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Gretchen Klens

@gretchen.klens

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Wild Woman. Skier. Artist + Designer.
Mountain pursuits as artform & spiritual practice
Avalanche Educator & Guide - East Coast Avalanche Education

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Summer Evidence

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HEAT & BEATS 🔥🧊🎶

Man, this was special.

I’ve spent the last few years thinking a lot about what wellness actually looks like when you bring it out of the treatment room, out of the gym, out of the yoga studio, and put it where it belongs…

With PEOPLE.

Heat & Beats felt like that idea coming to life.

We breathed together. We did yoga. We hit the sauna and cold plunge. We had bodywork. We ate good food. We met new people, had real conversations, connected…

And then, yes…

WE FUCKING RAVED. 😂🔥

Hundreds of people moving through @letsbanya , experiencing wellness in completely different ways, and eventually ending up on the same dance floor together.

That’s my kind of wellness.

I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who trusted me and joined me in bringing the wellness side of this thing to life.

@maxmalila and @flow_thyself for the breath
@chloegroudas for the yoga
@maine_spa_club
@shiftingtidesnh
@ak_fst
@tempr.ma
@themobilesaunacompany

And to @saludne and @the__juicery for keeping everybody fed and fueled, and @naturalrocks for icing us down.

Huge love to @sender_land , @letsbanya, @portsmouthraveproject , @theangelsmediaarts , and everyone else who helped dream this up and turn Banya into something completely different for a night.

One of my favorite parts of Dr. BeeWell has always been bringing good people together.

People who care about their craft. People who care about helping others feel better. People who might be doing completely different things but share the belief that wellness can be social, fun, weird, loud, quiet, sweaty, uncomfortable, joyful and HUMAN.

I think we got a little glimpse of what’s possible when you put all of those people in the same place.

Thank you to everyone who said yes and came along for the ride.

I think we need to do that again.

Oh, and the artwork you’re looking at? That’s the legend @gretchen.klens who absolutely crushed this piece.

Giddy Up!!! 🐝🔥

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spring/early summer 2026 -

The leaves are changing and I’m having a hard time resisting the wide-eyed wonder and rubbernecking out car windows on my daily commute up Pinkham Notch.

But I’ve got a batch of old photos I’ve been wanting to share, memories from a different turn of seasons. Time where daylight was growing and we were nearing the summer solstice. It’s funny to look back on these photos, memories so far and so close. Summer truly escaped me. I’m never quite sure how to prevent it from slipping through my hands. I always thought with age the task would become easier. On the contrary, I find it’s becoming much more difficult.

Spring was a balance of holding onto winter and welcoming in warmer days. I put my skis away much later than ever before, always with the hope of one more day up high on Washington.

There was a lot of promise in that season - weddings, mending, flowers, bikes, Adirondack visits. The whole season in front of me, that vibrant green, a new beloved job. I had to find new rhythms in this place, balance homesickness with exploration. I’m still not quite far enough away from that time for reflection. These photos represent the best days, the easy ones. Now more than ever I think it’s important we remind each other that we are far more than our best days. There’s sadness and hardship and loneliness, which we rarely see on our tiny screens. Be gentle with yourselves, and please keep each other safe. Until next time 💌

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🚨New Course Alert🚨

Women’s Intro To Backcountry is Back!

January 22 @ Mt. Washington (Friday 9a-4p) $130

The focus of this class is to cover skills to let students move efficiently & safety in the mountains. Some of the topics covered will be.

-Understanding what to pack
-How to read the Avalanche Forecast
-Basic companion rescue process
-Understanding & observing the five red flags
-Navigating human factors

This is not a replacement for a Level One Course but is a great introduction prior to a Level One.

Comment “Intro” below for more details.

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Czesć! from the Tatry Mountains where we are putting our full circle shirt base prototype to the test.

Our mission is to democratize custom fit non toxic biobased active wear! We have been busy testing materials and developing prototypes over the last 6 months and now it’s time to do some field tests.

Do you believe clothes should be good for you and for the planet?

