Rad Ladies. Awesome Videos. 1 Kick-ass Prize!

Remember when I told y’all about SheJump’s video contest that is going to send 2 lucky ladies to Tailgate Alaska? Well today, Feb 28, is the LAST day to send in your video. Go to the link below and start voting on your favorite video! The entries are being judged both by a panel of experts and YOU! So all you have to do is follow the link below, watch some rad videos of awesome women showing off their skills in the backcountry, and vote for your favorite! There will be 2 Runners-up Awards, and a People’s Choice Award. Help make 2 ladies very happy, and send them on their way to only progress in the adventure that is skiing!

Good Luck to all of you badass ski-bumettes!

SheJumps to Alaska Videos

SheJumps to Alaska: Get Your Cameras Ready!

Want to go to Alaska for free? SheJumps is hosting a backcountry skiing/riding video contest for women who “demonstrate backcountry skiing/riding abilities, smart decision-making in the mountains and creativity.” 

SheJumps, a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase female participation in outdoor activities essentially through creating a community of women who help each other reach their goals, used it’s vision to create a contest that will “help increase the presence of women skiers and riders in the Alaskan mountains.” Flow Tailgate Alaska and SheJumps have joined forces to inspire women to push their own limits while being safe in the backcountry.

Flow Tailgate Alaska is a 10 day festival (March 29-April 7 2013) that started in 2008  as a “way to honor the pioneering spirit of riding in Valdez, while giving access to a whole new group of riders in an affordable way.” Known for having some of the best terrain on earth, Valdez offers bottomless powder, endless mountains for various skill levels and an inspiring setting to get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. You will have the opportunity to take educational classes, meet other powder hounds, scope your lines and head out into paradise doing what we all love so much. Ladies, it is your time to shine this year!

Videos must be 1-5 minutes, and must be from the 2011/2012 or 2012/2013 winters. Submit videos via the SheJumps.org facebook page by 1 am MST February 28, 2013. The videos will be judged by a panel of men and women. Although the public will get a say in who gets 2 Runner-Up prizes and a People’s Choice Award, supported by Flylow Gear and RAMP Skis and Snowboards. Get those cameras out and show the world how you will represent female skiers everywhere!

Prize Package Includes:

Airfare for 2 to Anchorage                                                

Tent Accommodations at the Festival

Transportation from Anchorage to Valdez                  

1 Full Day of Cat Skiing

2 All-Access Passes to TGAK                                           

Swag Bag from Sponsors

For more information visit SheJumps.

New York Times: Snow Fall

Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek 

You probably read with horror about the avalanche that killed 3 out of 13 skiers near Steven’s Pass in Washington last year. The New York Times’s, John Branch, writes a complete account of the tragic incident through the eyes of those involved and loved ones left behind. It is beautifully pieced together, though the question looms-is it worth it? Whether you ski in the backcountry, have friends who do, or want to learn something about a very real event that affected many throughout the ski industry, please take a look.

Moving to a ski town from a world where backcountry skiing did not exist, the fear of avalanches is very new to me. I recently took an introductory class through SheJumps with Kelli Rohrig of White Room Adventures, which gave me a day’s worth of overview information. I learned the very basics of snow science, different causes of avalanches, different snow types, basic terminology, and the most efficient ways to use my gear. It was eye-opening and it scared me to death. Avalanches are a very real threat to those of us who venture out into the mountains that surround us, whether it is alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, or even snow-shoeing. No matter how great of a skier you are at the resort, take the time to learn about the terrain around you, your equipment, and what to do when the shit hits the fan. Knowledge, not ski ability, will save your own and your partners’ lives.

CB Ladies Join Forces with SheJumps!

I wouldn’t say I am a shy person. I do choose moments to speak publicly wisely though. I usually think my thoughts through and know what I am getting into before talking to a large group of strangers. Exactly a week ago on opening day here at Crested Butte, I had to throw every reservation in my head out the window and just go for it. KBUT, our local radio station handed me the mike and I looked down at the lift lines that were busting at the seams with people and told them all about what makes me tick these days. SheJumps! Luckily I had the support of some amazing ladies around me who were representing awesome women doing awesome things together. Dressed in our best, hot pink pants that came up to the boobs, blond disco afros, giant fur coats, TUTUS, ladies joined me at the tent CBMR graciously set up for us and introduced SheJumps to Gunnison Valley.

Check out the write up of Opening Day on SheJumps! 

Check out me as a featured “jumper” on SheJumps!

A few ladies from elsewhere in Colorado, who have actual credentials with SJ, board member and regional directors, Liz, Mel, and El, came down for the day and gave me a ton of support for my first event. It was great to have their input with everything, and to talk to women who were passionate about other women getting out there. Their enthusiasm for SJ was contagious, and the excitement of what we, as women, can do this winter through such a strong organization was inspiring.

