Today we’d like to introduce you to Becky Fuys
Hi Becky, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I guess I should start back at the beginning, when I first discovered my interest in wilderness medicine. Backcountry Ready isn’t just a job or a business endeavor to me, it’s a passion that I want to share with others like my mentor did for me. I genuinely love teaching and cultivating a safe space for people to learn and grow in the outdoor community. When I was a student at Utah State University (USU), I worked part-time at the Outdoor Recreation Program (ORP) as a lead guide on outdoor adventure trips. A part of being a lead guide requires having a Wilderness First Responder certification. During my first WFR course one of my instructors was Nadia, the founder of Desert Mountain Medicine (DMM). My first impression of Nadia was a little intimidating, she was very intense, knew exactly what she wanted, and was quite direct. I was so nervous when she was grading me on my practicals that I ended up missing something (I immediately knew I missed this too) and failed my first attempt. After my practical, Nadia pulled me aside, didn’t sugar coat anything, and asked me why I failed. I knew exactly what I did wrong and told her why. She smiled at me and joked, “Well, you’ll never make that mistake again.” At that moment, I knew Nadia wasn’t there to try to intimidate me, I was doing that to myself by doubting myself and questioning my abilities when I knew I was capable. During practicals, we thankfully got two attempts, and when my second attempt came, I went in with confidence, knowing the effort I had put into studying and practicing, and my ability. I passed with flying colors. Nadia was there to teach me how to handle moments of high stress because that’s what wilderness medicine is. My initial intimidation quickly grew into admiration, and I was grateful Nadia was my instructor, because she was right, I will never forget that mistake I made on that exam… down to the exact outfit I was wearing while taking it.
Fast forward 2 years to my first WFR recertification course, and surprise, Nadia was again my instructor. This time, it was more like seeing an old friend than someone who had once made me so nervous. My recert went great and I passed with 100%. After the course, Nadia approached me and asked if I would ever be interested in teaching and I immediately jumped at the opportunity. I started with student teaching by helping DMM run the first aid booth at a climbing festival (Red Rock Rendezvous) and officially became an instructor for DMM in 2017.
Most of my professional guiding experience is through horseback riding right here in Midway, Utah. Growing up, I was the little girl who loved horses, but I never grew out of that phase like most others. That’s what inspired me to study Equine Science at USU. Besides, when else would I ever get the opportunity to dedicate 4 years of my life to living out my childhood cowgirl dreams?
Through those connections I started working at a horse ranch as a guide for about 6 years. Over that span we also ran river floats, zip lining tours, fly-fishing excursions, and expanded into 3 new locations (all of which I got to be a part of running / managing). Those experiences were really what gave me the confidence to try to start my own business. Teaching is the fun part, but it’s only a small fraction of the work that goes into starting and running a business.
When I wasn’t playing with horses at USU, I was heavily involved in their outdoor recreation program, particularly their rock climbing classes & student trips program. As student rock climbing guides, we had our own training through USU, but it amounted to essentially a single-pitch instructor certification in addition to the WFR certification. We ran trips in Logan Canyon, City of Rocks, and Moab primarily. I also was a TA for the rock climbing class on campus, where I really discovered how much I love teaching and went on to become USU’s climbing trainer for our trips program. It’s funny looking back at how everything unfolded. Everything really started from my love for climbing, combined with being a college student and wanting to save money on a climbing gym pass. While taking the climbing class myself during my freshman year, I saw how much fun the instructor (and owner of the rock gym) had while teaching. I started climbing at the gym more and eventually became a “regular.” One day I shyly approached the owner and asked him if I could trade work as being the TA for the climbing class for a free climbing gym membership. He agreed and we quickly became (and still are) very dear friends. Teaching the climbing class gave me my first taste of instructing in a classroom setting (rather than guiding) and I soon realized how much I loved both teaching and learning from my students.
My involvement with the climbing classes fueled my interest in instructing even more and I dove deeper into the trips program at USU. I ended up guiding a variety of activities from backcountry skiing / splitboard tours, multi-day yurt trips, backpacking, snowshoeing, climbing & river sports in the summer.
