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She can ride with the best of ’em, and this seven-year veteran snowmobile guide will use her talents this winter to raise money for breast cancer —photo courtesy Great Canadian Snowmobile Tours

“It’san amazing way to raise awareness and I’m honoured to be chosen,” said Amber Wood, who was one of three women snowmobilers selected to ride across British Columbia in the 2006 Way Out Women (WOW) Relay for breast cancer.

Wood, a B.C. Parks ranger in the summer and a snowmobile guide in the winter,said the WOW Relay first piqued her interest a couple of years ago when a friend of hers was the provincial ride coordinator.

“I put in an application this year and it was quite a surprise (to be accepted),” she said. “In the meantime my aunt had a breast removed because of breast cancer.”

Wood said she is dedicating the ride to her aunt, to a friend and co-worker who is a five-year breast cancer survivor and to another friend who recently passed away from brain cancer at the age of 30.

“(The WOW Relay) is a ride for breast cancer but I think it’s important and will help raise awareness for all forms of cancer,” she said.

When she is not guiding or riding across the province for a good cause, Wood teaches snowmobile specific avalanche awareness courses and she hosts women’s snowmobile riding clinics.

“With my guiding experience and background I think I’ll be OK physically,” she said in reference to the nine-day trek that will take the B.C. team from Grande Prairie, Alberta, to White Rock, B.C. “But it’s going to be mentally exhausting.”

“We hope to see people out and giving their support all along the way—we’ll be doing fundraisers along the way,” said Wood.