I love my little ski town. There are so many awesome women in this valley who dominate at whatever they do, and I would love to combine our passions and bring the ladies together. It’s going to be an exciting season here in CB!

 

 

Not a Dude’s World Anymore

“Believe in the power of girls…”

croons Emily Haines, lead singer for the group Metric, whose beautiful voice becomes the background noise for yet another awesome, inspiring short-film by Lynsey Dyer.

SheJumps.org,founded by Lynsey Dyer herself, is a powerful non-profit organization that brings women across the country together to share experiences through activities in nature. Those behind this all-female project encourages women to take the “jump” that will bring each of us to our next level of our potential in whatever it is we want. SheJumps challenges women to take their dreams and make them a reality. It allows women to talk things through in online forums and organizes a way for women to connect with each other and plan events in towns close to them.

Ladies get involved! Do you want to teach a clinic on something you are passionate about? Do you want to get into a new outdoor activity and meet rad ladies in your area? Jump In! And if you are in the Crested Butte area, start the ski season off with a women’s ski day on opening day at CBMR, costumes encouraged! Check back for more details!

Watch as these fearless ladies send cliffs, jump into the air with nothing but a wing suit on, rip sick lines down a massive mountain, and train all year long for everything they love to do. Pretty Faces shows so many angles in which women are so powerful in what is simply not a dude’s world of extreme sports anymore.

The Invisible Bike Helmet: Symbol of the Impossible

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/43038579″>The Invisible Bicycle Helmet | Fredrik Gertten</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/focusf”>Focus Forward Films</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Whether or not to pass a law requiring cyclists to wear bike helmets is a hot topic around the world. According to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, 91% of cyclists involved in fatal bicycle crashes in the US in 2009 were not wearing a helmet. It also states that not wearing a helmet increases one’s risk of head injury by at least 85%. And yet every year people are injured in bike accidents because they chose not to take this preventative measure. But why?

At least one reason (albeit a vain one) we could all agree on is helmet hair just doesn’t look good on anyone. And when you are riding from home to the office, a hat doesn’t always work. Not to mention how silly bike helmets look while riding across town. If only there was a way to look good while being safe on wheels.

“Cars are so yesterday. Bikes are the future.”

                                                        – Terese Alstin

Two Swedish designers, Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin, spent seven years on the impossible: an invisible bike helmet, the hövding. They teamed up with a head trauma specialist, studied movement patterns of bike crashes and normal riding, and raised 10 million dollars in venture capital to get this revolutionary tool underway. The helmet is actually an airbag, designed with different hairstyles, head gear, and head shapes in mind. It is stored in a collar with a removable outer shell so you can trade out designs based on what you are wearing. The collar includes sensors, which detect the difference in “normal”riding behavior and “accident”  behavior. When it senses the rider is in an accident, it will send a signal to the gas inflator in the back of the collar. The gas inflator, which uses helium, will then inflate the helmet around the rider’s head to protect them as a normal “visible” helmet would.

Thought to be impossible not only because it was a new inconceivable idea, but also because the creators and managers of the operation were women, Anna and Terese were determined to prove critics wrong. Regardless of their gender, regardless of their “place” as a woman according to others, regardless of the impossible, these women created a stylish tool of the future. “It is chicken to be a realist.” I couldn’t agree more.

“She Jumps” Beauties, Skis and Guns

It is full-on fall here in Crested Butte, my favorite season. It is the time of year to sharpen the chainsaw and build the wood piles just right. It is a time for baking with pumpkin, drinking hard cider, and prematurely wearing down jackets. The weather is perfect for those last few mountain bike rides before trading it in for different toys. But more than anything, it is a time to watch every video possible about skiing. We are getting excited about skiing pow even before the first dusting, so what better way to anticipate a perfect ski season than watching some rad ladies rip in beautiful Alaska?

Who says men have to be a part of a perfect weekend filled with sick lines, sleds, and guns?

Get the Girls Out Campaign!

She Jumps! | SheJumps.

While it is true that dudes generally significantly outnumber women in ski towns, it is also true that these ski bum-ettes are coming together more often than ever to show that we really don’t care. There is nothing more beautiful than a confident woman, and to see a big group of confident women (in costume of course) taking over ski resorts all over the country, is just powerful! Organizations like She Jumps created by professional skier and beautiful badass, Lynsey Dyer, are helping to bring out not only ski town wonder women, but chicas of all ages and backgrounds to discover the incredible mysteries the great outdoors have to offer.

So ladies, no matter where you are tomorrow, GET OUT…and play in the natural world you were given.