It’s already apparent why the big wool brands still rely on fossil fuel derived plastics for their shirts but we aren’t giving up!

Follow us for updates as we move into prototype 3 with an updated material!

check out @myknitever to learn more about on demand custom fit 3d knit clothing.

#sustainablefashion #circulareconomy #3dknitting #polakpotrafi #merinowool

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**New Course Alert**

Two new Women’s & Gender Expansive Avalanche Level One Courses just listed for January 27-31 @ Mt. Washington & February 10-14 @ Smugglers Notch!

Come join the fun this winter and get the training you need with our amazing instructors.

Registration link in bio.

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Looking to improve your climbing skills, find your community or try climbing for the first time? You won’t find a better deal than this one! Climb 4 times per month for only $200! 🤯
Our guides are here to support you wherever you are in your climbing journey.
All climbing venues will be within 30 minutes of North Conway, NH. The membership starts July 4th! DM us for more information or to enroll!

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The spirit of Shane McConkey was alive and well on what may be my last ski day of 25/26 due to upcoming work and vacation.
Up Left, down Left, up left, down Hillman’s.
Nonstop laughs with @z.dig.elevate, @richolivier72, and @gretchen.klens
High vibes across Jah Agiocochook all day
With a unanimous decision, Gretchen won the day’s game of GNAR. Hats off.

#skithewhites #whitemountains #shanemcconkey #tuckermanravine #backcountryskiing

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Local Lovin - it's a Kismet thing 🌿

#SupportLocalArtists #VisitCollinsville

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Today & quite frankly everyday is for the LADIES ✨

I don’t know where I’d be without the strong & supportive women in my life. Women are incredible!!! Running marathons, having children, skiing badass lines on Mount Washington, avalanche forecasting, throwing parties, writing stories, making friends, etc etc.

Women care for each other in a way that is so beautiful. I’m so grateful for these gals and the ones not shown for raising me (thanks mom!), holding me, giving me flowers, asking about my day, letting me vent, hyping me up. I’d be nowhere without you! 💞

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A February to Remember🫶🏻

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This winter I’ve felt so incredibly fortunate to teach avalanche courses with @eastcoastavalancheeducation. It’s my first winter teaching, and the amount of support I’ve felt from instructors, guides, and forecasters on Mount Washington is so powerful. I can’t believe I’ve made my way into this community. I feel like the luckiest gal in the world.

January was full of learning — shadowing Level 1 and Level 2 courses, teaching an Intro to Backcountry Skiing course and two Level 1 courses, and taking my Professional Avalanche Search and Rescue Course with @avyinstitute . A quick and big thank you to @mwacenter & MWACF for the scholarship that allowed me to take that course, and Tyler at ECAE for helping bring the course to the east coast.

Teaching avalanche courses has stirred up something in my brain and body that I haven’t felt in a long time. It feels like something I’m simultaneously good at and something I’ll have to keep working at — but I think that’s quite normal. Snow is complicated. We can label it and put it into boxes like wind slab and dry loose and facets and surface hoar but we can never fully understand it. We can try our best and dedicate our lives to it. We can listen to podcasts and read scientific papers and articles in TAR and talk to our mentors, but avalanches still happen. Snow still surprises us.

These photos are from a weekend back in January, teaching that Intro to Backcountry Skiing course in partnership with @chicksoncliffs, and the Women’s/Non-Binary Level 1 with @ashley.l.murray and @gretchen.klens . To be able to say that the first level 1 I taught was to a group of women and non-binary folks is actually unbelievable!! Everyone was so curious, so kind, so excited to learn. I’ll never forget it. I also got to teach 2 dear friends from different walks of life, my friend @isacaliandro from my st. lawrence days and my friend @madeleinewebs from the adks. Thank you to the students who showed up prepared and energized to become better prepared backcountry travelers. You make it so much fun.

I’m teaching one more course this year with my dear friend @owenmcandrew. March 18-22! Sign up, tell your friends. It’s gonna be so fun!

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