New app helps women find community, connection via the outdoors

The Colorado High Country can be an isolating place. Although there are numerous outlets for outdoor exploration all throughout the year, there are many people who venture out alone because of a variety of factors ranging from differing fitness levels to prior commitments. 

Denver-based creator Ellie Frost became all too familiar with going on outdoor adventures by herself when she used to live in Dillon and Vail.

“When I lived up in the mountains, it can be a little hard for people to follow through sometimes with the plans they make,” she said.

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After making a move back to the Denver area to go back to school, she encountered another issue a lot of women face when looking to get out in the High Country. 

“I moved back to the city during COVID to go back to school, and I got really out of shape,” Frost said. “I realized I was not in shape to go out with the people that I know in the mountains anymore. I did not want to hold them up.”

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Feeling cut off from her other outdoor-obsessed friends, she put a post out in a Facebook group on Dec. 10, 2023, where she searched for other women to go backcountry skiing with. In a matter of a few hours, she says she received responses from a large group of other women who were also interested in regularly exploring the outdoors. 

“I had all these women write me, and I started meeting people,” she said. “I felt like I had to connect them in a group chat of some sort. Somebody suggested WhatsApp, and four days later, there were 300 of us in a WhatsApp. I had no idea that was going to happen. That was not what my intention was. I was really looking for other women to spend time outside with.”

With hundreds of people in one WhatsApp group chat, she soon realized the limitations of the app and decided she wanted to be on the forefront of a potential solution.

“You could not see the chat history from beforehand, and we were repeating a bunch of different things,” she said. “I decided that I should build an app to help everyone to continue to connect.”

Mashing together the main focal points of Facebook and Meetup, Frost — who has a background in software development — created Backcountry Beauties. The free app ultimately connects other women looking to get out the door for nighttime skins, daytime tours, and fun amongst a community of like-minded people.

“I started building the app by myself back on Dec. 15,” she said. “I put it together myself, and it took me about four months to build the base of the system.”

Once in the app, Backcountry Beauties lets women build profiles that highlight their location, favorite outdoor hobbies, skill level and certifications — making connecting with other women easy.  

Users are allowed to join groups based on their interests and locations, where they can discuss meetups, RSVP to events or create their own, and chat about their experiences. 

Since the app formally launched at the beginning of June, Backcountry Beauties has grown to a community of more than 2,000 women who are all interested in creating and attending events in Colorado’s natural playground.

“I feel like I am finally living what my purpose is and that is to enrich the quality of life of as many people as I can and inspire others to do the same,” Frost said. “… There are a lot of us that have been hurt by women before, so there has been this amazing community healing. So many of the women have been saying how hard it has been to make friends with women.

“It has been really beautiful having all these isolated people coming together,” she added. “I feel like in the mountains there are cliques that form and they can be really exclusive. I think a lot of the time that has a lot to do with them not really ever feeling accepted into a group.”

Beyond creating a network of women who can bond over their love for sports and the outdoors, the Backcountry Beauties app has also allowed women to become better educated in a wide array of subjects and activities via the app’s learning library.

“We do these virtual learning sessions,” she said. “This winter, we did one with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center where they taught everyone how to read avalanche forecast reports and make condition reports. … I am working to try to partner up with different companies and brands to help bring education.”

Looking ahead, she hopes to launch a subscription model of the app to offer users benefits like access to popular backcountry outdoor tools/apps and discounts from sponsors. With the app already seeing a fair amount of use regionally, she is hoping interest in the app expands beyond Colorado.

“I am hoping to expand the infrastructure past our local Colorado region, through the West, the U.S. and out across the world if it makes sense,” she said. “We have started our own little chapters and have talked about it becoming like an adult Girl Scouts.”

Additionally, Frost is working to create a co-ed version of the app — Backcountry Bonds — which will hopefully foster a similar community of outdoor enthusiasts. The new app does not have a firm launch date at this time. 

Backcountry Beauties is available in the iOS and Android app stores.