Wild Sage Mountain Guides looks to empower women outdoors

Wild Sage is a women owned and operated small business that looks to give women an opportunity to experience the wilderness in a safe and supportive setting. Photo: Wild Sage Mountain Guides

PARK CITY, Utah — Founded by three Park City Mountain ski patrollers, Devin Wilkinson, Kate Foley, and Marla Gutmann — Wild Sage Mountain Guides is a new female-owned and operated backpacking guide business.

Their objective is to empower women through 2, 3, and 4-day backpacking trips into the Uinta Mountains of Utah, east of Park City.

“While working as patrollers during the winter and hiking, biking, and rafting guides in the summer, we continue to be inspired by the strong, capable women we work with. As our relationship with one another grew, we realized that with our skillsets and shared vision we had a unique opportunity to create a company that would uplift women and build community – all in the outdoors,” said co-founder, Kate Foley.

Wild Sage believes in the personal and communal benefits of getting back to nature, connecting with each other, and having fun, all while learning the skills to camp, backpack, and recreate safely.

“Summer 2021 was a soft launch for us at Wild Sage,” said co-founder Marla Gutmann. “We took trips to Naturalist Basin and Ruth Lake in particular, to really hone the experience for our guests. We spiced up our meal plans, made adjustments to our start times for travelers, and added customized trips. We designed our trips for Summer 2022 with all of this in mind.”

The three founders are passionate about adventuring in the mountains, exposing more people to the wilderness, and teaching Leave No Trace ethics.

All three women love working in the outdoor industry but know how hard it can be to survive as seasonal employees in a resort town. A long-term goal for the company is to be able to pay an above-market livable wage and provide summer guiding employment to their female peers.

Additionally, as they grow their business they would like to be able to provide scholarships for their backpacking trips.

The company is now booking trips for Summer 2022, and they’re offering early bird rates at a 15 percent discount until November 1, 2021.

You can learn more here.