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‘Sunny’ Suzanne Stroeer

@sstroeer

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Adventure Athlete | Guide | Speaker
Owner @dreamlandsafari | @awexpeditions
Founder @summitscholarshipfoundation

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The Grand Canyon is by far the most dangerous stretch of this 2,000-mile run, and traversing parts of it in the middle of summer was always going to be a massive challenge.

Nankoweap Trail is steep, exposed and unforgiving. It’s the kind of terrain I have absolutely no experience tackling, with very little room for error as temps hit 45°C (~113°F).

I couldn’t have done it without Sunny’s experience, patience and constant encouragement to slow down, stay focused and take one careful step at a time.

Reaching the river was a huge relief… but there was still one more surprise in store.

Stay tuned to find out why the sight of a few rafters brought me to tears 🥹🛶

#KeepTheRiverRunning taken in Nankoweap Trail by @sstroeer

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2 months ago

We hiked 16 miles into the Utah backcountry for this view. Three days, no cell service but ALL the stars: this is Reflection Canyon with @dreamlandsafari. ⁠
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At Dreamland, we specialize in helping folks experience hard-to-reach places — and Reflection Canyon is just that: no roads, no signs, no shortcuts, but miles of remote slickrock, sweeping views, and the kind of silence that makes you forget what notifications sound like.⁠
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Our inaugural Reflection Canyon Photographer’s Choice trip just wrapped up. Led by @cyorkphoto and Dreamland Safari Tours co-owner @sstroeer, this workshop was all about giving creative pros the time, space, and support to chase the perfect frame. ⁠
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We packed the gear, carried the water, and camped under a billion stars. Ready to join the next one? Now is the time to start planning: link in bio. ⁠
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Check out the timeline to see the full pano! ⁠
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#desertdreams #astrophotography #hikemore⁠ by @sstroeer

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2 years ago

Would you?

#matterhorn #mountainlove taken in Matterhorn by @sstroeer

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a month ago

This is a DFU* moment.

One of the few sections where @minaguli and I had to manage through acute risk, where the consequence of a wrong step is death.

Would you hike this?
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*DFU: short for Don’t F*** Up taken in Grand Canyon National Park by @sstroeer

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2 months ago

Going off trail in the Grand Canyon comes with all sorts of challenges. This was one of them 🫠

And it would have been funny, if only the half an hour that we ended up burning on this tiny but full-on bushwhacking section hadn’t been such a precious investment… what with @minaguli covering roughly a marathon a day and never getting enough sleep during her epic 2,000 mile run to start with, being forced to slow down by this type of terrain hurts more than it does on a normal backpacking trip.

#keeptheriverrunning #grandcanyon #rimtorim #r2r taken in Grand Canyon National Park by @sstroeer

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2 months ago

In case you’re curious about how seriously I took my last two weeks with @minaguli, traversing parts of the Grand Canyon during an extreme heat warning…

I recorded this clip the day before @minaguli and I dropped into the Grand Canyon in late July - and didn’t share it because I wanted to make sure we were getting out safely before advertising to the world just HOW hairy this mission was.

Together, Mina and I covered the equivalent of two Rim-to-Rims and one Rim-River-Rim - much of it via very rough trails and some of it entirely off trail, and all in insanely hot temperatures which, in spots, I can only describe with this term: incompatible with human life.

This wasn’t your average Grand Canyon Adventure. I’m proud of @minaguli for getting it done, proud of myself for building a strategy that let us keep a (slim) margin of safety, and grateful to the canyon - and to the various rafters who extended their generosity along the way! - for granting us safe passage.

#keeptheriverrunning #rimtorim #r2r #r2r2r taken in Grand Canyon National Park by @sstroeer

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2 months ago

‘Nobody is keeping women from getting after it.’

I hear this all the time. And I get it; there’s no sign at the trailhead that says No Women Allowed. But also … fewer than 10% of certified mountain guides in the US are women (and worldwide, that stat drops to less than 2%!!). There isn’t a single women’s 8,000m mountaineering boot on the market. Only 7% of Everest summiteers are female.   Maybe the barriers are just a little less visible than a sign that says Women, Keep Out.

Case in point: Last year I posted a fundraiser for gender equity in a hiking Facebook group and the very first comments were: ‘What the heck is gender equity?’ ‘I think it could be segregated outhouses.’ And: ‘You sound like an unhinged lunatic. Name me ONE instance of ANY man ostracizing women from outdoor spaces.’ 
… he wrote, while ostracizing a woman from an outdoor space. 
I don’t really know what to do with people like that. But I do know that in 2019 I started a small scholarship program to help more women get into the mountains, and somehow it’s grown into this thing where we’re giving away over $50k in expeditions and gear every year - with all-women guided trips to the Matterhorn and Peru and Mt Baker, rock climbing retreats, and glacier courses; most don’t require prior experience, and you still have a shot to get your application in for this year - they close on Jan 31 (tmrw!!) over at @summitscholarshipfoundation / summitscholarship.org

Applying for a Summit Scholarship doesn’t disband ICE; but it’s a step towards building a more equitable future. taken in USA by @sstroeer

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8 months ago

This statement shouldn’t be divisive: Women are doing RAD things in the outdoors. 

