Bailey Shandro is an artist, high school teacher, runner, and climber who has been involved with Mountain Mentors since 2021. She finds deep fulfillment in mentorship, valuing the relationships, confidence-building, and community it fosters. For Bailey, mentorship isn’t just about achieving goals—it’s about shared experiences, reciprocity, and shaping a more inclusive and sustainable outdoor culture.
Applications for Mountain Mentors climbing and hiking program are open April 1-20, 2025.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Bailey Shandro (she/her). I’ve been involved with Mountain Mentors since 2021 as a hiking mentee, hiking mentor, and climbing mentor. I also oversee the Mountain Mentors community art show, which was inspired by painting watercolours on backcountry trips with my hiking mentor!
I am best known for making art, running, climbing, sharing food with others, petting cats, and hosting community events! I currently live and work as a high school teacher on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations in so called, “Vancouver.”
What inspired you to become a mentor with Mountain Mentors?
After being a hiking mentee and realizing how empowered and confident I felt after the program, I really wanted to provide that experience for someone else. Reciprocity is such an important part of building community.
Often I think we struggle with this sense of “enoughness,” when deciding if we have what it takes to mentor. When I look back at being a mentee, my mentor was very skilled, but the biggest impact was that she was empathetic, encouraging, and believed that I could reach my goals.
The people I want to recreate outdoors with are knowledgeable, but mostly they’re filled with love and care, reminding me that being in this space is about sharing it & keeping it sustainable for each other and the environment.
Being a mentor allowed me to contribute to the culture of outdoor recreation, to change the way people perceive how they have to “be” outdoors in contrast to a lot of the heteronormative, colonial norms that so many of us feel unsafe and unsatisfied because of.
Becoming a mentor is a big investment of time. What makes it worth it for you?
Relationships are at the heart of what makes life meaningful.
Often we think about our relationships with each other, but it extends to the way we relate to everything we do — recreate, spend time outdoors, share food, work, rest, etc. It’s incredibly rewarding to help someone with their self-confidence. It’s intensely beautiful to meet and build your outdoor community. It’s deeply important to shape the spaces you want to be in.
Being a mentor allows me to not only make an impact directly through my mentee but indirectly on how we relate to ourselves and to the outdoors. It reminds me to slow down, be more sustainable, and ultimately I’m a better person for it.
What's one of the most memorable experiences you've had with a mentee?
On our last hike of the summer, we were supposed to go hike up St. Mark’s to wrap up the season. I accidentally brought two left-footed hiking shoes. I felt so silly being the mentor and being inadequately prepared, and guilty that I let my mentee down.
We had a good laugh about it and agreed we wanted to still spend time together. So I hiked in my trusty Teva’s to Bowen Lookout instead. When we got there, my mentee had a bit of a picnic prepared and shared some awfully kind words about how they grateful they were that I volunteered to mentor.
I love this story because it reminds me I don’t have to be perfect and that at the end of the day, it’s never about the summits, it’s about those moments we share together.
Have you ever had an experience where your mentee ended up teaching you something unexpected? What was it?
Between bad weather and injuries, my climbing mentee wasn’t actually able to climb that much. We joked that they were my swimming mentor because we spent so much time playing in Squamish lakes instead. While we met some goals, the highlight of this pairing was how wonderful my mentee was. We had so many chats about what it means to be in community.
I realized I often prioritized my activities to reach my goals, which resulted in making it harder to build deeper and consistent relationships in my life. By the end of our season, I made a conscious decision to prioritize my relationships first, and it has had a profound impact on my values system.
Is there anything else you’d like people to know?
Mountain Mentors is designed as a 1:1 program to provide high quality, intimate, experience tailored to your goals. I think sometimes there’s a misconception that is the only relationship formed.
When you join the program you have a chance to connect with other pairs and volunteers in the community. I’ve met so many of my close friends through the Mountain Mentors community, despite never being paired with them!
Whether I was in the program as a mentee or mentor, there were always incredible opportunities to learn and meet other people. Many people reach the goals they had as a mentee by being a mentor too! Especially if the goal is to feel more confident!