Mountain Ready Launches Initiative to Empower Women with Practical Survival Skills

Mountain Ready, a family- and veteran-owned small business founded by U.S. Army veteran Peter Zeppieri, has launched a renewed initiative to make survival skills approachable and achievable for women of all ages. The company operates through MountainReady.online, which blends a curated shop of American-made survival gear with a free online library of how-to articles, step-by-step guides, and videos designed to teach real-world skills.

"Too often women are told to 'be careful'—we want to give them the how," said Zeppieri. "Preparedness isn't a one-size-fits-all checklist. It's about practical skills you can use right away: changing a tire at the side of the road, identifying an edible plant, treating a wound with an herb you can harvest, or keeping a small cabin lit when the power goes out. My goal is to strip away intimidation and give women the confidence to act when it matters most."

The initiative addresses a critical gap in emergency preparedness by focusing specifically on women's needs and accessibility concerns. Mountain Ready's skills-focused resources cover four key areas: roadside emergencies with step-by-step procedures and gear lists, foraging and herbal medicine basics with safety-first guides to common edible and medicinal plants, self-defense fundamentals with practical scenario-based techniques, and off-grid energy solutions including portable solar kits and hand-crank tools.

This approach matters because it democratizes survival knowledge that has traditionally been male-dominated or presented in intimidating formats. By making these resources freely available through their educational section, Mountain Ready enables women to develop practical capabilities that can prevent minor incidents from becoming major crises.

"People sometimes think preparedness is only for a certain type of person," Zeppieri added. "But the best prep is simple, achievable, and focused on preserving life and dignity. I'm always happy to talk about why women might feel intimidated at first—and show how quickly that intimidation can turn into capability."

The company's dual approach as both retailer and educational resource through their product collections represents a significant shift in how survival skills are marketed and taught. This initiative has broader implications for personal safety, emergency response readiness, and gender equity in practical education, potentially setting a new standard for how preparedness companies approach skill development and accessibility.