Mina Bakhshi, Haniya Tavasoli and Rabia Hussain had a fair amount of latitude for women in Afghanistan, able to pursue their education, go to work, and explore hobbies and interests. Joining Ascend, a nonprofit organization teaching leadership and rock climbing to women, gave them the chance to test their personal and cultural limits and explore the mountains of their home country. But when the Taliban took over in August 2021, Ascend became their one chance to escape a regime that would restrict their freedoms and future. While the women of Ascend were being resettled in other countries with volunteer host families from Ascend’s network—often other climbers wanting to help—Merryn Venugopal and Michelle Pellette, two members of Yosemite Search and Rescue, were also looking to find ways to support fellow climbers in need. They invited the women to spend a week in Yosemite, where they could safely reunite and find solace in the climbing community. Now, as they build new lives in a country separated from their families, the women find that meeting other climbers in Yosemite is also a connection to home. Read the story: https://pat.ag/AfarinStoryYT Directed & Produced by Kathryn Francis & Campbell Brewer Executive Producers Alex Lowther Monika McClure Justin Roth Featuring Mina Bakhshi Haniyan Tavasoli Rabia Hussain Raihana Ahmady Sughra Yazdani Marina LeGree Batool Behnam Merryn Venugopal Michelle Pellette Alison Kaplan Director of Photography Campbell Brewer Edited by Campbell Brewer Will Lee Mattias Evangelista Original Music Sanders Bohlke Graphics Ben Blanchard Title Artwork Afsoon Talai 00:00 Start 00:09 Afghanistan 00:46 One Year Later 02:20 Yosemite 4:00 Merryn & Michelle 5:20 Climbing 8:35 “You don’t have a choice.” 9:44 Ascend 14:29 “neither walls nor gates” 17:28 Where Are They Now? 18:48 Credits Subscribe: https://pat.ag/Subscribe Get more from Patagonia: Official site: https://pat.ag/Patagonia Patagonia Stories: https://pat.ag/PatagoniaStories Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patagonia/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PATAGONIA/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/patagonia TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@patagonia?lang=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/patagonia_2/ About Patagonia: At Patagonia, we appreciate that all life on earth is under threat of extinction. We’re using the resources we have—our business, our investments, our voice and our imaginations—to do something about it.