By Jessianne CastleEBS CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
BOZEMAN – According to Bozeman High
School senior Aubrey Johnson, rock climbing has done more than just strengthen
her body. It’s helped create a balanced young woman.
“When I’m climbing, I’m in my happy place,”
said Johnson, 18. “It’s given me some of my closest friends and it’s pushed me
into the person I am today.”
She says the sport satisfies both mental
and physical drives, and is particularly gratifying for the ability to have
individualized challenges but still develop a strong community of climbing
partners, mentors and friends.
Johnson, who is on the youth-focused Bozeman
Climbing Team, is the inaugural recipient of the Inge Perkins Scholarship, a
memorial award that celebrates the life of Inge Perkins of Bozeman, who was
tragically killed by an avalanche on Oct. 7, 2017, at the age of 23. Perkins
was skinning up Imp Peak in the southern Madison Range with her boyfriend,
27-year-old alpinist Hayden Kennedy, when the slide took her life and partially
buried Kennedy. Though he survived the avalanche, Kennedy returned home and
took his own life.
This loss sent tremors through the
climbing community and out of this grief, loved ones developed the scholarship
fund for Gallatin Valley female climbers in middle or high school in order to
promote strong climbers and community-minded volunteers—two elements embedded
in Perkins’ own life.
“We were all beyond grief stricken after
the tragic loss of Inge and Hayden,” wrote Mike Harrelson in an email to EBS. “I
think working on the [Inge Perkins Scholarship]—figuring it out and doing our
best as we go—has helped us all cope with our respective loss of Inge.
“Inge was much more than a talented
climber; she was a giver and a role model in many ways,” added Harrelson, who knew
Perkins since she was a child and helped establish the scholarship. “Since she
was a little girl, Inge spoke more with her actions than with words. Humble,
unassuming, smart, diligent, independent, witty—as well as a super talented
outdoor athlete—Inge was a quiet crusher. Whether in the mountains or the
classroom, Inge was a beacon of excellence and an inspiration to many.”
Johnson, who received the award in
November, was selected unanimously by the selection committee for her
thoughtful nature.
“Aubrey, first and foremost, expressed
care and compassion for the larger community,” said Kelsey Sather, who was a
close friend of Perkins’ and sits on the scholarship selection committee. “She
was really passionate about being an active community member and expressed
passion to learn more. Aubrey was caring, passionate about the outdoors and a
motivated climber.”
In its first year, the fundraising effort
surpassed $25,000, with donations from Spire, Scarpa and the Power Company, as
well as Mystery Ranch’s pledge of $3,000 annually. Friends and family
established an endowment fund for the award and the total amount of this first
year’s scholarship exceeds $5,000 in the form of financial support for climbing
team fees, competitions and an outdoor trip with the youth climbing group Touch
the Sky, as well as an assortment of climbing gear and a health-food stipend.
Harrelson said he hopes the scholarship will
grow its capacity in order to support two recipients in the future, and ongoing
fundraising will help develop this.
“It’s a really big honor,” Johnson said
of her selection for the award. “I didn’t know Inge very well … but she was one
of the first climbers that I looked up to.”
Visit ingeperkinsscholarship.com to learn more.