Tara Dower set the overall @fastestknowntime on the Appalachian Trail a little over a year ago - not the women’s FKT, the overall FKT. Courtney Dauwalter routinely wins 200-mile races outright against fields of men. Lynn Hill free climbed the Nose on El Cap back in 1993 and it took 12 years for any man to repeat it. Kristin Harila climbed all fourteen 8,000m peaks in record time, besting Nims’ time by almost 100 days. I mean - these women aren’t setting records for women. They’re just … setting records.

I’ve had a small tastes of this myself. In 2019 I put an FKT on a remote 100km mountain race in China’s Qilian mountains and crossed the finish line more than four hours ahead of the previous men’s winning time. I remember pulling into an aid station halfway into that 100k… which wasn’t yet set up because I was so far ahead of everyone’s estimates that they simply weren’t ready for my arrival.

So yeah. Women are out there crushing it. Obviously.

Which brings me to a question I hear all the time, and I mean ALL the time: if women can clearly do anything a man can do, why do I care so much about advocating for gender equity in outdoor adventure? Why would we need programs or pathways specifically for women and girls? Aren’t Tara and Courtney and Lynn proof that the playing field is already level? After all - ‘nobody is keeping women from getting after it’ …

If only it were that simple 🤨

Continued in next post. taken in USA by @sstroeer

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8 months ago

I’ve started and deleted this post a dozen times over the last several weeks. I’ve been wanting and needing to talk about what it means to be a woman dreaming of big adventure, but really all I’m thinking about is people getting shot and killed by their own government in Minneapolis.

But here’s the thing: the same systems that treat some people as disposable are the systems that have always told - and are once again telling!! - women, and other marginalized folks, that certain spaces aren’t for them.

I had this insight about a year ago, and I’m trying to come back to it with new commitment: despair is easy but doesn’t drive change; building is hard, and may feel futile at times, but it’s what allows me to have an impact. So I’m going to keep building, even when it feels small. And that’s why I’m hoping that you’ll stay with me and read what I have to share about women’s achievements in the outdoors, not just despite of everything that’s going on in the US but actually *because* of everything that’s going on.

Continued in next post…. taken in USA by @sstroeer

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8 months ago

Last summer we hiked into Ayuittuq National Park in Baffin Island with the intent to climb Mt Asgard and Mt Thor - the latter being the easier climb, even though it is the mountain with the greatest sheer vertical drop on earth (1,200m or 4,100ft!).

This was my first Baffin expedition and @clmbrlifr’s second visit, 30 years after his first ascent of the Superunknown on Walker Citadel almost ended in tragedy for him and his partner.

We came to climb but what actually happened was pretty different - I’ll be sharing BTS on my stories and feed for the next few days, come along 🙌🏼 taken in Baffin Island by @sstroeer

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4 months ago

What’s in the box, @sstroeer!
We’re proud to support the @summitscholarshipfoundation expeditions this year, especially the LOWA Matterhorn Adventure coming this August
#lowaboots #mountaineering #summitscholarship #unboxing by @sstroeer

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4 months ago

Sunny Stroeer (@sstroeer) ist gebürtige Deutsche, aufgewachsen in Aschaffenburg, ausgewandert nach Utah/USA. In ihrer Insta Bio bezeichnet sie sich als “Adventure Athlete” und sie sagt, sie ist “Vollzeit Abenteurerin”. Sunny ist zum Beispiel 1.600 Kilometer auf Langlaufski durch Alaska gelaufen und hat als erste Frau dort das Iditarod Trail Invitational – ein Ultra Ausdauer Rennen – erfolgreich abgeschlossen.

Sunnys größtes Anliegen: Sie will andere Frauen zu Abenteuern inspirieren. Deshalb hat sie die @summitscholarshipfoundation gegründet: Für Frauen, von Frauen! So ein Gipfel-Stipendium ermöglicht den Stipendiatinnen, auf große Expeditionen zu gehen mit inspirierenden weiblichen Guides – und das komplett kostenfrei.

Mehr darüber erfahrt ihr in unserer aktuellen Folge: Warum wir alle Abenteuer erleben und darüber sprechen sollten | Abenteurerinnen | Talk in der @ardaudiothek – hört unbedingt rein!

#Abenteuer #Abenteurerin #Bergfreundinnen #BergfreundinnenPodcast #BayerischerRundfunk taken in Alpen by @sstroeer

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10 months ago