
See Her Outside: Stories From Women Who Adventure
What Makes a Fantastic Outdoor Leader: Resilience through a Rappelling Accident, NOLS Rejections, and Olympic Dreams with Jeannette Stawski
On day 21 of an instructor course in the Wind River Range, Jeannette Stawski's rope dislodged a 250-pound boulder. It landed on her legs — 15 miles from the nearest trailhead, in a designated wilderness where no helicopter was coming fast. Since then, Jeannette has identified the ingredients that make a fantastic outdoor leader, and resilience is a muscle she's built through an entire career of setbacks that became pivots: Olympic dreams ended by back surgery, multiple NOLS rejections, and that day under the boulder. Jeannette and Angie talked about: Pivoting from pre-Olympic rowing camps to raft guiding in Glacier National Park after back surgery ended her Olympic dreams Getting rejected by NOLS multiple times and how their coachable rejections shaped her career The rappelling accident in the Wind River Range and the rescue that followed The gift she's giving her kids: a cross-country road trip to climb the Grand Teton without their parents The self-deprecation pattern in women outdoor leaders Check out these resources: The Outdoor Leader by Jeannette Stawski Leading Valiantly Jeannette on Instagram: @leadingvaliantly Jeannette on LinkedIn Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim, October 10, 2026 — women 50+ The Cairn Project on IG The Cairn Project's newsletter Become a Trailblazer Summit Scholarship Foundation Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app! You can help us close the gender gap outdoors and beyond: Become a Trailblazer . Your Adventure Fundraiser makes wilderness experiences possible for girls and women. Check out the Summit Scholarship Foundation . Send this episode to a friend who leads others outdoors. Make sure you subscribe to the See Her Outside Podcast so you don't miss a story! Follow on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Listen on: Amazon , Pocket Casts , iHeartRadio , other platforms






