Skiing with an Olympian

(Tribune Media Services) -- Tucson grandmother Sandy Maxfield is determined to get her groove back -- on skis.

But the 65-year-old Maxfield isn't doing it for herself. She's doing it for her six grandkids -- all under the age of seven. She wants to be able to ski with them before they get too old to want to ski with grandma, or she gets too old to ski with them. "You've only got a small window of opportunity," she says.

That's why on this blustery day at The Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah -- one of the largest ski resorts in the country, where more than a foot of snow would fall by the end of the day -- Maxfield is out skiing for the first time in more than three years. Along with women from around the country, including me, and a sixty-something friend who encouraged her to come, she has enrolled in former Olympian and ski champion Holly Flanders' clinic for women.

Flanders, now 50, and a single mom of three, is a world-class athlete -- an Olympian who, for a decade, racked up medals racing on the U.S. Ski Team. She started racing at age eight in New Hampshire and didn't hang up her racing skis until her late 20s when she became the public face of Park City Mountain Resort. But her clinics aren't for serious athletes like her; they're for real, multi-tasking women who simply want to improve their skiing.

In our group, we've got college instructors and doctors, graphic designers, counselors, stay-at-home moms and full-time volunteers, like Sandy Maxfield, who range in age from 26 to 65. They come from around the country -- California and Connecticut, Arizona and Washington State, Canada and Utah. Only three of the 11 have participated in a clinic like this before.

I like that the instructors also are middle-aged, multi-tasking moms juggling jobs, kids and other responsibilities. "This is a very supportive atmosphere," says veteran instructor Maree Tomczyk, herself the mom of two sons, who has been teaching this clinic since Holly started it some 14 years ago. "It's very relaxed. Guys are much more competitive -- it's all about who gets down first or who takes the biggest jump."

The three-day clinic costs $449 (plus lift tickets and lodging. Tip: Save by booking lift tickets ahead at www.thecanyons.com; you'll get them free with some room packages), but the women agree it's money well spent because it gives them much needed time away from husbands, kids and work. And that feels good, they say. "I'm having the best time," says Seattle divinity student Tamara Roberts, the 39-year-old mom of two daughters. "This time away will help me return to the important job of mothering with new energy."

There's something else Roberts and the rest of us will go home with, Flanders hopes -- more confidence. "The result is to go back to your life and have more confidence in your everyday life," Flanders explains. "You stand at the top of the hill and you aren't sure you can do it, but you dive in and you do it. ... If you can accomplish this challenge, you can overcome many other things."

I've invited an old grade school friend, Elise Carlton, a college counselor from Connecticut, to join me. She's skied all her life but couldn't remember the last time she took a lesson: Others haven't been satisfied with the lessons they've had. "I could buy a small car for the number of lessons I've had," sighed Ruth Warren, the graphic designer from Seattle who just wants to ski expert terrain comfortably with her husband and two teens.

Ann Conway, who is from Toronto, doesn't like skiing with her husband because she feels she's always holding him back.

Today, you'll find groups and women's clinics like this at large and small resorts across the country from Stowe and Stratton in Vermont to Breckenridge, Vail and Aspen in Colorado to The Canyons and Snowbird in Utah to Mammoth Mountain in California and at Jackson Hole in Wyoming. (For a national directory, visit www.skilikeawoman.com.)

Each program is a little different. There are clinics for snowboarders and skiers, for beginners and experts, with a focus on technique, conquering fear or new equipment testing. (Check the clinics run by expert Jeannie Thoren, www.jeanniethoren.com.) The clinics cost a few hundred dollars for a weekend, considerably more for longer sessions, including those organized by former ski champion Kim Reichhelm (www.skiwithkim.com).

"I see a lot of moms frustrated by skiing," former ski champion Kim Reichhelm says. "They spend all their time taking care of the family and never get to enjoy themselves."

Flanders observes that many women seem to lose confidence as soon as they leave the groomed, blue terrain. "My goal is to help them to reach a higher level and when they do it, they enjoy it so much more."

I can vouch for that. I'm knee deep in powder for the first time, but I'm not nervous with Flanders by my side. She coaches me down the expert run, one turn at a time. I don't hit any trees. I only fall once. Yahoo! When I get to the bottom of the run, I feel terrific. I'm covered in snow. The others in the group all congratulate me. I can't wait to tell my daughters, avid skiers who live for powder runs like this one. I know they'll be proud.

I figure we have to grab these moments when we've overcome a challenge -- on the ski hill and in life -- and enjoy them for all they're worth. They make up for all the times that don't go as planned, for all of life's disappointments.

There's something to be said for conquering fear -- especially on a mountain with spectacular vistas in every direction surrounded by such a supportive group. "I was willing to do things I wouldn't at the beginning," observes Darma Kamentz, who is in her early 50s and lives in Park City. Ann Conway is having a lot more fun than she would have struggling to keep up with her husband.

Certainly, the snow sports industry is trying to keep women like us on the slopes. Besides camps led and designed by some of the nation's top instructors, resorts now offer other services that have special appeal to women -- yoga classes, spa treatments and women-specific ski and snowboard rentals, observes Michael Berry, president of the National Ski Areas Association. Women, the NSAA notes, account for nearly 60 percent of beginners, but still don't keep pace with men on the expert slopes.

Major snow sports equipment and clothing manufacturers -- from Burton Snowboards to K2 -- meanwhile are putting increasing focus on women's equipment and clothing. "What started as a small niche market in 2000 is now close to 50 percent of our adult skis sales and a very viable part of our business," says K2's Mike Gutt, noting that the design team is comprised of "ordinary women," rather than pros.

Donna Carpenter, founder and director of Burton's Women's Initiatives, adds that Burton's women's products are not only developed by women for women but also marketed separately. Burton has opened several women's learn-to-ride centers across the country, and continues to promote women-only snowboard camps.

At The Canyons, we ski in groups based on our skill and comfort level, joining up for lunch and apres-ski sessions to watch video Flanders has shot of us. Because the group is small, we are able to switch groups if we want to ski more aggressively or ease up for an afternoon.

"Just remember it you make steps forward and slide back," Flanders told the group before we headed out into the snow. "Allow that to happen. It's a natural progression just keep moving forward and it will come!"

Sounds a lot like life, if you ask me.

I can't wait to chase my kids through the powder. As for Sandy Maxfield, she's busy planning a family ski trip.

(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com, where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments.)

© 2008 EILEEN OGINTZ DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC. E-mail to a friend

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