Empowering Women through Ice Climbing - The Healing Power of Nature
There are very few people we know who have fun climbing up frozen waterfalls so much so that they make it their life. There are even fewer people we know who would do this while wearing leopard-skin underwear! Professional ice climber and Climb For Change ambassador, Margo Talbot, inspires through her determination, skill, focus and passion for life – she reminds us of the importance of having fun, and to not take ourselves too seriously...
By Margo Talbot
I began climbing at the age of twenty eight, after decades of searching for meaning in my life as well as a place to push my personal boundaries. In climbing I found a discipline that required so much focus that I was brought into the present moment, giving me the sense of freedom that I had been searching for. I have faced and overcome personal fears, as well as been imbued with a confidence that spills over into all facets of my life. For me, it has been an empowering experience physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Because climbing has impacted my life so profoundly, sharing my knowledge of climbing and my love of nature has become an important part of my life. For ten years now, I have been instructing women’s ice climbing clinics. Because of the supportive nature of an all-women’s venue, I get as much out of teachi
ng these clinics as the women do who are participating in them.
In my clinics I have witnessed women - who have never walked on anything but sidewalks - using their axes and crampons to get to the top of a 30 metre climb. I have had women tell me they cannot possibly get off the ground, then they surprise themselves by going up two or three stories. But mostly, I see women who discover how powerful they truly are, but have never given themselves the chance to experience it.
Some of my clients have returned home with a smile in their hearts, others have gone off prescription medications for depression, and a few have even made critical relationship decisions that have changed their lives for the better.
More and more people are realizing the importance of adventure therapy and experiential learning for the well-being of the individual. For my part, I need no convincing, having witnessed the healing power of this modality for the past two decades in my own life as 
well as the lives of those that I have instructed.
Healing energy is all around us, but nowhere is it more abundant than in Nature, where all that is not real simply falls by the wayside. Not only are we left with a feeling of inner peace, but also the trademark side-effects of clear eyes, rosy cheeks, and the outrageous look of a wind-blown hairdo.
Find out more about Margo and her iceclimbing clinics at Ouray Ice Festival
