Tag Archives | TheSkiDiva.com

This ‘n That.

March 6, 2012 in Ski News

Sometimes it’s hard to limit my post to just one topic when there are a few things I’d like to mention. So this time, I thought I’d combine a few things into one missive. (I knew you wouldn’t mind.)

Okay, then. Here goes:

#1: If you don’t frequent TheSkiDiva forum, please take a look.  I just updated the software and did a complete redesign (good-bye purple, hello blue!). It’s the first major change I’ve made since the forum began in 2006, and I think it’s a good one. The site’s a lot cleaner looking and easier to maneuver. Plus we’ve just registered with Tapatalk and Forum Runner, two mobile apps built especially for forum users. So you can access TheSkiDiva wherever you are on your iPhone, Blackberry, iPad, or Android.

Here’s a screenshot from my husband’s iPhone Touch, which is almost like an iPhone. Pretty cool, huh?

 

#2: If you went to TheSkiDiva.com a couple weeks ago, you might have been greeted with a warning that the site was infected with a virus. What can I say — these things happen. I don’t understand how someone can get their jollies ruining someone else’s website,  but I guess it takes all kinds. Anyway, I’m happy to report that TheSkiDiva has been disinfected and is now completely clean. If you’re still seeing a warning, it could be a remnant left over in your cache. Clear it out, and you shouldn’t have a problem.

#3: This week marks the second eastern meet-up for members of  TheSkiDiva.com. It’s taking place right now at Whiteface Resort near Lake Placid, New York, a place I’ve posted about a couple times (here and here). Just a few weeks ago we had a Diva meet-up at Big Sky Resort in Montana, and it was an absolute blast. These gatherings are a great way to get to know the people behind the screen names. They’re always rewarding, and always a lot of fun.

#4: I recently heard an excellent program on ski safety on Vermont Public Radio’s Vermont edition. Do yourself a favor and listen to the podcast. There’s a lot of great talk about helmets, backcountry skiing,  and more. We’ve had a number of ski fatalities here in Vermont this year, so even if you think you know all there is about ski safety, listen to the podcast here.

#5: It took four years, but the Vermont state legislature recently named skiing the state’s official sport. Actually, not just skiing, but snowboarding and cross country, too. It doesn’t change a thing in my life, but since I live in Vermont, it pleases me to no end.  I knew I moved here for a reason!

 

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Big Fun at Big Sky.

February 14, 2012 in Resort Review, Ski News

As an eastern skier, I don’t get the chance to ski out west very often.  Usually once a year. Maybe twice, if I’m lucky.

Big Sky has been on my bucket list for a long time. So this year I scheduled Diva Week, our annual gathering of members of TheSkiDiva.com, at Big Sky Resort.

Am I glad I did.

Lone Peak, Big Sky Resort

Big Sky is, in a word, phenomenal. Even in a low snow year, the skiing is hard to beat. The terrain is fantastic. The variety, spectacular. And the tree skiing, ahhhhhhh, the tree skiing. Simply marvelous.

Compare Big Sky to my home mountain, Okemo (VT): Big Sky consists of 3,832 acres.  Okemo, a mere 632.  The longest run at Big Sky is 6 miles. At Okemo: 3.4 miles. Average annual snowfall at Big Sky: 400 inches. At Okemo: 200 inches. And the terrain, well, let’s put it this way. Big Sky has it, hands down.

No contest.

Of course, Big Sky is not without its downside. It’s not particulary easy to get to from the east coast. This is its upside, too. It’s not easy to get to, so it doesn’t get as crowded as other destination resorts.

Lodging at Big Sky consists of a mix of condos and hotel accommodations. We rented a condo at Moonlight Basin, a short ski ride away.  This was a bit of a problem, since the lift that provides access to Big Sky doesn’t open til 9, and we wanted to meet the Divas at 8:30. There’s a shuttle that runs from the Moonlight Lodge to Big Sky, but this starts later than I wanted, too. Most days we drove over and parked in the resort’s no pay lot, which worked out fine.

