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Woodswomen, Inc.


Woodswomen, Inc. was a nonprofit organization focusing on education and adventure travel run by women, for women out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 1977 to 1999. Woodswomen, referred to as the 'grandmother' of women's outdoor adventure groups, was one of the first adventure travel companies serving exclusively women and served more than 8,000 women 1,200 children in its tenure.

The name 'Woodswomen' was first used in 1977 when Judith Niemi, Elizabeth Barnard, Shirley Heyer, and Trudy Fulton organized a Boundary Waters Canoe Area trip for women. Though three women—Judith Niemi, Denise Mitten and Elizabeth Barnard—are generally credited with the initial organization, they maintain that it was founded organically. This means that each woman has her own Woodswomen history and no one person started out to make a business out of adventure travel for women. For example, Judith Niemi's personal Woodswomen began when she decided that women needed an organization that would run outdoor trips solely for them after a trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area where she saw no other women for two weeks.

In 1980, Woodswomen launched a women-and-leadership course which turned into a well-respected leadership program that trained many women who led Woodswomen trips and trips for other companies. Woodswomen was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1982. Also in 1982, the organization organized and sponsored an expedition commemorating Mina Benson Hubbard's 1905 George River trip in Labrador, Canada. A seven-member expedition team traveled for four weeks on a 200-mile journey following Hubbard's route.

In 1985 Kathy Phibbs opened the Northwest office of Woodswomen and served as its director. Two years earlier she had organized the first meeting of Women Climbers Northwest (WCN) in 1983.

In 1987 Denise Mitten secured a grant from the Emma B. Howe Foundation and started the Women and Children Bonding in the Outdoors Program. Expanding their reach, in 1989 Mitten answered a request for proposals from the Minnesota Department of Corrections and secured funding for the Wilderness Experiences for Women Offenders Program.

In 1990 Woodswomen sponsored the 100th year Commemoration Climb of Fay Fuller's assent of Mount Rainier, Washington. Kathy Phibbs and several other women lead the climb which included over 30 women, many wearing dresses, and one woman who completed the climb with an artificial leg.


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