Skiing's Gender Gap Widens with Age

[MissySki]

Skied a few hours at my home hill yesterday morning. Perfect conditions, trails 100% open, which is pretty unusual for this time of the season in northern VA.

There were a few senior women skiing the upper mountain, all with their husbands. There were a few young women on snowboards. Including a group of local hot shots, 4 guys and a gal, most likely college age since there is a state university 20 minutes away. Probably 90% of the skiers on the upper mountain were male of all ages, including fathers with sons. There were a few mothers of youngsters taking them down the long blue (Mueller's Mile), both boys and girls. (One local county has a snow day.)

The gender mix on the beginner trails is more even. There are far more women sitting around the lodge than men. I've talked to enough over the last two decades to know that most who are over 50 don't ski, some gave it up while others never started. Those who had skied when young usually lived farther north growing up before ending up in the southeast.

It was a contrast to what I observed in northern Michigan last week. Although still more men than women skiing midweek, especially seniors over 70 who can ski for free in many ski resorts in the region.

Interestingly, I observed the same thing of way more men skiing than women on some Fridays I've been able to get out this season. Just this past Friday I was thinking about it after the 3rd chairlift full of all men I rode up with since I was using the singles line. I did also note, wanted to mention it since they so often get a bad rap, some of the groups were clearly all college age guys and they were super nice to observe. They were very polite to me, and in eavesdropping on one group's conversation I was so impressed with what I heard. Seemed like one of the guys was a very new skier and another in the group was taking the lift ride to ask him how he was doing and giving tips/encouraging him like.. hey if you get nervous it's okay to pizza, then when you feel better try some french fry turns but don't worry, we are staying on mellow stuff etc. and all of the group concurred and were really encouraging. They were also giving him some valid technical points for his level to think about, from my opinion, and couple volunteered to pull up the back in case he needed to stop etc. and they would practice whatever they were working on on their snowboards. It was really heartening after many of the awful and plain rude behavior I've witnessed this season by young men.

On the weekends I feel there is a much more even spread of men and women I see in lift lines and all over the mountain. Though you are also right that I tend to see more men on the advanced terrain too, especially in bumps and trees. I hate to say it, but I am still so excited to randomly see an awesome female skier charging down those trails when I happen to notice it.. which means it isn't as common as one would hope. As someone who still needs to develop lots more skill and especially any style/rhythm in harder bumps, I love to see other women who are so amazing at it and that I want to be able to ski like someday.

 

[AJM]

Although this is off-topic - and probably has been discussed in (much) older threads - some of us went through the kids years without missing a turn where skiing is concerned.

It is possible. It worked for me. I skied 32 days after giving birth (albeit just for a couple of hours, out of...”necessity” ). DS was on regulation (not plastic-kiddy) skis at 3, figured out how they work at 4 - and we hardly ever saw him again, haha.

This is just how it worked for some of us: we go skiing. This is what we do. I don’t know too many families whose kids started early who were ready and willing to give it up once adolescents.

In fact, some of them, several “kids” of people I knew, grew up to make the ski industry their life’s work.

And we became - and always were - “proud moms.”

Back to topic.
Excuse drift.

This was us, we took our son up to the Ski Area from when her was around 9 months old, started skiing at 3, did all the seasonal programmes, competed in the Freeride comps etc etc until he became a volunteer patroller at 14 and is now a well respected patroller/snow safety at 23.

 

[AJM]

I make it a regular habit to learn new activities.

Likewise, I'm currently learning how to paddle board, thought I was doing well until I realised I spent the whole first day with the paddle back to front

 

[AJM]

There are far more women sitting around the lodge than men.

This is interesting as its something I've picked up on as well, not sure why that is but there are definitely more women in the lodge than men

 

[AJM]

So as I sit here drinking my morning coffee I think I might have a confession to make
I'm not sure I would still be skiing if I didnt live where I live. I'm super lucky to live within a 1/2hr to 40 minute drive to a number of ski areas ie I am a local.
If I didnt live in such close proximity I dont think I'd still be skiing anywhere near as much or be as passionate as I am about it, in fact I dont think I'd be skiing at all !!
It just seems so much hassle to have to travel and the costs involved seem to be exhorbitant for those that do travel to ski and I salute those that commit to the cause but I dont think I would be one of them .... there I've said it !!

