My name is Maranda Ratcliff and I am the founder and CEO of Rocky Mountain Women Outdoors (RMWO).
I am a born-and-raised Montana girl with a passion for all things outdoors. I was fortunate to grow up with a family that packed up the truck on the weekends to explore the outdoor lifestyle. I spent a majority of my childhood hiking and backpacking, fishing, hunting, shooting, biking, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, and developing a deep connection with God’s beautiful creation.
My love for nature has taken me across the states, where I’ve lived in Maryland, California, Alaska, Utah, and of course… my beloved Montana. It has allowed me the opportunity to learn new skills from some of the most talented, seasoned, educated outdoors-men and -women. It has pushed me to create an outdoors blog Backcountry Blessed where I recount stories of my personal adventures and experiences in the outdoors.
Most importantly, it has inspired me to pursue a lifelong dream of building a career that allows me to adventure and explore outside.
The idea for RMWO sparked as I realized two problems in the women’s outdoor industry:
- A shortage of women adventuring with other women
- Women not feeling competent or educated enough to conquer the outdoors lifestyle alone
When I realized that my lifelong experience as an outdoors-woman could be used to serve other women who wanted to build healthy friendships with other outdoors-women and learn/ build upon the skills necessary to live the outdoor lifestyle, I knew I had to act on the idea.
Rocky Mountain Women Outdoors will plan a schedule of events for women of all ages and experience levels to participate in the outdoor lifestyle with a community of other like-minded women.
You can expect outdoors adventures including:
- Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing
- Skiing or snowboarding
- Hiking and camping
- Rafting
- Fishing
- Rock climbing
- Mountain biking
- Shooting firearms
- Archery
- Big game hunting
- Upland and waterfowl hunting
You can expect skill-building classes including:
- Fly tying lessons
- Fly casting lessons
- Shooting lessons
- Rock climbing lessons
- Archery lessons
- Game calls calling lessons
You can expect education courses including:
- Sidearm safety and competency
- Wilderness survival
- Expedition packing essentials
- Leave-no-trace
- Edible wild plants education
Although my vision for the future of RMWO is to expand throughout the entire Rocky Mountain region, we are currently based in Billings, Montana… Travelers are always welcome to join for any adventures they wish to participate in!
I am so excited to see what the future of this community holds. My hope is that I am able to serve you all and that with your help, we can build an empire of women empowering other women to spend more time outdoors!
Sincerely,
Maranda Ratcliff
Rocky Mountain Women Outdoors 