Ever since I started teaching, I’ve dreamed of launching my own organization. I still certify all of my courses under Desert Mountain Medicine (DMM) and use their curricula, so my intention was never to compete with them. The main draw to teaching under my own name is the freedom it gives me to launch courses here in Utah and provide more opportunities for my very own outdoor community to learn life-saving skills. Having been involved in a few incidents myself, I realize how easy it is to fall into the “it’ll never happen to me” mindset. Especially living so close to a large city like SLC, it’s easy to become complacent due to the sheer number of people recreating around you. The reality is that we’re still in backcountry spaces, and we’re often in areas that facilitate high-risk activities, whether we’re participating in them ourselves or not.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think any business owner can attest to the emotional rollercoaster involved with starting a business. Teaching is the fun part, but it’s only a small fraction of the work that goes into launching an entire business. For me, the biggest hurdles to this day are marketing and the my mental battle with imposter-syndrome. Even after teaching for 7 years, being professionally involved in the outdoor industry for 10, and being a certified EMT, I still struggle with reminding myself that I have a place in this industry. I think that’s why I value the mentorship and friendship I’ve received over the years from both Nadia, and my good friend Kris, both of which are successful female entrepreneurs. It’s intimidating operating in a predominantly male – dominated space and feeling confident in what I’m doing. But those are also the barriers I hope to break down by being here, and I’d love more than anything to empower other female identifying individuals to take those initial, albeit terrifying steps too.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Backcountry Ready, Outdoor Education?
Backcountry Ready, Outdoor Education was founded with the main objective of providing more opportunities for people to learn life-saving wilderness medicine skills. I strive to facilitate a non-intimidating, inclusive space that supports a positive learning environment for everyone, regardless of their background or previous experience. Learning something new is challenging enough as it is!
My ultimate goal is to help people understand that wilderness medicine isn’t just for guides, it’s for anyone who recreates in our backcountry backyard. I hope to accomplish this by providing a variety of courses, starting with beginner-level clinics all the way through full Wilderness First Responder courses so people have less intimidating opportunities to start learning the basic skills. My hope is that after taking an introductory clinic, people will feel as inspired as I did to continue their education and go on to take either a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) or Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course. Even outside of guiding, I can’t even count the number of times my WFR (and now EMT) knowledge has been helpful in everyday life.
Even after taking a course, I realize these skills are perishable, and I don’t want anyone to feel like a ‘deer in the headlights’ when faced with an incident. This sparked the idea to offer opportunities for people to continue practicing their hands-on skills even after their course. These types of ‘scenario practice sessions’ were something I really wished I had had the ability to participate in when I was a student in my first WFR courses, so I’m really excited to start offering these to future students. I even include these in my referral program, so students can receive free practice sessions if they refer a friend to take a course. This is in conjunction with Desert Mountain Medicine’s online continuing education portal that’s updated regularly with curricula updates, case studies, practice scenarios and more! It’s pretty impressive how much they invest into their online portal (called the Alumni Project) to provide students opportunities to keep their skills sharp.
The final course type that I offer are custom courses for private groups. These are honestly some of my favorite courses to teach as they can be catered to each individual group, from a business that wants to do CPR & First Aid Training for their staff for insurance breaks, to a guiding company that wants to get their guides certified and / or run through practice scenarios at the beginning of their season, to a group of backcountry ski touring or biking friends that want to practice their skills with the people they’ll most likely be spending time with in the backcountry! It’s really fun to tailor each course to the specific group and make sure I’m covering all the topics they’re most excited about. These private courses can range from a 2-4 hours Intro to Wilderness First Aid Clinic, all the way through a full Wilderness First Aid (16-24 hour) or Wilderness First Responder (80 hour) course.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success to me is the feeling I get whenever I witness a student having a “lightbulb moment”. That moment when it suddenly clicks, and I know that whatever was said or demonstrated resonated with them, and they now understand what to do in a given situation because of it. It’s almost like I get to have my own little “lightbulb moment” with them, knowing that whatever I said is actually making sense!
It’s so inspiring to watch students transform from being timid on the first day to feeling confident in themselves by the end. I think that’s honestly why I love teaching so much, because I’m constantly re-inspired by my students. It’s a spark that gets re-lit every time I’m on a course. I learn so much from the students too, not to mention the friendships that evolve over the span of even just a quick 5 day course. I couldn’t tell you the number of friends I’ve gained through these experiences. It’s truly special.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.backcountryready.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/backcountry.ready.outdoor.ed/