Despite the dearth of snow this year, the skiing was still fantastic. (Imagine how great it’d be in a good snow year.) We spent a lot of time playing in the trees of Wolf’s Den, Coulter’s Hell, Congo, Ambush Glades, Wolverine, & Stump Farm. Cruising the groomers of Lobo, Ambush, Calamity Jane, Africa, Elk Park Ridge, and more. And doing the bumps off the Challenger Lift and in the Bowl. I even made it up the tram to take a run down the Liberty Bowl and gawk at the Big Couloir, a double black with pitch of 50 degrees for more than 1,000 vertical feet, making it one of the most intense in-bounds trails in America (definitely not for me). Even caught some ski patrollers doing evacuation drills off the tram to the top of Lone Peak.

Ski Patrol doing lift evac drills at Big Sky

But perhaps the best part of the trip was being with the women of TheSkiDiva.com. This was the fifth Diva gathering, and I’ve never failed to be totally blown away by the strength, enthusiasm, and kindness of the women on the site. Plus they’re as passionate about skiing as I am. And though I was thrilled to be at Big Sky, the venue was truly secondary. The women are the heart and soul of the site, and I am truly honored that they took the time out of their busy schedules to get together.

Did I love Big Sky? You bet I did. I think it’s my new favorite mountain. I’ll definitely be back. And I’m sure other Divas will, too.

I leave you with some pix:

Divas in Liberty Bowl

Top of Lone Peak

From the top of Lone Peak, off the tram.

Big Couloir, taken from the tram window.

More Divas, with great big smiles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Happy Five Yeariversary to TheSkiDiva.com!

September 7, 2011 in Ski News

How’d I almost let this slip by? Blame it on Hurricane Irene (see my last two posts). I’ve been so distracted by the disaster here in Vermont that I almost forgot something well worth noting:

TheSkiDiva.com is now five years old!

Hard to believe how time flies.

Back in the dark ages (before I started this site),  I thought I was the only woman in the world with a passion for skiing. None of my friends skied, and no one had any interest in talking to me about anything to do with skiing. So I did what everyone does today: I turned to the internet.

At first I wasn’t very successful. The established ski forums were predominantly male with a decidedly male dynamic — lots of chest thumping and very little interest in anything to do with women’s skiing or gear.

So I took matters into my own hands. Why not create a site that I could feel comfortable in? One where women could discuss skiing in a way that they could relate to?

And this is the result.

Thanks to the TheSkiDiva, I’ve learned that I’m far from alone. There are women like me all over the place — New England, Canada, Europe, out West, Australia, and so on. I’ve made loads of friends. I’ve learned that it’s okay to be a jacket slut; what to do when I’m boot shopping; why I simply must have powder skis. You know, all the important stuff. Whenever I have a question, I know all I have to do is ask the Divas, and their collective wisdom will see me through.

But that’s not all. The site has had another, unexpected benefit. Even though it started out as a group to talk about skiing, it’s become something more: a community of friends. When one of us is ill, loses a loved one, gets a promotion, has a baby — whatever — all of us share in the event. Even though we all participate using assumed names, that doesn’t diminish the friendships that develop.

Today, TheSkiDiva.com has nearly 3,000 members and gets thousands of visitors each month. We’ve become the leading online community for women who love to ski. Yes, I’m proud of what I’ve created it. Truth is,  I’ve gotten so much more out of it than I’ve ever put in. And I’m sure I’m not alone.

So if you’re a woman who loves to ski, come join the fun. You can participate in this great community simply by registering here. We’d love to have you join us.

And the next time someone asks you if you ski, stand tall, look at them in the eye and say, “Don’t you know? I’m a Ski Diva. There’s a web site just for me.”

And you’d be right. It’s here.

 

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It's a Small Ski Diva World

July 19, 2011 in General skiing

The internet is an amazing place.

