Anyone done a steeps ski camp?

[Live2SkiGirl]

I'm thinking of doing a steeps ski camp. I consented to let my husband go on a guys ski trip in early January and fear that a combined ski trip out west may never happen. So, that leaves me to plan something fun for myself. Unfortunately, my female ski friends either aren't that adventurous or are saddled with kids. While I'm intrigued by a women only camp, I'm more concerned about getting stuck with a bunch of aspiring intermediates/advanced (no offense intended). My goal is to get over big cornice entries & nasty, steep chutes. I'll basically follow a guide anywhere & have skied extensively in Europe, the US and Canada, including cat skiing (I even skied with Mike Douglas, of Salomon pocket rocket fame!). I've had my eye on Corner Pocket at Fernie the last several trips out there, but have never ventured in (snow conditions weren't ideal either). Any suggestions? I saw that Kim Reichleman (sp?) runs some camps (co-ed for the steeps) in Alta and Vail.

 

[altagirl]

I'd recommend Gordy Peifer's Straightline Adventures Camp at Snowbird/Alta. My husband and I have both done it twice and are planning on going again this year.

https://straightlineadventures.com/

I have done a womens only camp at Silverton with Wendy Fisher. Wendy was great, but it was like you said - one group of skiers and some were basically intermediates, which really slowed things down. It was mostly trying to get those girls to survive powder rather than pushing everyone. I'd definitely recommend something where they split the groups up. Gordy splits his camps into three groups with the instructors rotating every 1/2 day, which works out great. Then you do video analysis and stuff in the evenings. I had done a Snowbird steeps camp before but their video analysis was just a minor little thing and they only videoed one run. Gordy video's a bunch - and then you get frame by frame analysis. It's fantastic for your skiing. And they take you into steep, tight chutes and terrain as challenging as your group will do. I've only done "Maggot Camps" - or special dates when the guys on TGR all plan to go at the same time and the skill level is pretty darn high (some of the students are freeskiing competitors). I guess for his normal camps it's a bit lower, but the top group should still be pretty challenging.

 

[ski now work later]

I'm thinking of doing a steeps ski camp. I consented to let my husband go on a guys ski trip in early January and fear that a combined ski trip out west may never happen. So, that leaves me to plan something fun for myself. Unfortunately, my female ski friends either aren't that adventurous or are saddled with kids. While I'm intrigued by a women only camp, I'm more concerned about getting stuck with a bunch of aspiring intermediates/advanced (no offense intended). My goal is to get over big cornice entries & nasty, steep chutes. I'll basically follow a guide anywhere & have skied extensively in Europe, the US and Canada, including cat skiing (I even skied with Mike Douglas, of Salomon pocket rocket fame!). I've had my eye on Corner Pocket at Fernie the last several trips out there, but have never ventured in (snow conditions weren't ideal either). Any suggestions? I saw that Kim Reichleman (sp?) runs some camps (co-ed for the steeps) in Alta and Vail.

Jackson Hole has a women's program that sounds good and should be large enough to break down into a variety of skill levels.

https://www.jacksonhole.com/info/ski.ac.womenskicamp.asp

 

[Katherine Smith]

Steeps...

Hello -

I am doing a Western Canada tour Feb 6 - 16 with a company called Dream Ski Adventures. It is a Strong Advanced / Expert Tour. I have done 2 trips to South America with same company, and have excelled. I did chutes and cornices , and runs that I never thought I would ever be on. I had never been on a mountain in my life on ski's until last year in Chile. It is guided ski instruction, maximum 10 people / tour (if 10 people, there will be 2 guides). Guides, instruction included - and they are certified instructors - min Level 3. if you want to push, they push you - your choice - on or off piste. I was never, at anytime taken anywhere I did not have the ability to ski. I am aggressive, and have no time for pansying either. My husband is happy to let me go off on these excursions on my own. I have tried to send a pic - you may not see any, you may have 10 - I am better on a ski hill thatn computer!

 

[Bumblebee]

I'm doing the deep & steep at jackson hole this season and finger's crossed it's going to be great.

 

[Gloria]

I'm doing the deep & steep at jackson hole this season and finger's crossed it's going to be great.

