Rocky Mountain Women Outdoors expands operations to Flathead Valley, bringing day and multi-day trip options for women

One of Rocky Mountain Women Outdoors’ goals is to help women feel empowered in the outdoors. Ratcliff uses her mom as an example. Her mom would come on camping trips when Ratcliff was younger, but didn’t participate in the longer, overnight trips because of hiking experiences she’d already had with her husband.

Ratcliff’s business, which started in Billings, grew to include chapters in Red Lodge, Bozeman, Helena, Missoula, and now Kalispell. She’s hired on a team of trip leaders across the state, and they organize day trips, weekend getaways, and multi-day retreats.

Each month, there’s a retreat happening somewhere in the state, Ratcliff said, and there will be one daytrip per region of the state per month.
Last month, Ratcliff led a group of 20 women on a three-day retreat in Hungry Horse that included cabins, home-cooked meals, snowshoeing, yoga, painting, and other activities. The participants ranged in age from 21 to 72.

By Molly Priddy