Nearly five years ago, I started TheSkiDiva.com as a place for women to talk about skiing. And so far it’s been a tremendous success. Today, the forum has nearly?3,000 registered members from all over the world: the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Europe. There are amazing conversations about gear, technique, resorts — anything and everything that has to do with skiing.

But the most remarkable thing about it is how it’s become a genuine community — a place ?in which friendships are formed. where we share one another’s joys and sorrows, where we help each other out, even if it’s not related to skiing.

Take forum member BraveSkiMom (yes, everyone has a user name to protect anonymity. The world can be a scary place.) BraveSkiMom was looking for some travel tips for a family trip to Ireland. So she posted about it on the forum — with incredible results.

Here’s what she said about it on her blog, BraveSkiMom.com?(which, by the way, you really must visit):

Perusing various topics on?TheSkiDiva.com forum?in November, I ran across this query:

?What are your skiing goals this season??

I have the same goal each and every season, so I quickly responded, facing the cold, hard truth, that yes, I am old.

?My goal every year since I turned 40 (sigh) is to ski at least as many days as I am old. So far, so good. Can?t wait til I?m 80!?

With that I went on my way, posting a few other items, responding here, responding there, recognizing women with whom I?ve communicated before and enjoying a good 1/2 hour of skiing-related chat.

A couple of hours later, however, I got a reply in my email from 3VSki (Most women choose a forum name, rather than use their own name. Mine is braveskimom ? surprise!).? She responded,

?Oh I love the idea of skiing the same number of days as I am in years but that just might mean bankruptcy cause I live in Ireland!! I managed 24 days last season so to match that would be good.?

I thought to myself, ?How cool is that? A skier from Ireland responding to me, a skier in Colorado. Not only that, she?s got a great sense of humor!? And I thought that was the end of it?

TheSkiDiva.com Community

Now, if you are not familiar with?TheSkiDiva.com, here is the back story. In 2006,author, PR whiz and skier Wendy Clinch?started?TheSkiDiva.com?as a way to connect with other women skiers.

She explains, ?I didn?t really know many other women who skied, and I wanted to find people I could talk to about skiing in a way that I could relate to. That wasn?t the case with other ski forums on the web; they?re dominated by men, so the atmosphere is, shall we say, pretty testosterone-charged. It?s pretty hard to get any input on women?s equipment or the things I wanted to talk about.?

Wendy was clearly not the only female skier feeling isolated, because within 4-1/2 years,TheSkiDiva.com?has grown to nearly 3,000 members and is the leading site for women who ski. I found?TheSkiDiva.com?when I was researching the online ?competition? for family skiing information. Once I joined the forums I quickly realized that unlike the majority of chat room/forum sites,?TheSkiDiva.com?really is a community. Within hours I felt like I had friends and you know what, I did.

One Ski Diva from Massachusetts volunteered to be interviewed for a?Brave Ski Mom review of Smugglers? Notch. A couple of other Ski Divas from Colorado and I tried to set up a few ski dates (which fell through?because I caught a cold). But we were all game and we?ll ski together some day. And then there is 3VSki.

Skiing Advice, Travel Advice

In June, 3VSki and I actually met and got our families together at her home in Northern Ireland. As my family was planning our summer vacation, we were looking for an off-the-beaten track, best-possible-place in Ireland to rent a cottage for a week. The guidebooks weren?t helping much. Nor was talking to friends and relatives here in the U.S. For one thing, I was being picky. I?d already visited Dublin and traveled in that area, so I knew I wanted to visit the West Coast. Yet everything we read repeated the same beauty spots and made them all sound crazy-busy with tour buses. Just not our style.

On a whim, I contacted 3VSki through?TheSkiDiva.com. Immediately she responded enthusiastically, ?Look no further than County Donegal on the North West coast for beautiful scenery (though the weather is never guaranteed).?

