This past weekend, I attended Whistler’s Roxy's All-Star Snow Camp, which is, hands down, one of the best bargains on the mountain. It’s a 2-day weekend camp offered to female skiers and snowboarders several times throughout the season. As with most of these things, a lot has to do with not only the coach but also the group dynamics.
Because there wasn’t a Hogwarts sorting hat, at camp check-in, campers self-assigned themselves into one of Whistler’s six ski/snowboard levels. From there, the larger groups (on this weekend, levels 4 and 5) were then split up again after a ski off. I skied myself into the middle of level 5, which was split up again based on the participants’ goals for the weekend. My goals: to improve technique by beginning to eliminate 20 years of bad habits so that I could ski, rather than merely survive, the steeps. Ultimately, my group consisted of four women, allowing lots of personalized attention, and our coach was mountainxtc. Woohoo! She’s awesome, by the way.
Our lesson plan for the weekend consisted of going back to the foundation of skiing – balance – and then refining technique on easier pitches and groomers before bringing them to the steeper, fluffier stuff. And since a lot of the group’s trepidation with steeps was inside our heads, our coach also getting us to commit to turns. The mantra became “Only one first turn.” We went all over Blackcomb on Saturday and Whistler on Sunday. And by the end of the day on Sunday, a lot of it came together (in some widely spaced trees, even), although for me, there’s still much work to be done. Like trusting my surgery-prone left knee/leg. Sigh.
I signed up for this camp because back in November, I skied with a testosterone-laden group of guys (and one gal), which resulted in a rather un-nurturing experience, and because my skiing had reached a plateau. I’d been wondering for a few years what a women’s ski camp would be like, and the timing and price ($199 Can.) of the Roxy camp was right. I was grouped with women in their 20s and early 30s, from Whistler and Vancouver. I was surprised, actually, that a large number of participants were pretty local (being Vancouver, Pemberton, and, obvs, Whistler). Personality-wise, we were supportive of each other, although not overly so – I think of 80’s aerobics instructors as overly supportive, for instance. I’d heard, though, from another camp participant that her group had some competitive women. Personalities are always a crapshoot, I suppose. All in all, a great camp. I’d love to do it again!
Because there wasn’t a Hogwarts sorting hat, at camp check-in, campers self-assigned themselves into one of Whistler’s six ski/snowboard levels. From there, the larger groups (on this weekend, levels 4 and 5) were then split up again after a ski off. I skied myself into the middle of level 5, which was split up again based on the participants’ goals for the weekend. My goals: to improve technique by beginning to eliminate 20 years of bad habits so that I could ski, rather than merely survive, the steeps. Ultimately, my group consisted of four women, allowing lots of personalized attention, and our coach was mountainxtc. Woohoo! She’s awesome, by the way.
Our lesson plan for the weekend consisted of going back to the foundation of skiing – balance – and then refining technique on easier pitches and groomers before bringing them to the steeper, fluffier stuff. And since a lot of the group’s trepidation with steeps was inside our heads, our coach also getting us to commit to turns. The mantra became “Only one first turn.” We went all over Blackcomb on Saturday and Whistler on Sunday. And by the end of the day on Sunday, a lot of it came together (in some widely spaced trees, even), although for me, there’s still much work to be done. Like trusting my surgery-prone left knee/leg. Sigh.
I signed up for this camp because back in November, I skied with a testosterone-laden group of guys (and one gal), which resulted in a rather un-nurturing experience, and because my skiing had reached a plateau. I’d been wondering for a few years what a women’s ski camp would be like, and the timing and price ($199 Can.) of the Roxy camp was right. I was grouped with women in their 20s and early 30s, from Whistler and Vancouver. I was surprised, actually, that a large number of participants were pretty local (being Vancouver, Pemberton, and, obvs, Whistler). Personality-wise, we were supportive of each other, although not overly so – I think of 80’s aerobics instructors as overly supportive, for instance. I’d heard, though, from another camp participant that her group had some competitive women. Personalities are always a crapshoot, I suppose. All in all, a great camp. I’d love to do it again!
It's got a wicked long torso, though.
