Dear Alpengirl,
My daughter likes the Alpengirl camp session descriptions, but she is skeptical about a girls’ camp. She is a bit dismissive of “girly-girls” and thinks that a girls camping experience will have too much gossip, talk of hairstyles, etc. What would you say to her?
- Parent of a non-girly-girl
Dear Parent of a non-girly-girl,
Your daughter has a valid concern here, Alpengirl is an all-girl camp and very social due to our constant contact with each other for typically 14-days. However, most girls that join us are already outdoor-minded girls who are interested in bonding over things beyond hairstyle talk or gossip.
There are all types that join Alpengirl - some are already Alpengirl types and others are brand new to wilderness and tent camping adventure camp and are willing to give it a try to find out if they are an Alpengirl. Girls easily move away from make-up and “girly” needs at camp, but, they seem to like to talk about it and for some it is just talk and for others it’s a real challenge to them. They end up feeling pretty great when it’s all said and done and the experiences lasts a lifetime and builds great self-esteem for girls.
At our all girls camp, each girl can be a leader, in fact, one camper is selected to be a “Leader of the Day” each day at Alpengirl. There’s no competition over boys. Girls feel confident in trying new things and pushing themselves in the small all-girl group led by fun outdoor minded positive female role models who many girls keep in touch with beyond camp session dates. These women are the key to the success of the group - their bios are on our website and these women are mature professionals who lead lives full of adventure, education, health and fitness.
Our groups are limited to 10-12 girls and 2 Alpenguides, so, social dynamics and how people are fitting in or not, is easily supervised with such a small group. Our trips are busy and active and we are constantly mixing and mingling the girls and challenging them to branch out and embrace each unique person in the group as a sister. Alpengirl is NOT comparable to a traditional “sleep-away camp” with lots of kids and a few inexperienced younger staff to assist in creating positive female teen interactions.
This said, “girls will be girls” - and certain conversations can be in a direction that some girls may not be interested in, such as talk about hair, make-up, boys, etc.. All I can say to this is, girls that join Alpengirl are willing to try being an “outdoor girl” and true blue Alpengirls and our Alpenguides are a great influence that shows them a way to do it.
Alpengirl Camp is an outdoor, nature-minded all girl camp that encourages girls to find their inner-Alpengirl and display their innate abilities as an “Adventuress!”
Read what teen girls say about Alpengirl
- Alpengirl
