2026 is the 20th anniversary of The Ski Diva. To celebrate the amazing women who make this community what it is, we’re going to be featuring interviews with Ski Diva members on the blog all season long. Check them all out here.
Norah joined the forum in July 2025 and has quickly become both a regular contributor to the site and attendee of meetups in the northeast. Her journey to becoming a skier is a reminder that, for so many of us on this site, skiing is about much more than a day on the mountain.
Tell us just a little bit about yourself outside of skiing and The Ski Diva.
I like all sorts or outdoor things, and skiing is just the latest addition. Paddling, camping, fishing, exploring beaches; I just like being outside on a nice day having a good time. That said, I can also shop for sport with the best of them and adore antiquing or a good flea market. I travel extensively for work too, and just try to find something enjoyable wherever I may be. I like exploring new places and meeting new people.
What drew you to skiing, and what’s kept you hooked?
It was sort of the other way around — skiing found me. Like a persistent suitor, skiing kept trying to woo me, and it took a few rejections from me before I said yes.
I skied a few years with my family when I was 8 or 9, and it was fun, but I never really thought about it. It was just something we did. I wasn’t bad at it, but just stayed on greens or maybe a blue or two once in a while, and then for some reason, we just stopped going, and I never really gave it much thought. I wasn’t really a skier… yet.
I went skiing again in college a few times, but again I wasn’t really a skier. It was more just hanging out with classmates on the occasional free ski night at a local hill as we tried to keep upright, and not die on the greens. Mostly just laughs and good times, but not really skiing.
Fast forward almost two decades and skiing was my absolute last thought as I turned 40. I had just gone through a divorce from a rather abusive marriage — nothing physical, but psychologically and emotionally. It was great to put that behind me, but it was still hard. Then on the heels of that, I was facing an imploding and increasingly toxic work environment. I was in late stage burnout and things were not good at all for a while. It was during that time an old college mate reached out and said, “Wanna go skiing!?” I agreed. I don’t know why I agreed, but part of me also knew I needed to get out in the world and fill my life with something. I think I went out of spite in a way too, as skiing would never have been something I was “allowed” to do previously, at least not without hell to pay after.
The first year was so rough in many ways. I remembered the basics, picked some new skills up right quickly, and was doing easy blues my first day, but it was quite choppy and my confidence was all over the place. One day I could be fine and doing well on the slopes. The next day out I’d have these anxiety attacks on the lift and was totally afraid to go down hills. For some reason though, I kept at it like nothing I ever have before. Kind of hard to describe, but I think be it terror or joy, it was just exhilarating to feel something after literally feeling numb for so long. I never took a lesson or anything my first year, and maybe should have, but I’m not sure I would have absorbed much, either. In the end it was just great having a patient friend with me as I figured life out.
But over time something started happening. Now if the chicken or the egg came first I’ve no idea, but I began to make positive changes in my life, switched careers, and my skiing got better too. They probably went hand in hand actually, but things started clicking on the slopes. In many ways skiing was the best therapy of all, and an outlet for all that fear and anxiety in life, and the mountain was a fab place to contemplate it all. I could be terrified to do a run, but I could stand at the top of the slope and remember what I had been through, and what got me here. I’d think of those who made me feel insignificant and incapable.
And then I could just go. Not for anyone else, not to prove anything to anybody, but for me. To prove to me I could do something. With just me and the mountain I could finally let go of what had been bottled up for so long. I could dig my edges in as hard as I could and leave my scars on the mountain, and awake the next day with fresh cord to make my own tracks. My life was mine for the first time in a long while, and I could do with it as I wanted. While skiing, I just felt so free.
So I began a new life and wove a new tapestry; one in which skiing was very much a part of that fabric. I came to adore skiing not just for the thrill, but how it adapts to whatever you choose. It can be a serious sport or a leisurely past time, a lively social event with mates or your own solitary zen, a familiar run to work on drills or a day of new sights and exploration. You can wake up and choose for yourself what kind of day it will be.
That was almost four years ago now, but I truly came to enjoy skiing for all these reasons and there is nothing else like it. And yes, now I am a skier!
How did you find The Ski Diva? What motivated you to join and stick around?
I was actually just searching the internet for some post slope stretches to do and found something on the site. What caught my eye though was the lively banter between Divas and links to other threads.
I’d long given up most other on-line forums, but was taken in by the friendly and supportive atmosphere. I sort or lurked for a few months before deciding I had to jump in.