Divas Unite

And you know what, we didn?t look any further. I knew that she was a skier, I knew that we are almost the same age and I knew that she knew what she was talking about (she?s the native after all). What more did I need to know? Our holiday in County Donegal was perfect! The scenery was drop-dead gorgeous, the beaches were pristine and golden, the village of Dunfanaghy had everything we needed and no crowds, and the company was outstanding.

For that was the real highlight of our visit to Ireland. We had dinner two consecutive nights with 3VSki and her family and spent an afternoon hiking (women) and golfing (men). We connected, our husbands connected and our children, well, they just need a ski holiday together to get over a bit of shyness.

And speaking of ski holidays, we compared notes. While I may not yet have convinced them to visit us and ski at?Aspen, they have convinced us to visit them and ski at?Les Trois Vallees?in France. Hundreds of kilometers of trail, endless piste and chalets with chefs. Yes, you read that right. French Chefs. I?m sold.

Thank you 3VSki for all of your assistance, hospitality and generosity. You have a sincere, open invitation to visit us at any time. Until then, I?ll meet you at?TheSkiDiva.com.

Cheers!

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NASTC clinic, revisited.

March 11, 2010 in General skiing, Uncategorized

I know I’ve been out of touch for a while.

Well, there’s a very good reason. I was in Tahoe, skiing with members of TheSkiDiva.com during our annual Diva Week, and attending the first ever TheSkiDiva/NASTC clinic.

All I can say is WOW.  Meeting members of the forum that I’ve only had the chance to communicate with online was an absolute delight. These are athletic, empowered women who love skiing as much as I do, and who aren’t afraid to get out there and kick some skiing ass. If you’re a woman who loves to ski and you’re not a member of TheSkiDiva.com, I strongly encourage you to join.

I also have to announce the beginning of a new love affair. Yes, this Vermont skier absolutely fell head over heels  with Tahoe. So much to ski, such terrific terrain. We managed to hit Alpine Meadows, Sugar Bowl, Northstar, and Squaw, each one incredible in its own special way. I’d have loved to have skied Homewood, Heavenly, and Kirkwood, too, but those will have to wait for another trip. And I WILL be back.

And the clinic was everything I hoped it would be. We spent three half days with instructors from the North American Ski Training Center, a first rate ski clinic headquartered in Truckee, CA.  Run by Chris and Jenny Fellows, NASTC has a reputation as one of the world’s foremost ski clinics. We worked in small groups of four or five skiers per instructor, tackling one task at a time, each run building on the one before it. We were even fortunate enough to get a huge dump during our day at Squaw (mid-thigh, people!),  which our instructors took as an opportunity to turn into a powder skiing lesson.

Here are pix from this amazing trip:

This was truly an incredible experience. Hope you can join us next year!

Be sure to visit TheSkiDiva.com, an internet forum especially for women skiers, where women skiers can connect with one another to talk about everything and anything ski-related.
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Learn from the Best, and Ski with the Divas!

August 10, 2009 in General skiing

Here’s your chance to ramp your skiing up to the next level and have a blast doing it!

TheSkiDiva.com is partnering with the North American Ski Training Center to offer our first ever women’s ski clinic, March 1-3 in Tahoe, CA.

This is going to be fanastic. NASTC is a top drawer organization. Headed by Chris and Jenny Fellows and headquartered in Tahoe, their instructors are members of the PSIA Demo Team and/or the LUNA Ladies Team, an elite group of women instructors sponsored by LUNA Whole Nutrition for Women and NASTC. The clinics will take place during the mornings of March 1st, 2nd, and 3rd — you’ll have the afternoons to practice and explore. We’ll spend one day at Squaw, one day at Alpine Meadows, and one day at Sugar Bowl. Group sizes will be kept small and the instruction will be top notch.

Truly, this is something not to be missed!

The cost: $790. This includes three half days of instruction, three days of lift passes, and one group dinner. Lodging packages are available at the Cedar House Sport Hotel.

