This is not about male bashing. There are differences between the way men and women approach a learning situation, especially one that involves some risk, whether real or perceived. We are different and in women's programs we celebrate those differences and use them to our advantage.

For example, women tend to be supportive of each other when faced with a challenge where men tend to be more competitive with each other. Neither approach is good or bad. Each has its advantages. It's just different. .

We use that mutual support to enhance our teaching and to help women approach new challenges. Women have less muscle mass than men, so we find that women use skill more than strength to accomplish their goals. They have to.

Of course most women tend to approach risk with more caution. We acknowledge this and work with it rather than try to convince women that there is no reason to worry. We build confidence in stages rather than throw ourselves over the edge.

These are all generalizations, but I have found over the years that these generalizations have been formed for a reason. That's why these women's programs have been so successful. Many resorts have women's programs now so they have become an accepted part of the business here in the States. They are cropping up in all kinds of sports now. We understand each other and that is why we learn from each other..

Ashley Fischer (Sugarbush Resort, Vermont)

Ashley Fischer - Co-ordinator of WSD at Sugarbush

For more information about women's programs see the page What to expect?

(some of these links are external)

"An instructor's perspective" by Judy Skeats
[To read full-text PDF articles, use Adobe Acrobat Reader - Free to Download]

A female slant on tackling the slopes - a flirtatious instructor might make learning to ski more fun, but there's a course in Colorado that takes women skiers more seriously (2000)
[To read full-text PDF articles, use Adobe Acrobat Reader - Free to Download]

Know Way - At Wintergreen, Women in Black (Diamonds)

Paoli Peaks Offers Women's Ski School - by Madonna Yancey (2001)

Positive approaches - Samantha Warwick tests a ski programme designed for women by women (2003)

She slopes - by Deirdre Fleming (2004)

Skiing the womanly way - by Sandra Lane (2003)

The Return of Girls' School - the label "women-only" doesn't make a ski camp for lightweights (2001)

Video Interview with Kim Reichhelm - Pushing It and Offering Unique Ski Experiences for Women (2001)