I think what kept me hooked was not just the ski talk, but realizing what a vast and diverse community of women this really was, and how so many shared other interests of mine off the slopes. Warmer weather outdoor pursuits, travel, and health related topics, etc. Skiing is the queen for sure, but nothing within reason seemed off limits, and every time you come here, there is something new and unexpected. It’s always positive and supportive and just a place you want to be.
Can you share a favorite memory or story involving the forum or forum members?
I’ve not been here long, but my first time meeting other Divas at the Snowbound Expo in Boston last fall was such a great experience! It was such a warm and welcoming group that clearly sticks together. I would never hesitate to go on an unfamiliar trip or place if other Divas were there.
Have you ever gone on a trip or adventure that wouldn’t have happened without The Ski Diva?
Yes, the women’s ski clinic at Magic Mountain was something I would have not known about had it not been for The Ski Diva, and it was much more fun with a bunch of us there. @zard, @bawc, and @diymom were fabulous companions on and off the slopes.
Now I hope to attend a Diva East or West at some point, but even on an ordinary day, sometimes just meeting up with someone else gives me a little nudge of motivation when I may otherwise stay home.
Even if we could not ski together, venturing to places on my own has been so much easier with some friendly inside knowledge for someone who knew the mountain. Jackson Hole would have been quite confusing and intimidating without such wisdom. Yes, I’m pointing at you @snoWYmonkey!
Is there anyone you’ve met through the forum who’s had a big impact on you?
I’ve met so many fabulous Divas here but I won’t get into a list. Everyone here, whether they post occasionally or daily, has their own little spark that makes the entire forum what it is. I’ve met some Divas in person and many more just on the forum that I enjoy hearing from, and what they have to offer as they pop onto threads with their own stories and knowledge. A few I’ve even struck up a friendly PM chat with to ask something specific, or just to say hello as well.
Now I’ve met and skied with a few Divas now and hope to meet others here on the slopes as time goes on, but I must mention @GirlfriendJustGo as the first Diva I actually skied with. Many of us come here to find others to ski with, myself included, but sometimes you get lucky and find the sister you never knew you had! We’ve got adventures planned and in the works!
Is there a particular skiing-related challenge you’ve had that The Ski Diva has helped you with?
Yes! The technical aspects of equipment always baffled me, but the Divas here fixed that! I now have a much better grasp of how I ski and what I prefer. I found myself in Jackson Hole this spring, renting equipment for the first time in over a year, and found myself conversing back and forth with the rental shop person about what I wanted. I walked away wondering who that girl was and where did she come from!
What’s a memorable piece of advice or wisdom you’ve received from The Ski Diva?
Marry your boots and date your skis. I never realized how important boots were, but The Ski Diva fixed that right quick!
How would your skiing life look different if you’d never found The Ski Diva?
I’d own a right many less ski jackets and pants! Seriously though, I needed no encouragement as it was, and then I found the greatest bunch of enablers ever!
What advice would you give to a new skier just starting out – especially women entering the sport?
Take lessons, get good equipment that fits properly and matches your particular ski style, and find some ski mates. I ski alone a fair bit, but have much more fun, and learn a lot more, skiing with others.
Above all though, just have fun! Skiing can be intimidating at first and there is so much to learn about, but don’t get overwhelmed and know that will come as time passes. Never feel like you have to know everything, ski a certain speed, or get to a certain level in a set amount of time. Just do your best and enjoy yourself. If that is not good enough for some people, then they are not good enough for you and it’s their problem.
What do you think makes The Ski Diva unique compared to other communities you’re a part of, or compared to other places you hang out online?
I would have to say the friendly and supportive atmosphere cultured by all the fabulous women here, as well as the great advice and collective knowledge we can share. So much of the on-line world has become a platform for division and conflict, and a place to rant your grievances.
What do you hope The Ski Diva looks like 20 years from now?
I hope I don’t sound resistant to change, but I hope little changes in 20 years here.
It has been said before, but I echo the sentiment that The Ski Diva remain free of algorithms, AI, and other such nonsense. I’m not against those things, but we can ask Google or Siri if we want soulless facts.
It is the emotions and stories behind what we learn and share here that make it special. It is what keeps us connected as a group and supporting each other.
What song would be on your ultimate ski playlist?
Unstoppable by Sia. Some days I actually feel confident enough to believe it, too!
I actually listen to a lot of Kesha, Ava Max, and 80’s hits to keep me motivated.
I like a slower beat in the glades though, and sometimes I like nothing at all. As things warm up and the forest begins to come to life again, many days I just like to listen to nature’s playlist and take it all in.