 

[IKam]

The saying I heard is "I don't ski to exercise, I exercise to ski."

 

[echo_VT]

This is so interesting, thanks for talking this out. I’ve definitely noticed girls and women not skiing or snowboarding— whether it’s race kids parents or if it’s kids I’m teaching and the parents picking them up. So many times the women are just sitting and waiting. Maybe some are reading while others are knitting, or they are cooking for the tailgating apres party…or organizing the social programs …

I do think the motivation for women can be different. Someone talked about young girls leaving the sport. I absolutely agree with this. Without peers, it’s hard. Teen girls especially need their social tribe whereas teen boys will find their social tribe on hill and will ski or ride alone if they don’t.

Women come back to skiing later in life but like what was said, the stars have to align. There’s childcare, there’s cost, a tendency or lack of desire to invest in oneself with lessons. And finding other women who will ski together. It’s almost insurmountable and easier to not try.

as in cycling, women are less than 20% of riders in cities like NYC. It’s truly a hurdle and breaking down barriers to sport for women in sports dominated by men — especially lifestyle sports where it’s about shared experiences — it is tough.

lifting is probably the one maintenance thing to help women with bone density but the gym can be not a welcoming place… also a place dominated by men.

great points on perimenopause and menopause … there are some advances but not nearly enough … and women tend to be the more risk averse gender to begin with, add lack of bone density, plus we live longer. Sure we can deal better with pain but who wants to do that?

Trying to understand myself …
I definitely noticed I am not the typical woman. I traveled 6 hours to Killington from nyc for an entire season every stupid weekend, to ride alone by myself … before social media connected people of similar interests… well unless you count Friendster and MySpace (I don’t)…I will stay out and ski ride in all types of conditions, hell or high water unless there is a threat. And I definitely want to see more women out doing sport so I led a moms on bikes arm of a non profit group for women on bikes, among other things.

I think the mom thing is a deterrent, but like the rest of our society, we don’t support moms on hill, in the same that we don’t in society at large. For such a long period of time, women miss out on the compounding benefits of continuous experience… starting again at an advanced age — and from the beginning no less, can’t be easy.

thanks for starting this, even if the article is old. The result population on hill looks similar today.

 

[MissySki]

This is so interesting, thanks for talking this out. I’ve definitely noticed girls and women not skiing or snowboarding— whether it’s race kids parents or if it’s kids I’m teaching and the parents picking them up. So many times the women are just sitting and waiting. Maybe some are reading while others are knitting, or they are cooking for the tailgating apres party…or organizing the social programs …

This is a great call out.. it made me think of all of the other sports and extracurricular activities kids do, and how with most others that I can think of it is the norm that mom and/or dad are sitting around watching/waiting versus participating in said activities. Dance classes, team sports, etc etc. My mom was definitely a book reader when waiting for me at these sorts of activities. There is not usually an opportunity or expectation that the parent will also be participating. I wonder if that is the frame of mind some people come to it with, if they haven’t skied before themselves and thinking most adults out there must have been skiing their whole lives already etc. I think the number one answer anyone gives me if they don’t ski and I ask if they want to learn is they think they are too old. Of course I refute this, but it’s a tough one to sell and I’ve never had much success in convincing them of it. The next biggest one is they don’t like the cold, that is usually from the women.

On the other hand.. My neighbors recently took their daughter for her first ski lessons at Loon a few weeks ago. She is probably around 8 or 9 and loved it. I was talking to dad after running into him on our morning dog walk. I asked if he and his wife skied too and he said no. So I asked what they did during the lesson, and he said they watched at the bunny hill a bit and then hung out in the lodge. He followed up by saying that he wants to get in better shape and learn as well because he wants to be able to ski with her. He didn’t mention whether his wife felt the same, but this makes me want to probe it more next time I run into one of them! I hope she does, especially since they could learn together and perhaps that would be less intimidating than if dad was already a skier in his past. Also happy they are getting their daughter into it!

 

[echo_VT]

I am curious what they’ll say too, now!

 

[marzNC]

Maybe it's harder for women to find the time in the first place. I wonder if the gender gap of everything widens with age.

Interesting question.

