SheJumps Associate Editor Leah Fielding has spent the last year interviewing women in the ski industry that have broken through the glass ceiling. Every other week, she plans to highlight those women right here at SheJumps.org.

Thoren’s Theory— which proved successful in the manufacturing end of the ski industry—opened up large can of worms. Which manufacturer was going to be the first to stick their necks out and redesign their models for a woman’s physique? How were they going to do it? And who was going to sell it? Interestingly enough, ‘who was going to sell it,’ was answered first. The rest followed.

It’s no surprise that living in a man’s world can be incredibly frustrating for women. Nearly every product other than kitchenware and fashion has historically been designed for men. Little thought was given to women in terms of properly fitted sporting gear. About 10 years ago Kim Walker, a former Vail ski bum, decided enough was enough.  Walker couldn’t find any retail shops that carried life jackets that accommodated the breasts owned by half of the global population, nor could she find ski boots that could lodge women’s often-skinny ankles and wide calves or skis that weren’t just shorter, softer men’s skis with pink slapped on them. It was time to create a gear shop for women, by women, with only women-specific products, and she was the woman to do it. Thus, was the birth of the only women specific gear shop in the nation, outdoor DIVAS.

Although it was only 10 years ago, it was difficult to pick up vendors in the beginning, said outdoor DIVAS Marketing Coordinator, Marily MacDonald.

There were very few women’s lines then and those that existed where “shrinked and pinked” men’s skis, MacDonald said. Although, they weren’t too sure if it would be a successful market, K2, Dynastar and Rossignol, were right on par with Walker’s proposals and threw themselves head first into developing women’s lines. These lines are now sold in outdoor DIVAS shops, along with Volkl and HEAD skis.

With the launch its women’s line, K2 organized a women’s development team, called K2 Alliance, comprised of six women from a variety of skiing backgrounds, levels and ages. “Everyone brings something different to the table said Lindsey Yaw,” Alliance member and backcountry specialist.

K2 Alliance’s mission, other than creating skis for women by women, is to bridge the gaps between the modest female skier looking to improve and the big mountain champ. The team members serve to relate to and therefore encourage the every-day woman.

“We are not necessarily high-end skiers.” Yaw said, “Our message is come out, it doesn’t matter what level you are, as long as you’re out there enjoying yourself.”

The K2 Alliance members have a strong hand in the entire design of the ski. The team clocks in four days of testing a year. Certain days of the test are designated for a certain target market. Since graphics often look similar from one year to the next, the skis are completely white, as to not influence the ladies reaction to them. The K2 engineers assemble a group of skis that are similar to one another, but have subtle differences.

 “We aren’t told what the differences are so as a group we come together and talk about what we like and don’t like about the ski and talk about how the target woman would feel about it, “ said Janice Bachmeier, age 50, former freestyle competitor, Alliance member and mother of two.

At the end of the four-hour tests, the team members give feed back to the engineers, all of which is implemented according to Yaw.

“It’s not just male engineers saying we think women will like this,” Yaw said, “it’s women saying what they like.”

The team members have a say in everything from the core materials—metal vs. wood—to top sheet design.

“They give us options at the beginning of the year for a theme.” Yaw said, “We pick the theme and they give us five versions of that theme.”
HEAD created a similar feedback group known as their Women’s Team. Like K2 Alliance, the women of Head are a variety of different ages and skiing levels.

“Some of us are freeskiers and some are moms,” said Alison Gannett, one of 13 team members and a former X Games champ.

The ladies weigh in on everything from core materials to graphics. Similar to the K2 ladies, the HEAD women identify the target market for each ski and discuss what best accommodates the level, age and type of skier. They collectively weigh-in on what type of graphics are associated with what type of skier, Gannett said. Gannett and the other gals even get to submit their own drawings for consideration.

This method is working beautifully for HEAD; their women’s line accounts for over 30-percent of ski sales. This number is impressive, yet women of the industry are hoping to soon see the market split down the middle.

Women’s skis and other female-specific outdoor products, and their sales, have improved by leaps and bounds, thanks to Kim Walker of outdoor DIVAS, K2 Alliance, HEAD Women’s Team, and many more, such as Elan’s W Studio, yet the market still has some growing to do. Yaw believes that this may be due to the fact that women are intimidated by skiing. Unless they’re a technologically versed, backcountry-babe, walking in to a ski shop teaming with pros and World Cup tuners can be an unnerving experience for an intermediate female skier.

Luckily, outdoor DIVAS is the cure all for women’s ski shop ills; it’s the only shop in the nation where women can bring their skis and have them tuned by a woman. “This is not your boyfriends ski shop,” MacDonald said. And it truly isn’t, the Boulder-based—and original—shop has calming shades of green, it doesn’t smell of wax and the furniture isn’t littered with offensive stickers.

Putting tech talk aside, the mere physicality of skiing can be intimidating for women as well. Most women tend to have an innate sense of self-preservation. Many women have trouble pointing their skis down the fall line, let alone hucking themselves off cliffs. Addressing and de-mything these concerns through the many educational clinics that DIVAS offers, only stands to encourage more woman to pick up new passions or improve on the old. The skiing clinics include former competitive freeskier Leslie Ross’ Babes in the Backcountry camp and former freeskiing champ Alison Gannett’s Rippin Chix weekend clinic. But that’s not all; women can learn how to mountain bike, climb, kayak, etc., the list goes on.

“It’s all about educating women, getting them in the right gear and sending them out have fun,” MacDonald said.

Part 1