Ski Camps for Women, Winter Girlfriend Getaways

For some women, a ski vacation simply means sitting by the fire after the bunny slopes brought on an avalanche of tears and frustration, while their significant other is off dominating double black diamonds. Whether a natural athlete or not, many women simply need the right environment and motivation to improve their on-snow skills, especially when learning to ski or ride at an older age.

Results can be exceptionally disastrous when an athletic boyfriend or well-intentioned husband attempts to teach female counterparts how to ski, without really knowing how to teach a woman how to ski.

Avoid this scenario and improve your skiing or snowboarding skills by signing up for a women-only ski camp.

Benefits of Learning With Other Women

While I’m lucky to have a patient and helpful husband, we agree that it’s better for our marriage that I head off to ski with my girlfriends often and attend a women’s ski camp once a season to keep working on various snow skills. The ladies I typically ski with are hard-chargers, so my skills are constantly being tested. But we’re also out there for fun, and there’s no pressure involved.

“Women’s ski camps provide a nurturing environment and give each woman a chance to find a new personal best,” says Miriam Green, ski instructor at Keystone in Colorado.

 

• Partaking in women’s only camps can help women learn new skills and master old ones.

Courtesy of Alexa Miller/Ski Utah

“The best way to improve ski skills is to provide a safe haven for learning,” agrees Jessica Baker, a professional mountain guide, member of Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) and founder of Ski Divas Women’s Ski Camps. “Giving women time to learn the details needed (to understand the techniques), encouragement and the respect they deserve is important. An all-women camp provides the patience, understanding and a ‘no question is a dumb question’ mentality. It’s all about women supporting women.”

Whether you go with your girlfriends or fly solo, plan to form a new level of friendship, as you’ll be building confidence through mutual support and a sense of camaraderie in both on-snow and après-ski activities, like wine tasting, yoga and spa time. Group discussions and mind-and-body workshops that extend into your daily life are some of the added perks to many women’s ski and snowboard camps.

Not for Beginners Only

I started skiing as a teenager, then jumping into ski racing. Lacking the fundamentals, it was more about the social scene for me. After spending years of playing follow the leader, struggling to keep up and somehow managing not to get seriously injured, I attended a few day clinics for women. The number of bad habits that had formed from lacking proper instruction was astounding.

“A women’s specific ski camp also helps a woman work on details and technical aspects of skiing that men may not want to bother with,” says Baker. “In general, I have found that women need more attention, and more detail to help them learn.”

 

• Enjoy your stay at the Cliff Lodge & Spa in the Wasatch Mountains.

Courtesy of Snowbird Resort

The biggest hurdle in my skiing has been unlearning those bad habits and telling myself I can do this better. It’s finally starting to pay off—now that I know that skiing with good technique makes it easier, it’s far more natural to focus on the right way.

I also learned I’m more successful when backed by a supportive, patient group, which helped to build confidence on terrain I thought I couldn’t ski. After tackling a field of menacing moguls (which I’d avoided until this clinic) and tight trees one time at Smugglers’ Notch, our group of girls joined in a round of high-fives and smiles, and that experience sticks with me.

Gender Matters

Understanding the physical differences between the way men and women ski is also important. The “Thoren Theory” is a great primer by women’s skiing pioneer, Jeannie Thoren. Adapting to some of these physiological differences, many camps offer women’s equipment demos and boot-fitting workshops as a part of the weekend getaways.

I once skied with Jeannie in Telluride, Colorado and had a private, mini-clinic with a girlfriend of mine, who had made the jump from ski racing to snowboarding because of boot-fitting issues and overall frustration of racing. Her pear-body shape was affecting the way she skied, and after Jeannie made a few suggestions and equipment adjustments, you could immediately tell the improvement.

Pre-Camp Workouts

One of my biggest regrets is that I was not in better shape for a seven-day trip to Europe, where we hiked off-piste for turns with our female guide in Davos, Switzerland. If you’re planning to invest in your skill by attending a women’s camp, the best thing you can do to prepare yourself physically is to get the most out of the experience. Hitting the gym for weeks, or months, beforehand will pay off in large sums when you hit the snow.

Great cardio fitness may also help you adjust more quickly to higher altitudes, and strengthening your leg and core muscles will help you push through tougher terrain, and possibly avoid injury. [Read more about adjusting to high altitudes and ski injury prevention.]

Post-Camp Practice

Spending a few extra days post-camp working on your skills will solidify what you’ve learned and help make future ski days more enjoyable. If you’re lucky enough to have a ski resort near you, check to see if they offer special women’s clinics daily—Women’s Wednesdays have grown in popularity at many ski areas and many mountains host special events for women throughout the season.

Advanced to expert skiers can still benefit from women’s camps that teach entirely new skills, such as backcountry touring and avalanche education, which can help you break out of a groomed-only run routine. You can even gather your own group of girlfriends to go on a private lesson or camp with a female instructor, and remind each other of technique tips every time you ski together. Most of all, make it fun! After all, that’s what skiing and snowboarding are all about!

Read Eight Great Getaways for Women’s Ski and Snowboard Camps