Show Notes:

Julie Ann’s links:

• Instagram @groundingtruth
• Grounding Truth Website: groundingtruth.com
• Julie Ann is a member of the RAD team with Traverse Equipment https://www.traverseequipment.com/julieannholder
• Personal Instagram @julieann.holder

Episode Intro:

Dear listeners of the Female Guides Requested Podcast. Happy Wednesday. This is your host Ting Ting from Las Vegas. Today our guest is Julie Ann Holder. She was highly recommended by a listener and fellow guide Ian. I was so glad to connect with her and had a wonderful conversation with her.

Julie Ann ‘Julz’ is a Backcountry Mentor, Ski Guide, and Avalanche Educator living in Bellingham, Washington. Two winters ago, she launched Grounding Truth Holistic Guiding: a process-oriented, women-focused, grassroots ski guiding business. As a guide, Julz embodies an attitude of curiosity, wonder, and reverence in wild places. She is dedicated to creating inclusive spaces within outdoor adventures that evoke feelings of radical acceptance and help cultivate more deeply felt experiences.

Julie Ann is truly special. Her love towards snow country and skiing is contagious and her dedication to Grounding Truth is admirable. I don’t consider myself that much of a winter person, but I was curious about why she loved it so much, so I asked her to describe winter for me. I was speechless and when I listened to her words again, I couldn’t help but close my eyes in order to feel the intense beauty. I typically listen to podcasts when I am driving. If you’re like me, please don’t close your eyes when you listen to this episode.

Things We Talked about:

• From Georgia rock to Washington snow
• Learn how to ski as an adult
• Learn to ski and teach ski at the same time
• Myth: Easy to learn hard to master?
• Benefits of learning a sport later in their lives
• How does Julie Ann start guiding?
• Big Sky MT where everything started
• Resort skiing versus backcountry skiing
• Trial and Errors
• Avalanche awareness / how to make decisions -> takes time
• As a guide, thinking about sustainability about a guide’s body
• Grounding Truth founded in 2021
• Light bulb moments triggering Julie Ann to start her mentorship program?
• Use modern powerful tools but also use senses to feel the surroundings to make decisions
• Need to see it in actions before loading more information on the plate
• Intentionally let the course run in an organic way
• Reciprocal relationship with the places
• Since the inception of Grounding Truth, what kind of adjustments did Julie Ann did?
• What were the keepers since the beginning of Grounding Truth?
• The beauty of winter
• Vision for the Grounding Truth program?