In the third year of International Women’s Ski/Snowboard Day, I was passed down the role of hosting the second year at Stowe Mountain Resort. With the worst start to a winter season ever recorded, our conditions were not ideal. At last year’s event I was lucky enough to meet some incredible women who we have all stayed in touch with. We had a lot of familiar faces this year as well as some brand new women, and more snowboarders this year! As I was driving down from Burlington I could barely hold in the excitement and was even in the lodge and ready before 7am, which for me is a big deal!
Started the day off with registration and introductions inside the Den at the Mansfield Lodge. With the resorts growing so big these days I always find comfort with a group of my friends booting up in the old school lodge. I finally got to actually meet and chat with our local Northeast Ambassadors. Brittany Sinclair was there to help me host the event. We also had Katie Ewald Brooks regional coordinator, Maggie Smith ambassador, and Alex Norton ambassador to cheer us on. This being my first event I was so fortunate all these ladies could travel to make this event that much better for everyone.
Timing and planning worked out perfectly for IWSD to also fall on Mountainfest Demo Day at Stowe Mountain Resort. So on top of our discounted day passes Stowe had given us we all had the opportunity to Demo and Ski/board while there. I want to give a huge thank you to my good friend Grant Wieler for hooking us up with the Bern Helmet tent. Even with the lack of snow it was a beautiful day and we had a tent setup right next to the demos. With our meeting spot came exposure for Bern Helmets, it could not have worked out more perfectly.
I gathered all the ladies at the tent for a quick introduction of myself and the mountain that I call home. I conquered my public speaking by being empowered by all the amazing women energy around me. We all skated our way in the lift line and up we went. I almost forgot that magical moment when you’re on a chairlift surround by some incredible women doing amazing things for our local communities. They joy inside me was bursting through the gigantic smile I could not keep off my face. Gathering everyone at the top I explained the conditions and choices you could go, we decided to all stay together for the first run.
For the second year we were lucky enough to have the incredibly talented Mike Hitelman as our photographer. If you have seen any of the recent photos from Stowe most likely they were his. He does incredible work and was very patient with all of us ladies as we slowly made our way down. He does amazing candid action photos and set us up on the way down so we could all get some shots in.
After a couple runs we then split into groups so people could follow me down some of the steeper difficult terrain, while the others could ski what they would like to ski at whatever level of comfort they wanted. Again with not much being open I was not able to take the ladies exploring my home to the extent that I would have liked to. There was a small park setup which I had my best friend Shelby bring some of the girls through. Only a couple features but every little thing counts!
With so much mud and grass still visible we decided to meet up at the snow cat that was parked near the bottom on a patch of snow before lunch for our group photo. I am still smiling from all the amazing ladies and incredible outfits in those photos. We then regrouped and ate lunch and then did our raffle in case people did not want to stay for the terrible conditions. We had so many great prizes. One of our partners Vermont Peanut Butter gave us full jars of peanut butter to raffle off. I eat this peanut butter every day and I am obsessed! Kim Leslie from Stowe was able to hook us up with some gift cards to the Cork Wine Bar. Brittany brought a really nice backpack as well. The raffle went great, everyone left happy with a goodie bag full of surprises! A huge thank you to all of our partners for this event, Darn Tough, Ursa Major, Western Rise, Topo Designs and Stowe Mountain Resort.
In conclusion, for my first event it went very well. I cannot thank everyone involved enough for all your help and support to make this happen. We can’t control the weather but you can control your attitude and always have a great time with some unbelievable women!
Join Danielle Brabon for more awesome events in the Northern Vermont area this year!