Water ramping seems totally counter intuitive. Strapping on ski boots, clicking into skis, and jumping into a pool in the middle of August is a bit bizarre. But it sure is fun! Just ask the girls who attended the first SheJumps Jump Camp at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, UT, on Aug. 8. Fifteen girls and women came from California, Colorado, and parts of Utah to work on ski tricks ranging from 180s to backflips. The goal of summer ramping is to practice tricks into a pool in order to be more comfortable when transfering that skill onto the snow come winter.

Fly Freestyle, one of the pool's nonprofits that teaches all ages and abilities how to water ramp, graciously took all of us through the steps. They provided coaching, gear (ski gear, plus life jackets and helmets), and an amazingly affordable price for the participants to attend "their" pool.

As comparable as performing tricks in the summer is to doing the same in the winter, falling into water can be hard (if you land wrong). But these women pushed and pushed themselves no matter what. Usually there is a progression to water ramping as a never ever: warm up, trampoline work (yes, it's an awesome addition to summer "skiing"), and slowly work from mini ramp to "Single" ramp. The campers proved themselves so quickly, a couple of them didn't even take a straight-air jump when first attempting the Single—or the second jump in the progression that has a 200 foot or so ramp onto a kicker that kicks you some 15-20 feet into the air. Most people have some trepidation heading from the little jump to the Single, but not our girls. Meghan Kelly and Katie Bedigian, on their first attempt, went for a frontflip. Then other girls were like, "Why not?" The same thing happened earlier on the mini jump when everyone was practicing their 360s until Dominique Fellers, by the way 36 years old, sent a front flip. Everyone followed her lead.

That was the coolest thing about the day, the women were pushing the limits and proving age wasn't a factor. Most of the 15 were 29-41, only three were in their teens and early 20s. As a 30 year old myself, I was super inspired to see the women psyched to send it. Screw age, it's only a factor if you think it is!

Thanks to all of the women for pushing the envelope. Watch for a video of the day's success soon! —Vanessa Pierce, SJ co-founder

P.S. Fly Freestye has offered its services to SheJumps any time. We are hoping to get one more camp in by the end of August or early September so stay tuned!