I waited to watch the first ever, Red Bull Rampage for women. I wanted to be away from the noise, away from the rush and to be present to take it in. I’ve loved Rampage for years, and every year the tricks and talent on display is phenomenal, this time however it was a bit different. The journey for a women’s Rampage has taken years and I’ve followed the ride. Read the vision over and over and wondered along with so many others, if there would be a time where women would line up at Rampage. This year it happened. I cried watching it. Because I felt the weight of the moment.
As a historian, I kind of cringe when I hear people consistently refer to “writing history.” The reason for that is simply because when you are writing history, you are not always conscious of it. It doesn’t sink it. It’s only to the generations who come after you, that history will truly be felt. A hundred years from now, some young woman writing a thesis on freeriding will visit archives of pictures, videos, social media writings and will write about the birth of Rampage for women. She will write about the struggle to get there, and the first winner Robin Goomes. Only then will the impact of history truly be felt. For now, the women who have worked and fought for this moment are still living in that fight, and so we can’t draw from history when we are busy making it. We should understand that the pioneers of women’s freeriding have been doing this for years and despite the sexism experienced online after Rampage, these women have been around since the 90’s. Building a pathway (pun intended), and carving a space for inclusion. We didn’t get here yesterday, women have been freeriding for decades and most of the women who fought for this first Rampage, weren’t even the ones to ride it. Let that sink in.
Because women are built differently. It’s the future generations we know we are working for. Vaea Verbeeck epitomised that so well when she invited the children of friends, and also other young riders to create doodles for her Rampage riding kit, which she said felt like she was carrying the future generation of riders with her as she took to the slopes.
What I loved about watching the women’s Rampage was the deep sense of community, sisterhood, joy along with the feeling that being a part of the first one was enough for the riders. No one except the incredible Chelsea Kimball who had a terrible fall in her first run, decided to take the second run. Because it wasn’t about scores, it was about participating and knowing the conditions were hot, super dry and different. Chelsea always shows up with the most incredible vibes, with that trademark smiley face on her helmet (a reminder not to take life too seriously), she daringly took on the highest drop and impressed us with her guts. As she always does. And how incredible is Cami from Argentina! She crashed on her test run, broke her nose and had stitches in her face but was still determined to ride in the finals. But it was not to be, however she was back on her bike really quickly, even though she could not compete and she still showed up to support the other riders, rightly walking away with the toughness award.
It’s important to point out that winner Robin Goomes pulled out backflips and tricks that earned her the title, but not a single backflip was seen in the very first edition of the men’s Rampage all those years ago. This is curtain raising for what women have inside of them.
A fearlessness often overlooked.
The future is just beginning, Red Bull Rampage will evolve and take on greater meaning, it’s now a possible goal for every female freerider.I cannot wait for next year and the year after that. The world has changed, bit by bit because of a meeting in 2018, when six phenomenal women and a few guys addressed the elephant in the room, when would women be allowed to compete at Rampage? It took honesty and it took action, it took years and it took not knowing, but ultimately it took asking, and it took showing up as we are. Thank you to the women who were having these conversations and to the women who have been digging the paths for a very long time. Writing history, is what we do in the here and now, and it takes sacrifice. Thank you for those unseen sacrifices.
I hope to see you in Utah one day in person.
