July 11-23, 2023
Sign up to attend a virtual information session HERE!

Explore the Rocky Mountains

Are you curious to know what forces shape our mountains? Do you want to understand how tiny plants can thrive under the harsh conditions found at high elevations? Have you always wanted to climb a real summit in the Rocky Mountains? Girls on Rock will take you into Colorado’s breathtaking mountains to explore towering rock walls, deep-blue lakes, and lush alpine meadows in the heart of the Rockies. With the support and guidance of scientists, artists, and a professional mountain guide, the mountains of Colorado offer a unique place to develop scientific and outdoor leadership skills.

* Inspiring Girls* Expeditions welcomes cisgender girls and transgender, agender, Two Spirit, nonbinary, intersex, and genderqueer youth.

Itinerary

Every year, the day-to-day itinerary and details of the expedition will change due to weather and other circumstances. The basic itinerary typically looks like this:

• Day 1-2: Meet the team in Boulder, CO, pack for the expedition, and learn about traveling and camping in the mountains.

• Day 3: Drive to trailhead (exact location TBD) and hike into the mountains to establish our base camp.

• Day 4-9: Explore the landscape surrounding base camp while gaining essential mountaineering and climbing skills and working on science projects.

• Day 10: Hike out and travel back.

• Day 11: Wrap up science experiments and present results in short presentations.

• Day 12: Final reflection activities and travel home.

OUR TEAM

History

The idea for Girls on Rock began in 2014 with Evelyn Cheng and Megan Blanchard, who became friends in graduate school at the University of Colorado Boulder. Having been inspired by Girls on Ice Cascades, they knew they wanted to create a similar expedition centered around climbing in the Rocky Mountains. The first Girls on Rock expedition launched in 2018.

In 2021, we kicked off a two-week virtual Girls on Rock program. Our participants joined an immersive online program where we integrated key Inspiring Girls curriculum into a condensed Expeditions@Home experience with a Girls on Rock focus.