Encouraging, empowering and inclusive. The five winning projects receiving support in the Trailblazer Program range from an inspiring content series, a women-only ski school, to an impactful directory of female photographers, film makers and media contributors. All of them with the power of challenging the status quo within our industry.

This Berlin based outdoor club caters to Black FLINTA (female/lesbian/intersexual/nobinary/trans/agender) individuals and offer a variety of outdoor adventures every two to three weeks. 

Tsellot Melesse founded Black Canary 030,  aiming to challenge outdoor industry norms, promote diversity, and dismantle systemic barriers that hinder Black FLINTA individuals from accessing outdoor spaces. 

The club has had a clear focus on affordability and accessibility from the start, hoping to introduce members to diverse outdoor pursuits. But Berlin and its predominantly flat terrain poses some challenges in terms of variation.

With funds from the Trailblazer project, Black Canary 030 are able to offer their first ever excursion outside Berlin, taking nine people of their community to the Bavarian Alps for an overnight camping trip in Bayrischzell.

INSTAGRAM @030BLACKCANNARY

With the ambition to close the gender gap and create a more inclusive outdoor community in their hometown Innsbruck, Lilli Schaut and Jule Saalmüller are setting up a free Ski School for women. 



Both being certified ski instructors themselves, their mission is to provide women in the area an opportunity to discover the world of skiing, engage in outdoor sports and connect with like-minded people. 

Offering free lessons to anyone open and motivated, they aspire to create a safe and inclusive environment to learn and grow and establish a sense of community among those not yet a part of the Innsbruck outdoor sports scene. 

With funds from the Trailblazer project, Lilli & Jule will host four ski classes for women from all walks of life, many who has never experienced skiing, spanning from December to March.



INSTAGRAM: @GIRLSSKIING

Women in Action Sports Photography (WASP) is a community supporting diverse perspectives in outdoor/adventure and action sports photography and film. Madlaina Walther, the founder, aspires to create a website featuring a directory of women working as photographers, filmmakers, and media contributors in the outdoor/adventure and action sports field.



With the website featuring its members they hope to facilitate connections making it easier for the media, event organizers, and sports/photo/video brands to discover and collaborate with the women in the directory. 

The Trailblazer program enables Madlaina to create a unique website directory of females in the action sport photography community. Over time, she also envisions member meet-ups, workshops and the possibility to provide job or mentorship opportunities to foster a supportive environment.

INSTAGRAM: @WOMENINACTIONSPORTSPHOTOGRAPHY

Trailrun community is a passion project, aiming to foster a vibrant and supportive space for women in the local running community in Hamburg. Lara Ohler, the founder, now raises the bar for her local running group by challenging them to participate in the Zugspitz Ultratrail in June.



The running group will have the opportunity to participate in a series of workshops and preparation events ahead of the Trail Half-marathon, and to ensure inclusivity, the run will be organized as a unified group, maintaining a consistent pace and ensuring no participant is left behind until reaching the finish line together.

The running group will have the opportunity to participate in a series of workshops and preparation events ahead of the race, and to ensure inclusivity, the run will be organised as a unified group, maintaining a consistent pace and ensuring no participant is left behind until reaching the finish line together.

INSTAGRAM: @LAOHLER

The Trailblazer Diaries is a content series portraying five different women embarking on a series of shorter segments within a longer hike across Austria and Switzerland. The two sisters My and Mica Zetterquist Helger want to use their collective experience in journalism, photography and editing to challenge the image of who we are used to seeing engage in outdoor activities.


Challenging the conventional image of outdoor enthusiasts, the Zetterquist Helger sisters are not only inspiring women from all walks of life, but also seeking to bridge the generational gap by bringing their adventurous grandmother, reminding us that the love for the great outdoors knows no age limit.

By picturing women challenging the normative outdoor woman we are used to seeing, My and Mica are using the support from the Trailblazer Program to inspire all women to embrace and explore the outdoors, creating their own remarkable footprints.

INSTAGRAM: @MICAZALIE@MYZEHE

Women are underrepresented in all mountain sports and activities. To acknowledge this and help inspire more women to explore the outdoors, the Trailblazer Initiative was born: a long term initiative demonstrated in many forms, all aimed at taking action against barriers that prevent women from exploring and experiencing the outdoors.