Ascend: Forced to flee the Taliban, Afghan women find a home in climbing

ASCEND was founded in Afghanistan by Marina LeGree in 2014 from a desire to create opportunities for girls to find their strength and confidence through sport.

"Growing up in a society that is male-dominated, you always are reminded that you are weak. And to me that’s why I started climbing. To prove myself that I am powerful – mentally and physically." says Mina Bakhshi, one of the women who joined ASCEND.

"It starts with girls believing they have the path, they have their choices. And that’s what I saw taken away in a single day." says Marina LeGree. "We went from being an organization empowering girls in Afghanistan to an organization evacuating and resettling refugees."

Five women of ASCEND have been relocated to North Carolina, where they have been putting down roots and trying to find community through climbing. The Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) climbers, Merryn Venugopal and Michelle Pellette, have made connections with the group to introduce them to the climb challenges of Yosemite.

"The goal of ASCEND is to empower women through leadership and climbing." says Alison Kaplan, Yosemite National Park Climbing Ranger. "It seems like a lot of the women that had been part of this community have this shared feeling of wanting to lift other women up and bring more women into the climbing community."

ASCEND is a story about women's empowerment and climbing as a connective thread for communities.