And get this: if you register by November 1, you’ll get 5% off!

To sign up or for more information, go to the NASTC web site or email NASTC at ski@skiNASTC.com.


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The Diva Summit

March 9, 2009 in General skiing

Sorry I’ve been out of touch lately. You see, I’ve been at the Diva Summit. What’s that, you ask? It’s a gathering of women from TheSkiDiva.com, the leading internet commuity for women’s skiing. The site has more than 1,400 members, and some of us came together in Summit County, Colorado, for fun, fellowship, and great skiing.

We had attendees from as far away as The Netherlands and Norway, and as close as Denver and Frisco, Colorado. The site has members from all over the country — actually, all over the world — and it was great to make new friends and see others we’d met before. Part of the reason I started TheSkiDiva.com was to connect with other women who enjoy skiing as much as I do. It was great to have others make those connections, too.

We hit five resorts in seven days: Breckenridge, Copper, Vail, Beaver Creek, and Keystone. Conditions were — well, to be honest, they could have been better. But that didn’t matter. We still had a blast.

I’m hoping to make this an annual event, and I’m already thinking ahead to the gathering for next year. Snowmass, anyone?


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Hello, Goodbye.

December 31, 2008 in General skiing

So here it is, the last day of 2008. And while I’m sitting here looking out my window at the snow coming down, I thought I’d reflect a bit on the year that’s coming to a close:

Here are some of my memorable ski-related moments, from 2008:

  • Meeting and skiing with members of TheSkiDiva.com at Solitude during Diva Week in Utah;
  • Meeting and skiing with tmembers of TheSkiDiva.com during Okemo Diva Day;
  • Breaking a personal record of ski days, with 63 days for the ’07-’08 season. This meant LOTS of fun days on the snow;
  • Nearly destroying my nearly new Queen Attivas at Magic Mountain (hey, it was memorable, all right!). I took a huge chunk out of the base, but was able to get it repaired;
  • Getting to try next year’s skis at the industry demo days at Stratton in February. I felt like a kid in a candy store! You can see my reviews here and here.
  • Getting TheSkiDiva sign on Good Morning America, when the show came to Vermont;
  • Publishing TheSkiDiva.com Cooks!, a cookbook with recipes submitted by forum members. If you’d like a copy, go here;
  • Getting a publisher for my ski-related mystery, tentatively called DOUBLE BLACK: A SKI DIVA MYSTERY, and coming from St. Martin’s Press in January, 2010; You can find out more about it here.
  • Passing 1,000 members in TheSkiDiva.com.

Here’s hoping that 2009 brings us all more terrific ski memories. And here’s wishing you a safe, happy, and healthy new year.


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TheSkiDiva Cooks!

November 26, 2008 in Uncategorized


Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving. And at the time of year when food plays such a big part in our celebrations, consider this:

TheSkiDiva Cooks, the new cookbook featuring recipes from members of TheSkiDiva.com community.

There’s everything from SnowHot’s Famous White Hot Chocolate to Diva Dude Chili and Face Plant Cake — more than 150 recipes. Enjoy mouthwatering appetizers, beverages, soups & salads, desserts, main dishes, and more. And of course, it makes a great holiday or hostess gift.

To order your own copy, go here.


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Show Your Inner SkiDiva.

October 9, 2008 in General skiing

It’s easy, when you visit the new TheSkiDiva.com store..  You’ll find a wide range of apparel featuring the TheSkiDiva.com logo available in a variety of embroidery colors. There are fleeces, vests, jackets, hats, shirts, and more, perfect for the cooler weather.
To commemorate our Grand Opening, we’re offering a special edition TheSkiDiva.com hoodie for only $19.99. Be sure to stop in and take a look.
While you’re at it, visit TheSkiDiva.com, the online home especially for women skiers, where women skiers can connect with one another to talk about everything and anything ski-related.
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