EXPERIENCES~ Cascade Slaydies: Rewriting Belonging for Women in the Backcountry

Cascade Slaydies is rewriting the script on backcountry mentorship for women. Photo Credit: Hannah Matranga

A Different Kind of Access

For Hannah Matranga, the backcountry was never simply about snowpack, slope angles, or avalanche forecasts. It was about access—access to mentorship, to community, and to the kind of belonging that makes risk feel survivable. She didn’t learn to snowboard until adulthood, and splitboarding came even later. Her teachers were almost exclusively men. Some were generous, others dismissive, but none reflected her own identity.

That changed in February 2023, when Matranga attended her first women’s-only avalanche course. “Life-changing” is a phrase too often diluted, but here it applies. For the first time, she was surrounded by women who taught, questioned, and failed together without judgment. The experience revealed a truth she hadn’t dared to imagine: women’s spaces weren’t just supportive—they were transformative.

From Courage to Confidence

Cascade Slaydies, the mentorship program Matranga founded in Central Oregon, is built on that revelation. Its premise is deceptively simple: pair small groups of women with experienced mentors, and let courage do the rest.

Confidence, Matranga insists, is not a prerequisite. It’s the product of repetition, guidance, and community. Courage is what gets you to the trailhead when confidence hasn’t yet arrived. And courage, she believes, is something every woman already carries.

Education and access is one of the biggest barriers to entry for women- Hannah is changing that. Photo Credit: Hannah Matranga

Dismantling Barriers

When she asked applicants what kept them from the backcountry, the answers were telling. Yes, gear and education are expensive. But the overwhelming barriers were community and confidence. Cascade Slaydies dismantles both. It’s free, it’s relational, and it’s designed to create spaces where no one feels shame for asking a question.

Mentors are chosen not just for technical chops but for humility, empathy, and communication. This isn’t about the expert halo. It’s about listening, problem-solving, and growing alongside mentees.

Intuition as a Survival Skill

Matranga’s curriculum emphasizes something rarely taught in avalanche courses: intuition. Too many accident reports include survivors who “felt something was off” but ignored it. In a culture that prizes proof over instinct, women especially hesitate to speak up. Cascade Slaydies flips that script. Intuition isn’t weakness—it’s wisdom. Trusting it can save lives.

A Declaration of Belonging

Matranga’s own path was one of “fake it ‘til you become it.” She tagged along on trips she wasn’t ready for, exaggerated her experience to earn invitations, and swallowed questions she was too embarrassed to ask. That survival tactic shaped her mission: to build spaces where women don’t have to fake it, where belonging is assumed, not earned.

Cascade Slaydies is more than mentorship. It’s a declaration. Women belong in the backcountry. They belong on the skin track, in avalanche courses, at competitions, and in guiding roles. Belonging isn’t granted—it’s claimed. And with courage, community, and mentorship, confidence will follow.

The mountains are calling. This time, Hannah Matranga is making sure women answer together.