Monday, January 30, 2017

Poconos smackdown: Camelback or Shawnee for Learning?

Recently I took my two daughters snowboarding, one day at Shawnee and one day at Camelback. This was my first time at both mountains. Here's how they compare...

Getting there
Shawnee and Camelback are both near the NJ/PA border via Rt. 80. From NJ, Camelback is about 20 minutes further.

Does size matter?
Shawnee trail map

Camelback trail map
When it comes to ski/board hills, the size of the mountain definitely matters. That said, for a beginner snowboarder, smaller Shawnee mountain was the perfect size. Ellery easily moved from the bunny hill to the green runs from the top of Shawnee, and she even tackled a blue run by the end of the day. Because the runs were short, they didn't overwhelm her little legs.  Meanwhile, her more experienced older sister had some fun once we moved to the longer slopes since she was bored on the bunny hill.

Camelback is a bigger mountain than Shawnee, and the green runs from the top are longer. This is great for a kid who is ready for more of a challenge, except for the fact that the green runs were pretty flat -- frustrating on snowboard, as we are discovering. Due to very challenging snow (if you can call it snow), the lower green chairlift run was just right for a wee one.


Meanwhile, the blue runs and terrain park on the far left at Camelback were great for Cyane, who is exploring new types of terrain. Nothing was too steep, and there were plenty of trail choices. Best of all, the crowds stayed on the other side of the mountain because the trek to the far lifts was kind of a drag on a snowboard.

Conditions
Conditions change from day to day, and that is part of the challenge of learning to master the slopes. Shawnee had thin cover on top of hard pack and ice. As long as edges stuck, there was nothing to knock over a little kid (although some out-of-control crazies came close).

Camelback was covered in fabricated snow that was like deep, heavy sand. While actual camels thrive in those conditions, small snowboarders riding 90-cm boards are pretty unhappy. Scratch that... VERY unhappy. The heavy snow piled up on Ellery's board, stopping it and making her face plant. Grains of ice filled her mittens, and it took an elaborate two-layer system using back-up mittens to keep her wrists and hands dry and warm. You know it's bad when your little one says, "Mommy, I like the ice better." Cyane, who outweighs her sister by 20 pounds and rides a 110-cm board, had an easier time in the deep dunes of sand snow, but she struggled in places, too.

Crowds
At these two mountains, the farther away from the lodge we got, the more open space we had. You just have to be willing to schlep to the distant lifts. Both mountains were crowded, especially on the beginner hills. Later in the day and at lunchtime, the crowds thinned.

Crowds are fine as long as skiers and riders know the rules of the slopes: uphill skiers must avoid downhill skiers and skiers must stay in control... that sort of stuff. Ski areas should also figure out better ways to funnel those coming from the advanced slopes away from the beginner slopes rather than onto them.

 If you have been to either of these mountains, please share your experience below!

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Adventures in Shredding Paradigms

PART 2: What does 'adventure' mean to you?
It's the sort of question that gets the gears clinking in the brain and the blood pumping through the veins a wee bit. This question was also the raison d'etre of the SHE VENTURES event in New York last fall.


In part two of this series, in which I feature each speaker from SHE VENTURES NYC in a separate post, I shine the spotlight on Jen Gurecki, a positive driving force behind SHE VENTURES, and social change for women.
  

Gurecki, the recent founder of a women-run ski and snowboard company called Coalition Snow, got involved with SHE VENTURES when founder Georgina Miranda asked her to help coordinate the series.  "I think women are interested in hearing stories by other women that are perceived as doing things that are difficult, like starting a business or doing epic outdoor adventures," says Gurecki. Each SHE VENTURES program raises awareness about women's issues, while also raising funds for charitable organizations. The New York City event supported the International Medical Corps.  


Courtesy of Coalition Snow
"There is a level of camaraderie that women crave," Gurecki explains. "That might lead to helping to raise funds for a nonprofit or supporting women speakers and leaders. And maybe they'll make some good connections at the same time. It’s a recipe for success."


Making Fresh Tracks
One could argue that successful recipes have a variety of components that work together harmoniously to create something awesome. According to Gurecki, most current recipes for making women's skis are not successful. As she describes it, "Women’s skis have always been watered down and are sub-optimal in comparison to men’s. We didn’t make up the phrase “shrink it and pink it.” That was the go-to for women’s ski design."


So on a backcountry ski trip, Gurecki and friends were talking about the evolving state of women's involvement in the snow sports industry. "Professional female athletes were becoming more outspoken and publicly demanding more respect. That was fascinating to me," says Gurecki, who thought it would be an interesting time to shift the perspective of women skiers and snowboarders... and ski and snowboard makers.

The idea stuck. After doing some research and designing in 2013, Gurecki and shredding colleague Meghan Kelly toted ski and board prototypes to the Lewis Glacier, located some 16,355 feet up on Africa's Mt. Kenya. There, they cut fresh tracks, but not just in the snow. This trip broke new ground for women in snow sports.   

Courtesy of Coalition Snow
Breaking new ground seems to be something that Gurecki does. Through the Lewis Glacier trip, Gurecki aimed to raise awareness about how climate change is affecting water resources in rural Kenya.

The trip also raised $16,355 to support Zawadisha, a not-for-profit that Gurecki founded in 2013 to provide micro-loans to rural Kenyan women whose lives are directly affected by a changing climate. Zawadisha also provides educational programs and support groups among local villages to help improve women's daily lives and livelihoods. You might say that empowering women is Gurecki's thing. Check out her TED talk called, “Rethinking the Paradigm of Poverty.”

Coalition Building
Coalescing, according to Merriam-Webster, is the act of uniting or joining together into one body or product. Started in 2014, Coalition Snow is doing just that. After the Lewis Glacier trip, Gurecki gathered women skiers and boarders to work together to create products that are not watered-down versions of what are designed for men. As Coalition Snow advertises,
"We make women's skis and snowboards that don't suck."


Courtesy of Coalition Snow
Coalition Snow is a company run by female powderhounds, so there isn’t a gap between the design and the end users. While there are many emerging brands for women, it appears that those companies are run by men. "When we came up with the name Coalition, I had this image of women side by side, supporting and moving each other forward," says Gurecki. "When you support Coalition Snow, you are supporting women in business. You are supporting a company that is creating opportunities for women in a male-dominated industry."

More than a Hashtag
During her SHE VENTURES talk, Gurecki posed the following question: "Do we as women own and benefit from the exploding hashtags of the women phenomenon that is sweeping the outdoor industry?" 

As she rides the highs and lows of building a company, she challenged women to differentiate between "likes" and real change for women. Gurecki's "She" adventures are putting ideas into action on the ground in Kenya, on the slopes and in the boardroom (literally). She wrapped up her talk with a kick in the pants, saying,  "I want to be more than just a hashtag... do you?"