“It was really empowering. Honestly, I feel like I can just go climb any wall. It just makes me feel that girls can do anything in a world that is powered by men.” 

This was Colorado Mesa University (CMU) freshman Alyssa Winter’s reaction to “Pretty Strong,” a documentary about female rock climbers made by an entirely female crew. Winter has been on multiple climbing trips with the Outdoor Program (OP.) 

“Pretty Strong” by Never Not Collective follows the lives, stories and endeavors of eight professional female rock climbers. The film premiered in January of this year in Boulder, Colorado but was shown on Feb. 19 at Colorado Mesa University (CMU).  

According to Leslie Hittmeier, one of the four women that make up Never Not Collective, the desire to create this film came from the womens’ own personal experiences as female climbers. She said that while women and minorities are being represented more and more in the rock-climbing industry there’s still a long way to go. 

“We wanted to and were able to contribute to that process and hopefully help speed it up. We haven’t done everything perfectly, but we are proud of what we have made and believe it’s a step in the right direction,” Hittmeier said.  

According to Hittmeier, the timeline for creating the film itself was extended multiple times. She said that once they met the women they would feature in the film, they decided to go deeper into the women’s stories than they originally planned. The film stars female climbers Katie Lambert, Nina Williams, Isabelle Faus, Hazel Findley, Jessa Goebel, Anna Liina Laitinen, Fernanda Rodriguez and Daila Ojeda. It was created by female filmmakers Colette McInerney, Julie Ellison, Sophie Danison and Leslie Hittmeier. 

“I think as a climber (or a do-er of any thing), it’s important to see someone who looks like you doing that thing. If you are a young girl and you go watch a climbing film that doesn’t have any women or maybe just has one or two women in it, you may still like the film but you’d feel like something was missing for you,” Hittmeier said. “But if you go see a film and it’s all women, you’d be like ok wow, look at all these ladies crushing [it.] I can do that too.” 

Assistant Coordinator of the CMU Outdoor Program Mackenzie Holbrook, who helped host the showing, said that she hoped the event would be not only informative but also inspiring to audience members.  

“I think it’s very influential and empowering. And I think it’s not just going to make females feel that way. I think anyone who watches it is going to leave like wanting to do something. It’s just so awesome having an all-female cast,” Holbrook said. 

Matti Hlaki is a CMU senior who works as a trip leader for the OP. She said that the film is significant even for people who aren’t rock climbers because of the female representation. 

“Looking at all of these climbing videos that we have coming out, it’s all these buff guys and they’re going out and they’re rocking it. Not saying anything against that, [but] it’s so cool to see these natural, normal everyday women going out [and climbing.],” Hlaki said. “And even if you’re not a climber, it’s really cool to be like, ‘oh my gosh, they can play the game.’ And ‘if they can then I can.’”  

Hlaki also added that the film inspired her personally.  

“It was magnificent. It made me want to go out and climb more. It was so cool to see these videos of these strong, powerful women. It was beautiful,” Hlaki said. 

Manager of Student Life Operations Julie Stump, who helped Holbrook host the event, said that because rock climbing is such a male dominated sport it’s very significant to have a film like this that exclusively showcases women climbers.  

“This is coming in right at the time when documentaries are big for rock climbing. I think featuring females is just the icing on the cake for that,” Stump said.  

According to Stump, the turnout of the event was excellent. She said that she’s glad to see how much the climbing community in the Grand Valley is thriving.  

“The turnout was awesome. I mean the [film] ended 20 minutes ago, and there’s still people lingering and chatting. It just shows the climbing community is thriving, because of the groups of people socializing. It’s awesome,” Stump said. 

Jessee Tompkins is a CMU freshman. She climbs whenever she can and often goes on climbing trips with the OP. Tompkins said that one of the most impactful aspects of “Pretty Strong” was the fact that women from around the world were featured in the film. “Pretty Strong” features women from America, England, Finland, and Mexico.  

“It was insane [and] pretty inspiring. I really liked how they showed women from like, all around the world, you know, not just America,” Tompkins said. “I think [the film] its important because [of the] hard work and dedication. Obviously, they put in a lot of time and sweat into it. [I liked] the fact that it’s gender diverse and also culturally diverse.” 

The Outdoor Program as well as the Maverick Pavilion here at CMU have multiple resources for anyone who wants to get involved in climbing and other outdoor activities. Stump said that these opportunities are available to anyone regardless of gender, and that it’s important that people know that they are capable of whatever they wish to accomplish.  

“Girls, women, transgender [people,] anyone can do anything. It’s not a label. It’s not ‘men rock climb [and] women road bike’ or anything like that. Everyone has the same opportunity,” Stump said. “And I think this might help some young girls or just women in general realize that if any one of these people in the film can do it, [they] can also do it. And there’s tools and programs in place like the Outdoor Program the Mav Pav that can make that a possibility.” 

For anyone interested in climbing, the OP usually sends a shuttle to the Grand Valley Climbing gym on Friday evenings. There are also multiple rock climbing trips and outings that are available for students to sign up for at the OP. The Outdoor Program is located at 1100 North Ave.