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Highland Women’s Gravity Weekend

MissySki

Angel Diva
I saw this on facebook and was interested, but I felt I might be too inexperienced.. Was also looking at either the weekend adult camp in Killington in August or just a lesson in general. The camp is for all levels, but specifies even down to first timers, so I like that lol. That one isn’t women only though.

I have very very few days ever trail riding, and have never done downhill at all. For some reason it all makes me quite apprehensive. So I could definitely benefit from time out there and confidence building.
 

elemmac

Angel Diva
I saw this on facebook and was interested, but I felt I might be too inexperienced.. Was also looking at either the weekend adult camp in Killington in August or just a lesson in general. The camp is for all levels, but specifies even down to first timers, so I like that lol. That one isn’t women only though.

This will be my first time at this clinic, so no idea where the level will fall. But my impression was that it's anywhere along the spectrum from first timers and so on. When I signed up they did have a "skills level" and it had an option for beginner. A friend of mine is going with me and she's never ridden lift service, though she's a solid trail rider.

I've heard really good things about Highland's lessons in general, if you're looking for just a day lesson at some point.

If you're going to try it this summer, I'd definitely look into something before August...the days are getting shorter at that point and the season is starting to wind down. There's a good chance you'll be hooked and want more out of the season :becky:.
 

geargrrl

Angel Diva
(caveat, I am a professional mtb coach but take or leave my suggestions) I highly recommend knee/elbow pads for clinics esp lift oriented ones. Also suggest a helmet like the Smith Super 3R that has a removable chin guard. Not because you are going to go big, but because good protective gear helps with confidence. Personally I don't ride without pads ever, but that's just me.

Here's the great thing about lifts.... no using up energy climbing back up!! You can focus on the work at hand, and get much more confidence with speed and descending. Riding lift serve every now and then will not turn you into a downhiller unless that's where you want to go. :-)

One last suggestion: flat pedals with proper flat pedal shoes (not sneakers or hikers) , not clipless set ups. Why? For one, when you do the skills work, your feet will be better positioned to understand a balanced bike stance and you have more range of movement to learn those skills. Second, waaaaaauy easier to put a foot down/get off the bike if you need to bail. Third, the split second you spend thinking about clipping in each time you get on your bike to work on a skill, that's a couple split seconds of mental energy that takes away from your general mental/physical energy store for the day. You will be surprised at how much energy you expend as you listen, watch the demos and try new things out. Good luck have fun and take or leave all of the above.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I saw this on facebook and was interested, but I felt I might be too inexperienced.. Was also looking at either the weekend adult camp in Killington in August or just a lesson in general. The camp is for all levels, but specifies even down to first timers, so I like that lol. That one isn’t women only though.

I have very very few days ever trail riding, and have never done downhill at all. For some reason it all makes me quite apprehensive. So I could definitely benefit from time out there and confidence building.
Sounds like a good opportunity.

What I discovered during a SheJumps bike clinic in Sept 2017 is that I could relate what the instructors said to stuff I've heard from ski instructors. Had done a little biking on Rails-to-Trails but bike riding is not that high on my list of fun stuff. Not in comparison to high ropes or zip lines. I was curious because my daughter learned mountain biking (up and down) at summer camp. She liked it well enough to choose to do a 4-day bike camping trip at the end of one of her middle school camp session.

Here's the trip report that the SheJumps organizer wrote up. She's a ski patroller at Massanutten. Our instructors were also patrollers during the winter season. They had so much fun with the group that they spent the entire day, not just the morning lesson time. It was shoulder season after kids were back in school so the lifts were running for biking, but the resort was pretty empty. As you can see in the pics, the rental gear included full-face helmets and pads for elbows and knees.

https://www.shejumps.org/recap-shejumps-downhill-day-at-massanutten-bike-park/
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@MissySki you are not too inexperienced for the Highland clinic. They have a great skills park and progression jump area and in my experience, women's DH clinics tend to cater to newcomers to DH.

Tbh, I found the Highland clinic a bit pricey for what you get, which is part of a day of instruction and then a Sunday lift ticket. I'm not bashing it, I'm sure it's a good experience. But you could also take a private lesson or seek out women's rides. Killington should have it's "Divas of Dirt" series on Friday afternoons, and that is free and very fun, led by Amy Alton, who is amazing. Also at Suicide Six, if you can get Christina Mattson to give you a lesson it would be well worth the price, and they may also have some women's rides in the evenings; not sure.

Mt. Sunapee is a great place to learn downhill, since it's all green/blue trails, so you don't have hotshots bearing down on you as trails merge toward the lifts. I wasn't overly impressed by the instruction at Sunapee, but the terrain is excellent for learning, so if you can get someone more experienced to spend a couple of hours giving you some pointers, it's a great place to practice.

I'm no rock star on a bike, but if you ever want to ride DH in Vermont this summer I'd be happy to join you.
 

elemmac

Angel Diva
Tbh, I found the Highland clinic a bit pricey for what you get, which is part of a day of instruction and then a Sunday lift ticket.

I thought it was a pretty decent deal...not killer deal by any means, but fair. On top of the two days lift tickets you get an extra pass to use during the 2019 season. With day passes being at $54...that’s $162 in lift tix. Then a full days instruction with lunch included...$225 seemed reasonable to me.
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I thought it was a pretty decent deal...not killer deal by any means, but fair. On top of the two days lift tickets you get an extra pass to use during the 2019 season. With day passes being at $54...that’s $162 in lift tix. Then a full days instruction with lunch included...$225 seemed reasonable to me.

Totally true; I didn't mean to bash, and I'm very glad to see women's clinics being offered. I remember looking into it and thinking it wasn't a ton of instructional time, but upon reflection, it's surely more than a one-or-two hour private lesson which would probably cost close to $200.

Thanks to the Vermont Mountain Bike Assoc. I have 4 free passes to all of the bike parks in VT this year, so I'm spoiled for free DH this summer and am averse to buying lift tickets. Bike day tix are creeping ever closer to ski passes!
 

elemmac

Angel Diva
Totally true; I didn't mean to bash, and I'm very glad to see women's clinics being offered. I remember looking into it and thinking it wasn't a ton of instructional time, but upon reflection, it's surely more than a one-or-two hour private lesson which would probably cost close to $200.

Thanks to the Vermont Mountain Bike Assoc. I have 4 free passes to all of the bike parks in VT this year, so I'm spoiled for free DH this summer and am averse to buying lift tickets. Bike day tix are creeping ever closer to ski passes!

Not thinking you were bashing at all...I can see how it would seem pricey initially. That’s awesome about having free tickets to ride downhill...it’s definitely not a cheap sport!
 

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