Not really about skiing . . . During the off-season I work out at a fitness center close to my house (central NC). There is an "active retirees" development close by. The fitness center is a "wellness center" associated with a large local medical center so caters not only to families in the neighborhood, but also provides physical therapy and special workshops geared to adults worried about aging and seniors (over 55). Many of the neighborhoods within a couple miles of the fitness center are popular with busy professionals (tech, medical, pharma) and a large percentage of the adults over 25 are foreign-born. I'd say the gender gap depends on the age group and the activity. There are plenty of women of all ages in the classes, including senior women. There are more senior men who using equipment or walking/running solo. For the young adults and teens, there are far more males.

 

[altagirl]

I know when I decided to take adult beginner ballet classes at ~40, the program was primarily ballet moms, which I thought made a lot of sense. I think I was one of two non parents. And it seems like something they should offer with kids programs. Not that there is anything wrong with enjoying a book if you prefer, but it wouldn't be that hard to offer a parents program alongside the kids programs where the timing makes sense. Sure you could ski on your own but having a group program is motivating for many.

 

[RachelV]

The guy I take skateboarding lessons from is very into getting parents to take lessons with their kids, and also offers lessons and clinics specifically for middle aged women. It's fantastic, and he's really good at it. Very welcoming, makes you feel super confident trying new stuff. Really he's just all about making it fun. It would be great to see more things like that!

 

[MissySki]

I know when I decided to take adult beginner ballet classes at ~40, the program was primarily ballet moms, which I thought made a lot of sense. I think I was one of two non parents. And it seems like something they should offer with kids programs. Not that there is anything wrong with enjoying a book if you prefer, but it wouldn't be that hard to offer a parents program alongside the kids programs where the timing makes sense. Sure you could ski on your own but having a group program is motivating for many.

That’s awesome! When I did adult dance classes it was a mix of moms and not, but they weren’t moms to kids in other classes at the dance school. Well, except one was the mom of the owner and teacher we had, which I thought was so cute.

Years ago when I started doing adult season programs at Sunday River, I did the women’s group for my whole first season. Almost everyone there indeed had kids in the ski school who were doing classes at the same time. Hadn’t really thought about that, though you need to be at least an intermediate skier to join the program overall.

 

[MissySki]

The guy I take skateboarding lessons from is very into getting parents to take lessons with their kids, and also offers lessons and clinics specifically for middle aged women. It's fantastic, and he's really good at it. Very welcoming, makes you feel super confident trying new stuff. Really he's just all about making it fun. It would be great to see more things like that!

That’s awesome, and really a smart business model.

 

[Christineszy]

I noticed the disparity last year when I would ski during the week up in Tahoe. It was literally mostly men - young and a fair amount of retirees. But the other interesting thing is that in CA, bay area, so many people (men and women) are not snow peeps so they never learned how to ski or board. Growing up in Wisconsin, you had to find fun in the snow. Maybe the ratio is better in snow country areas. ???

 

[Christineszy]

But shared experiences are very much part of skiing for many people, including women.
Outdoor activities that are also learning experiences: skiing does that.
Adrenaline: I'm a lot less into it as I'm getting older, but you can ski without trying to give yourself a heart attack or constantly test your limits (though if you enjoy it, that's great, too).

Nobody seems to bat an eyelash when men go on golf or fishing trips with their buddies. The members of this forum obviously already know this, but ski trips with other people are great fun.

So…how does the ski industry convinces older women of all that?

I think the overall amount of ski groups/clubs is way down compared to the past which does make it hard to ski with other people if you don't already have a group. Which is why I was excited to find this forum group!!!

 

[ski diva]

As I said in another thread, I just spent the past couple days at a ski industry on-snow demo day, and I couldn't help but notice two things: One, that almost everyone in attendance was male, and two, the few women who were there were predominantly young -- well, younger than me, anyway. As an older female skier, I was definitely an anomaly. Made me think of this thread.

 

[floatingyardsale]

I would love it if there was a women's group that paralleled the kids' lessons. Or a gym at the ninja gym or dance studio. Snowbasin has a good weekly women's program....on Wednesday mornings. I guess it's retirees and stay at home moms?

 

[SarahXC]

@floatingyardsale — I have been involved with my local mountain’s Wednesday morning 6 -week lesson program for a few years. I am actually super surprised by how many of the women involved are not retired or stay at home parenting. I was talking to a friend about this observation as well and she commented how much more flexible work schedules in many fields have become.

 

[floatingyardsale]

I'm happy to hear that! I still want a Saturday adult's lessons series. My weekday flexible job has decided not to be....