"Motherhood does not weaken you. In fact, it makes you way tougher.” Meet Laurie Watt, the guide for SheJumps' newest fundraising climb offering: the Presidential Traverse. At 58 years old, this New England-based professional rock and alpine guide for Mooney Mountain Guides has built a remarkable career. For the last six years, she’s worked as a guide in some of the most rugged and remote terrain on the East Coast. However, reaching this point in her career has been an adventure of its own.
Before guiding, Watt worked as a physical therapist and invested her additional time in raising her children. “As my kids started to head off to college, I, like many women, went through a transition of sorts,” she said. “And so I took that opportunity of natural transition in my life to sort of ask- what do I want to do when I grow up?”
Her passion for climbing, hiking, and being in beautiful spaces led her to explore the possibility of guiding others in the outdoors.Previously, she had hired guides for instruction which left a positive and lasting impression.
Still, she had uncertainty about the possibility of becoming a guide.
“I thought I might get laughed at. I was 50 and wasn't a lifelong climber, but was met with honesty and support,” Watt said. “So that person was the owner of Mooney [Mountain Guides] and he said - absolutely, there's a space for you in this industry and there's a space for you in my company.”
It was then, at 50 years old, that Watt began to take the steps needed to be a professional guide. Two years later, she began her guiding career at Mooney Mountain Guides as a certified AMGA Single Pitch Instructor. She also is now an AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide and AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide, on track to become fully certified.
“It's not easy, but it's possible, like we don't all have to shrivel up and get weaker and less fit,” Watt said. “Life does not end at 45 and so I encourage people to not just accept degradation with age, but to challenge that and push themselves…I'm stronger at 58 than I was, probably, in my entire life.”
This year, she joins SheJumps to guide the newest Fundraising Climb in the White Mountains (Woban-aden-ok) of New Hampshire, The Presidential Traverse. The SheJumps Fundraising Climbs offer opportunities for supporters to climb big mountains while raising awareness and critical funding for the mission. Taking place from August 18-20, 2025, the iconic traverse is over 20 miles in length and crests nine major peaks. It’s known to be one of the most difficult sections of the Appalachian Trail.
“Even though the highest peak is just at 6,000 feet, we have some of the worst weather in the entire continent of North America,” Watt explained. “We don't have switchbacks, we don't have smooth trails. It's rocks and a lot of up and down. And so it's physically a very demanding challenge.”
The majority of the climb is above the treeline, with major exposure to the sun, rain, sometimes snow, and of course the White Mountains’ notorious winds. The Mt. Washington Observatory recorded the highest known wind gust of anywhere in North America at 231 mph.
“The traverse is definitely an accomplishment,” Watt added.
While Watt can certainly instruct anyone on how to build an anchor on a rock climb, navigate a glacier, or use crampons - her passion is to help others, especially women, learn that they are more capable, resistant, stronger, and fitter than what they realize.
“Women are definitely underrepresented in the outdoors as participants, and certainly underrepresented as guides or outdoor professionals,” explained Watt, adding that the term women is used as broadly as possible to anyone identifying. “So when I got into this area of work, it was really important to me to create some women's spaces for learning the skills and experiencing the outdoors.”
For her, creating and facilitating these spaces has felt incredibly powerful. For the last three years, she’s also worked as the Women’s Program Director at Mooney Mountain Guides, which has been a rewarding endeavor.
“The atmosphere is just one of complete support, and everyone wants everyone to succeed,” she said. “The women hold each other's vulnerability with care and concern and compassion, and that allows women to take risks.”
For participants in the SheJumps Fundraising Climb, she hopes everyone not only finds a deeper connection with themselves but also with each other.
“When you are out in an austere environment, you are dirty and tired and hungry and challenged. All the social masks fall away and you are just you,” Watt said. “That allows a level of intimacy with the people that you're with that is hard to get, because we all wear those masks. And so I hope that all of these participants feel that level of connection and intimacy because I find it to be really special and powerful.”
Registration for the 2025 Fundraising Climbs open on September 19th, 2024 here and include the following options:
Mt Shasta Ski Descent (Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki), May 16-18, 2025
Mt Baker Ski Descent (Koma Kulshan), May 16-18, 2025
Mt Rainier (Tahoma), July 12-14, 2025
Grand Teton (Dae Wunt), July 13-16, 2025
Mt Baker (Koma Kulshan), August 2-4, 2025
Presidential Traverse in New Hampshire (Woban-aden-ok mountains), August 18-20, 2025
Learn more about the Fundraising Climbs:
SheJumps increases the participation of women and girls in outdoor activities. Partnering with nature, SheJumps creates educational outdoor experiences for girls and women that nurture growth and transformation. SheJumps is an inclusive organization. We welcome all women and girls—transgender and cisgender, as well as non-binary people.
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