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Nearly every weekend, Hannah Kothari marshals groups of women and a network of trip leaders to safely enjoy the great outdoors together.
This story is part of The 89 Percent Project, an initiative of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now. It was originally published in the New Hampshire Bulletin.
Friday was bright and bitter at the foot of Mount Washington. The sun was shining, but howling wind dropped the feels-like temperature well below zero and whipped up a sharp spray of ice from the forest floor. At higher elevations, snow was flying as wind gusts clocked in at 50 to 100 miles per hour.
These conditions can be perilous, but for some, and with careful precautions, they’re also a coveted treat. But for all the joy the outdoors can offer, the ability to feel safe and comfortable in the wilderness can be elusive. That’s one reason Hannah Kothari said she had convened a group of nearly 20 other women at Pinkham Notch on Jan. 16 — and why, through her rapidly growing club, Kothari has dedicated much of her free time over the past several months to bringing groups of women out into the wilderness of New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont.
“It’s been very empowering for me to be outside with other women for the first time, really, in my life,” said Kothari, who founded her club, Chicks on Cliffs, in November. Her mission, she said, is to create the safe, empowering, and beginner-friendly community she had wished for during her own introduction to outdoor recreation.
“I feel like I can finally kind of pay it forward,” she said, “and be the person I wish I had when I was starting out.”
The Instagram account for Chicks on Cliffs has already grown to nearly 6,000 followers. Through it, Kothari, a college senior, marshals groups of women and a network of trip leaders on excursions in the White Mountains and beyond nearly every weekend. But the endeavor, she said, started humbly, and not very long ago.
Early in her college career, after years of struggling to keep up with her peers despite her active lifestyle, doctors discovered that one of Kothari’s heart valves was leaking. The realization explained why strenuous activities felt difficult, and made many of Kothari’s past experiences suddenly make sense, she said, like falling behind during group activities and hikes — and the frustration, disappointment, and even embarrassment she felt at those times.
At first, doctors told Kothari there was nothing to be done. But reading a nursing textbook over a friend’s shoulder, Kothari learned that certain kinds of birth control, including the one she took, could significantly worsen heart valve problems. Inspired, Kothari switched her prescription, and almost immediately her ability to exercise was transformed.
Kothari immediately took to the trails, logging more than 100 miles on hikes between October and December 2025. She was mostly hiking alone, and posting about her adventures on social media. Soon, her posts were resonating with other women.
“All these girls started reaching out to me, asking me questions,” Kothari said, about things like feeling safe hiking alone as a woman and traveling solo in the backcountry. Kothari gladly answered them, and soon, online connections turned into real-world hiking meetups; then, Chicks on Cliffs was born.
Most Chicks on Cliffs gatherings take the form of hikes or casual ski meetups, Kothari said. But Jan. 16 was different, featuring an introductory course on safety in the backcountry. The course was led by two avalanche experts: Caitlin Kelly and Ashley Murray of East Coast Avalanche Education, which partnered with Chicks on Cliffs to offer the course.
Some in attendance said they’d been to other Chicks on Cliffs meetups before; others were joining for the first time. All were glad to have a welcoming group in which they could lean into the experience of being a backcountry beginner.
“My only friends that backcountry ski are a group of guys that have been doing it for a while. It kind of felt intimidating to go with them and be kind of left in the dust, or rely on them to teach me,” said Maddie Castle, who drove from Maine to Pinkham Notch Friday to attend the Chicks on Cliffs meetup.
There was something “automatically comfortable” about a group like Chicks on Cliffs, where everyone comes as they are, said attendee Caroline Eaton.
Kothari said she was thrilled to offer a place for women to try new things and experience the joy of the outdoors together. In the future, she hopes to continue growing the club, and offer a wider range of activities to capture people at more levels of experience and comfort.
“Everybody is on their own journey, and I really want to support folks in whatever phase of that journey they may be on,” she said.