Post pics of yourself dropping into corbetts!!! I have done this camp several years ago, it is fun, but alot of the women I went with have gone back and done the womens version and liked it better. Same instruction, terrain, just no men getting competetive and hurting themselves. As I recall they had several different groups and although they put everyone in groups according to ability, the neat thing was everyone pretty much skied the same thing all week at different times throughout the day until the last afternoon when we all wound up together and found that we were all skiing about the same level at the end of the camp. We had one friend who got stuck in a lower group and felt pretty bad about it until the end and saw how far she came. She was that night I tell you.

 

[RachelV]

This camp came up in a thread here a few weeks ago, and also looks like it would be a lot of fun:
https://www.aspensnowmass.com/schools/adult/specialty.cfm?id=216

"Back once again by popular demand, the Women's Edge Extreme Camp provides coaching for women who love to rip in all terrain and conditions."

 

[Shellski]

A steeps camp at Vail?? Now, I love Vail , but c'mon!!

:ROTF:

 

[ski now work later]

Post pics of yourself dropping into corbetts!!! I have done this camp several years ago, it is fun, but alot of the women I went with have gone back and done the womens version and liked it better. Same instruction, terrain, just no men getting competetive and hurting themselves. As I recall they had several different groups and although they put everyone in groups according to ability, the neat thing was everyone pretty much skied the same thing all week at different times throughout the day until the last afternoon when we all wound up together and found that we were all skiing about the same level at the end of the camp. We had one friend who got stuck in a lower group and felt pretty bad about it until the end and saw how far she came. She was that night I tell you.

Gloria, so you know women who have done the women's program at Jackson? I've been trying to find out if anyone knew anything about that program, as it's in the back of my mind as a birthday present for myself in 2 seasons when I turn 50. Sounds perfect -- challenging but supportive. 2 1/2 more seasons on snow and I'll be ready!

 

[bklyn]

A steeps camp at Vail?? Now, I love Vail , but c'mon!!

:ROTF:

Yeah, you could chuckle about that.... but...
I'd bet most of these camps spend a majority of time on moderately steep terrain working on skills and correcting bad habits.

There are a few steep lines at Vail to practice on once skills improve, even though it does not have an abundance of really challenging terrain.

 

[Gloria]

Gloria, so you know women who have done the women's program at Jackson? I've been trying to find out if anyone knew anything about that program, as it's in the back of my mind as a birthday present for myself in 2 seasons when I turn 50. Sounds perfect -- challenging but supportive. 2 1/2 more seasons on snow and I'll be ready!

The women that I know whom have done it have done both the steep and deep camps and the womens camp. They prefer the womens camp. They have said it is pretty much the same instruction and terrain. They enjoyed both the less competitive nature as well as the fact that the men would get so competetive that they would actually get themselves hurt. Which equates to not only sucking but less instruction as you wait for them to get hauled off the mountain. Jackson IMO would be a great place for someone like you to do something like this. Where they do have some really good challenging steep terrain, it is also shorter and spits back out onto more moderate cruisers. So essentially, you get in, get a taste of it, but then you are out of it before you can get frustrated. Where we all learned alot, it was truly amazing how much our friend whom skied alot less improved. She never skied with us on a day to day basis because she did not like feeling that she couldn't keep up, and one week later, she skis with us all the time. I think you have picked a great 50 yo birthday present for yourself. Go for it. Oh and the views from the top of Rendesvous Bowl, incredible. It's a pretty cool place all the way around, it's hard to go wrong at Jackson.

 

[altagirl]

I've taken a women's camp and several regular (mixed gender) camps. While the coaching was good at both, the women's one wasn't my favorite. We had some women who felt they were holding the group back, wanted to quit, and there were a lot of tears. And while the mixed gender groups I've been might lean a little more to the competitive side, but maybe it's because that's the environment I'm used to skiing in, it seems very normal to me and I'm more comfortable in that situation.

Granted, part of the problem was that they needed to divide up the women's camp I did more, so you could be in groups among people of a more similar skill level. Being forced into a group where some people are either bored out of your mind or in way over their head isn't good for anyone.

 

[ski now work later]

I think you have picked a great 50 yo birthday present for yourself. Go for it. Oh and the views from the top of Rendesvous Bowl, incredible. It's a pretty cool place all the way around, it's hard to go wrong at Jackson.

Thanks Gloria. Sound perfect. If I do pull it off, maybe I can round up a few Divas to join me! They offer the camp in January and March and given how cold it sometimes gets in Jackson in January, I think I'll opt for March....