land we live, play, learn and grow.

We anticipate having more mentee applications than mentor applications, so we unfortunately may not be able to find a match for everyone.

In summer, it is expected that each pair will attend the kick-off event in June and meet up a minimum three times between June and September.

In winter it is expected that each pair will attend the kick-off event in December and go out a minimum of once per month from January to March/April (depending on spring conditions), so it is asked that you are able to commit to one day per month during this time.

We also host KWM community events throughout the season. Attendance at these events is not mandatory, but we encourage you to come out and meet the KWM community!

We welcome people at every level of backcountry experience to our program, and try to facilitate our mentorship pairings with this in mind. For our Mentees, we just ask that you come with some clear goals, an open mind and a willingness to learn. 

Being a Mentor doesn’t require you to be an expert and we welcome mentors of varying levels of skill and experience. You may have only been hiking for a few years, but you could be a great fit for someone who has never gone on a hike before. Ultimately being a Mentor is about sharing experiences and offering guidance. If you have a skill you want to share, we likely have a person interested in learning it.

In Summer we currently facilitate climbing, hiking and trail-running mentorship pairs. In winter we facilitate backcountry ski touring and splitboarding pairs.