By Victoria Gaither
Okemo’s Women’s First Fridays series is off to a great start, connecting female skiers and riders.
The series kicked off Dec. 6 at Okemo’s Jackson Gore and has since gained popularity among women searching for something different on the slopes.
Fran Madson from Ludow attended the first Dec. 6 event and said, “It was a wonderful experience. We met a couple of women, and they took us down several trails.”
It’s more than just a meet-up, explained Anna Tumber, event coordinator and field marketing manager at Okemo, “We pair an activity and sport together to create a space for women to spend time and connect while finding other women that want to ski.”
Fran Madson had such a great time, she invited her daughter, Courtney Matson, to attend the Jan. 3 event.
Standing beside her mom after yoga, Courtney Matson said, “It was fantastic. I enjoyed skiing with a whole bunch of other women. I have grown up skiing my whole life, so it was nice to ski with women I could connect with and talk to. I have two young daughters and am also trying to raise them to be skiers, so it’s fun to build more women into the sport.”
Unlike the first event, the Jan. 3 event had about 40 women skiers and one rider participate.
“To see all of these women skiing together is a beautiful sight. The visuals of this are neat,” said Felicia Stanley, who happened to walk by and see the group standing in a circle.
The Women’s First Fridays at Okemo is just one of many of Vail’s Women in Powder-driven initiatives to cultivate a welcoming, supportive, and empowering environment for women in the ski and snowboard community.
Karen Lam, who participated in the Jan. 3 series, said, “I find, in general, women are very good about encouraging each other, and you don’t feel scared to ask like, hey, am I doing this right.”
The next Women’s First Fridays are Feb. 7 and March 7.
For more information, visit: Tinyurl.com/OkemoFridays.
