Opportunity and passion are pillars of Kat Schaumberg’s lifestyle. In her early adulthood, she chased opportunities which would allow her to live and follow her passions. Now, further into her adulthood, she uses her passion to create opportunities for others.
Schaumburg’s interest and reliance on the outdoors began as a child growing up in Whatcom County, living only a few minutes' walk from the Nooksack river, and an avid watcher of the animal channel.
Her initial dream was to be one of the ladies at SeaWorld, frolicking with the whales and tossing dead fish into their mouths while standing on top of their noses, until she realized the ethical concerns of that position.
Schaumberg’s love for the outdoors and everything living continued to evolve. Recently, she dipped into ocean expeditions, her first being a 10,000 nautical mile sailing trip. Prior to this, most of Schaumberg's career has been based on mountains: whether she’s climbing, backcountry skiing or teaching others to do so.
“I have just followed my passion and my heart in what feels like the next thing that’s going to challenge me and the next thing that's going to be in sync with my morals, my physical abilities, my emotional capacity and what's needed in the community,” Schaumberg said.
Schaumberg graduated from Western Washington University in 2016 with a degree in environmental education, although she missed her graduation ceremony to start her dream job at Outward Bound School in Colorado. While most take a seasonal position, Schaumberg stayed through the winter in hopes of a few good storms that would put her first set of touring skis to use. She also began guiding backcountry ski trips and continued to gain experience on the mountains.
“I got a lot of in-house training from them and was able to spend a lot of time with people that had been a part of the organization for a long time and got a lot of one-on-one mentoring,” Schaumberg said.
A career in guiding requires flexibility and a creative lifestyle, and Schaumberg notes that many people who pursue it have a financial net to lean back on. She, however, did not.
Schaumberg was raised in a lower income family, and is familiar with the effort and strong work ethic it takes to make a career out of a passion.
For eight years, Schaumberg's homebase was a V10 Ford Ecoline XL van, built by her and equipped with only the necessities: a bed and a propane burner, but no heat. Residing in Leavenworth, instructing ski lessons, she would find ways to keep her days long, returning to the van only when it was time to sleep.
“I would ski instruct, and then I would night ski until I was just so tired and then I would sleep with my ski boots and everything in bed with me,” Schaumberg said.
She was living, breathing and eating the lifestyle. Now, years later, Schaumberg’s focus has shifted. She has become acquainted with a few more amenities, while stepping back from guiding to find ways to be a voice for undermined communities in the outdoors.
While she loved the adventure her early career brought, Schaumberg also went face to face with the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated industry.
During an independent study her senior year of college, Schaumberg and a friend did a 1,000 mile tandem bike trip from Phoenix, Arizona to San Diego, California and over to Joshua Tree, California.
On the road the two turned heads. Park rangers and fellow bikers would comment on the girls’ ability to complete the trip.
The need to prove herself in the industry would be a constant challenge Schaumberg would deal with, leading her to shift paths in her career and focus on empowering and uplifting women in the field. Schaumberg started prioritizing women’s expeditions, one which would lead to her involvement in Atoot, a sports development organization in Nepal.
Football (soccer), life skill workshops, educational classes and community engagement are the four pillars of Atoot. This program takes place before-school, working mainly with girls from ages 4 to 17.
“Our goal is not to create professional soccer players, but to use soccer as a tool for development, as a tool for helping the girls gain leadership skills, confidence, teamwork (and) responsibility, like so many things that sports can be,” Sharanya Rao, program manager at Atoot, said.
Atoot addresses many issues girls and women face due to the social norms in Nepal. Child marriage, dowry systems and extreme gender discrimination are still very prevalent. Atoot’s focus is to remind girls that they do have rights, they can participate in sports, make decisions on their own and pursue education.
“Girls just have no voice, no agency, because they have been brought up to believe they have no role in society,” Rao said.
During Girls on Ice, a women's expedition at Mount Baker, Schaumberg met Monika Kumari. The first day of the expedition consisted of heinous downpours, low visibility and high intensity weather.
“It was the gnarliest experience I had ever had on Mount Baker,” Schaumberg said.
Schaumberg had just gotten the girls to camp. Some were throwing up, others shivering, and as a leader of the trip, Schaumberg was trying to rally the troops when Kumari approached her and asked her a simple question that went a long way.
“(Kumari) had the capacity and the compassion to ask me how I was doing,” Schaumberg said.
This small moment would later lead to Schaumberg and Kumari’s serendipitous meeting again, years later, in Nepal. Schaumberg was then also introduced to Atoot.
Western’s Outdoor Recreation Center will host Kat Schaumberg for a storytelling event on Monday, Oct. 20. Schaumberg will share this full circle story in depth in efforts to fundraise for Atoot. Co-founder and director of Atoot, Mashreeb Aryal, will also be in attendance at the event in support of Schaumberg and to represent Atoot.
Schaumberg and Aryal also met at Atoot in Nepal while Schaumberg was there helping, teaching and sharing her experiences with the girls.
“(Schaumberg) was there as a role model, as a cheerleader for these girls, as someone who has accomplished so much in life. She shared about her experience as a guide and being in mountaineering for so long and how it has helped her become who she is today, so the girls are very inspired,” said Aryal.
Aryal is currently in the states to raise funds for Atoot, which lost 70% of its funding in the past year. This has impacted its ability to hire on new employees as the team grows, and the ability to expand its resources throughout the program.
Stu Montgomery, assistant director of Viking Outdoor Recreation, looks forward to hosting Schaumberg and Aryal for Beyond the Summit: Storytelling & Action for Global Empowerment.
“I think Beyond the Summit is doing a really good job of uplifting marginalized identities in the outdoors, and I think that’s really interesting to lots of folks at Western,” Montgomery said.
Madrona Raney (she/her), is a reporter for campus life. She is a senior at WWU studying News/Editorial Journalism. She did her first year at Point Loma Nazarene University and was a reporter for them on The Point. During her free time, she enjoys traveling, being outside, making coffee, snowboarding, boating and spending time with friends and family. You can reach her at madronaraney.thefront@gmail.com.
