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Thurs October 15th 2026

North Vancouver Shipyards

Celebrate the collective impact of Mountain Mentors on the Vancouver and Sea to Sky backcountry community over the organization's 10 years of programming with an evening social and film fundraiser.

Hear stories of Mountain Mentor’s early steps, honour those who’ve made a mark, learn about the program’s recent adventures, and support opportunities to come. Reconnect with alumni and community leaders as we watch films that bring together perspectives from three women overcoming barriers on personal, professional, and recreational fronts - breaking trail for many to come.  

Whether you are an alum, friend, applicant, or just love getting outside, this event is open to all genders in the Vancouver/Sea to Sky backcountry community committed to building spaces where everyone belongs.

Come party at MM10! The evening includes:

  • Three screenings:

    • Beauty in a Fall — finding authenticity after adversity, featuring mountain guide Julianna Howatt who seeks to embrace her identity as a trans woman following a fierce struggle with cPTSD

    • Climbing Through — presence among guiding, counselling and motherhood, featuring the 5th female American guide certified by the International Federation of Mountain Guides Association, Julia Niles

    • Zing Zing Bar (new trailer) — three different relationships with India, home and identity, directed by and featuring Mountain Mentors alum Sarah Carriere

  • Panel discussion with cast and filmmakers

  • Silent auction and prizes 

  • Music, activities to meet and mingle, and more…

All proceeds from this fundraiser will support Mountain Mentors programming for years to come.

  • The evening’s prizes are with thanks to donors including: 

    Sea to Sky Gondola | Revelstoke Mountain Resort | Peak Performance | Capilano Suspension Bridge | Aetherhaus | Squamish Canyon | InFlow Sauna | Spin Society | Everything Wine | NVRC | Herbaland | Blume | More to be announced…


meet the SPEAKERS — Guides, leaders, humans

Julianna Howatt

Julianna Howatt began guiding in the mountains as a teenager and has spent more than 45 years guiding in wild terrain. A mountain guide, avalanche forecaster, climber, writer, poet, and nature-based human development guide, she lives near Revelstoke, BC. She is the parent of two mountain guides, which keeps life interesting. She believes the mountains can teach us a great deal about trust, resilience, belonging, becoming more fully ourselves, and having some fun along the way.

Sarah Carriere

Sarah Carriere is a 44-year-old Anglo-Indian skier, healthcare professional and outdoor community builder. Born in Delhi and raised in New Zealand before settling in Canada, she learned to ski as an adult and found her place in the backcountry. Seeing few Indian women in these spaces led her to community work with BIPOC Rocks, Incluskivity, and Mountain Mentors, helping create greater access and belonging in the outdoors.

 
 

Julia niles

Julia has been taking people into the mountains since she was 17, when she became a trips leader at Adirondack Camp. Teaching campers how to cook over a stove and read a map eventually evolved into guiding expeditions to the summits of the highest mountains in North and South America.

She was the fifth American woman to achieve IFMGA certification—the highest level of training available to a mountain guide. Twenty-five years later, she’s still living like it’s summer camp: instructing and examining new guides for the ACMG, training mountain rescue professionals, and sharing my love of the mountains with others.

Julia is especially inspired by the growing affinity-group movements creating more diversity, belonging, and access in the outdoors. She is grateful to live with her partner, teenagers, and dog, Lily, on the unceded territories of the Squamish Nation.

  • Beauty in a Fall

    In her toughest adventure yet, Revelstoke mountain guide seeks to embrace her true identity as a trans woman following a debilitating struggle with PTSD. After having taken a step back from her role in the mountain community, Julianna Howatt is now ready to share her story and use her experience to advocate for an inclusive future for the guiding community. Visiting the mountain-scapes that were her livelihood she will confront her past experiences and her journey's cost. 

    Climbing Through

    Motherhood, guiding, her own counselling practice—professional climber Julia Niles has danced between responsibilities for years. Lured by her friend, pro athlete Em Pellerin, to go climb the big walls of Cochamó Valley, Chile, Julia relearns what it means to thrive. High off the deck, tied together, every action becomes a powerful reminder to slow down and embrace the present. And the experience becomes the fuel for what’s to come.

    Zing Zing Bar (full film coming soon)

    Three women with Indian roots come together to ride in the Himalayas, bringing three very different relationships with India, home, and identity into the mountains. 

    Sarah was born in India but left as a child. Cindy was born in Manali and now spends much of her year abroad. Julienne grew up in Norway with Indian Heritage through her father. As they move through the mountains with local guides, their different relationships to place, privilefy and home begin to surface.

  • This event is made possible thanks to our venue sponsor and owner/manager of The Wallace Venue, Quay North Urban Development. 

    • Transport: We recommend taking public transit (Seabus or bus), cycling, or carpooling so that you can enjoy the evening stress-free. Paid parking is available underground of the Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier, or on nearby streets.

    • Arrival: The Wallace Venue is located on the third floor of The Shipyards building at 125 Victory Ship Way. Take the elevator up from either the parkade or the ground level to the third floor. Be sure to take the single elevator (around the corner from The Honey Shoppe and across from Provisions Italiana at Seaside Hotel on the ground floor / next to the parking ramp on the parking level) and not the double elevators, as those only go to the hotel.  

    • Restrooms: There are 3 restrooms open to any gender, however, they are signed as: women, men, and any gender, respectively.

    We would like to acknowledge that this event takes place on the unceded and traditional territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and our programming also ventures onto kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), Qayqayt, Kwantlen, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen, S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), St̓át̓imc Tmicw (St’at’imc), and Líl̓wat (Lil'wat) Peoples. Mountain Mentors strives to convey the message that the ‘backcountry’ is not a place to be owned, conquered, or disrespected. It is a destination, an aspiration, and an individual’s experience.

Questions

If you wish to donate to the auction, sponsor the event, or if cost is a barrier to attending, email community@mountainmentors.org