I never thought my Sunday afternoon enjoying the “Women in Powder” ski weekend at Park City Mountain would lead to me at the top of the Mystic Pines run, staring down a steep slope of big, bumpy moguls packed between towering pine trees.  I can’t say I was ready. I can’t even say I was confident in my ability to make it down the black diamond run. It was my instructor, Kristina Tabackova, who nudged me to set aside my hesitation and try.  That, I thought, is what Park City Mountain’s women’s weekends are all about: setting aside reservations to push yourself among a group of women eager to support one another and take on new challenges. It was also in the true spirit of Sunday’s International Women’s Day.  The Park Record reporter Clara Hatcher participated in an afternoon advanced skiers clinic, led by Kristina Tabakova. Here, Hatcher takes a mountainside selfie with the eight women in her group. Credit: Clara Hatcher/Park Record This was my second year covering the Park City Mountain women’s weekend as a reporter for The Park Record and the event’s third year overall. I remembered from last year’s event that I walked away feeling energized and more confident about my skiing ability. I was ready for a challenge this time.  It’s why I took the advice of another instructor, Rachael Milner, when she listened to me break down my skiing abilities and suggested I work with a more advanced instructor who could provide specific, technical feedback.  Here’s what I told Milner: I am an average skier. I mostly ski in the backcountry and up Park City Mountain’s Homerun when I have time. I did not get a ski pass this year, but I have skied Brighton Resort and Solitude Mountain Resort for a total of three days on top of my three days in the backcountry. Saturday at Solitude, I warmed up on a black diamond run, albeit slowly.  “For you, because I feel like you spend a lot of time exploring terrain and being out in the mountains, I would say it’d be a really cool opportunity for you to take advantage of getting some really good technical feedback because that technical feedback is going to be on and off piste, bumps, groomed — that’s going to see you through all of your different skiing that you do,” Milner said.  More than 250 women participated in Park City Mountain’s women’s ski weekend this year. The event started in 2024. Credit: Clara Hatcher/Park Record The women’s ski weekend ran Friday through Sunday and encompassed a variety of events, including yoga, sound baths, party laps and ski clinics. I was most excited for the latter. At 1 p.m., about 60 women gathered at the Red Pine Lodge for the three-hour afternoon clinics.  Eight women, including myself, assigned ourselves to Tabakova’s advanced clinic. We took stock of our abilities and goals for the day with help from our instructor. Some, like myself, were hesitant about what we could do. We called ourselves “beginner advanced.” Some were excited to try skiing through trees and bumpier terrain.  Tabakova, to put it lightly, is no nonsense. She has been a ski instructor for 29 seasons and has lived and traveled around the world for her job. From Zilina, Slovakia, Tabackova has taught skiing in places like Queenstown and Wanaka in New Zealand and, of course, Park City Mountain.  She took our slew of requests and hesitations in stride.  “Just teach me how to not die.” “I want to try something open with bumps.” “I really don’t want to go through tight trees.” Of all eight of us, only a few were entirely gung ho. I quickly befriended Megan Rayle, who like me was not even sure if the advanced group was right for her. Milner said that kind of mindset is common for women in the ski world. Women, she said, often underestimate or undersell our abilities.   “Ladies do tend to do that,” Milner said. “They tend to be a little bit more hesitant, a little bit more worried about not holding the group back or anything like that. But actually, when they get into it, they rip.” Tabakova seemed to recognize that immediately.  “OK, here’s what we’re going to do,” Tabakova said in her eastern European accent. “We’re going to go up to Mystic Pines. There will be bumps and trees.” We got a glimpse of our run as we ascended the next lift. Farther off were majorly steep peaks with cascading runs patterned with weaving ski tracks. To our left, our run was packed with tall trees and moguls. As we hopped off the lift and lined up along the top of the Mystic Pines route, Tabackova offered encouragement to those who were less than sure.  “You will do it. You will go slow. It may take us an hour to get down, but you will do it, and you will have fun,” she declared. So we did.  Tabakova always descended first. She talked us through how to enter the terrain, glide and turn over the bumps. She told us not to rely on the edges of our skis — that would encourage speed. Instead, she said, side slide on the flat base of our skis, lightly plant a pole and turn. Then, stop. Reassess. Repeat.  Rayle and I grinned sheepishly at each other as the others embarked. “OK,” we said. “Let’s get after it.” Park City Mountain’s women’s ski weekend included multiple morning and afternoon clinics, including an advanced skiers clinic in which eight women took on the Mystic Pines run. Kristina Tabakova (in blue) instructed the group. Credit: Clara Hatcher/Park Record I was surprised at how quickly each of us, myself included, picked up the ability to spot our line to ski down, side slide, turn and weave through the bumps and trees. There were a few spicy moments in the group, including a few falls and one minor collision with a tree, but we all learned quickly and with purpose. We made it down. We had fun. We accomplished our goals.  That clinic gave me more confidence than I realized it would, and the effect was immediate. Less than halfway down the run, I wanted to go faster and tackle more challenging terrain. But I kept it slow and steady, focusing on the techniques Tabakova guided me through. I kept my skis together, I kept off my edges, and I held steady in my stance and core.  I asked Tabakova how we did after each of us made it down safely and on to the next lift.  “You guys did awesome, like, and I truly mean it, and I truly believe it, you guys did amazing because part of skiing is just kind of overtaking the fear and just really owning it. Like, ‘It was scary, and I did it,’ and you guys all did just that,” Tabakova said.  Park City Mountain’s women’s weekend is designed so women skiers and snowboarders can dabble with clinics, relax and enjoy each other’s company. A good portion of the women I talked with traveled from out of state to attend. Upward of 260 women signed up for morning and afternoon clinics spaced out over the weekend.  Women’s weekend organizers said they want to build on the event each year to make it bigger and better every time. This year’s party lap, for instance, ended with a horde of 40 or so women skiing through a billowing arch of pink smoke. Everyone painted sparkling glitter on their cheeks and wore Helly Hansen scrunchies.  For some women, like Stacie Perry and Julie Iacuaniello, the weekend was an opportunity to connect with old friends. The pair treated the event as a mom’s trip. While one lives in San Diego and the other in Dallas, Perry and Iacuaniello connect each year on a ski trip.  Park City Mountain hosted a women’s ski weekend from Friday through Sunday. About 260 women signed up for ski and snowboard clinics throughout the weekend. Credit: Clara Hatcher/Park Record “We just thought it was really important. We share these moments with our children, but also to take some time to recharge and refresh ourselves and get some time on the mountain alone,” Perry said.  Some, like Darian Holznagel, enjoyed time in the lodge while her friends participated in clinics. I found her in The Farm restaurant’s yurt sipping on sparkling wine and connecting with her two friends, Jennifer Hagerman and Whitney Drucker. With unpredictable snow conditions, Holznagel said she wanted to relax. Next year, she said, is her year to ski.  Kristina Tabakova (right, in blue) teaches a group of advanced skiers how to perfect their side slide technique, which helps skiers practice keeping their skis together and parallel. Credit: Clara Hatcher/Park Record Instructor Gus Klein said she loves experiencing the stoke of women’s weekend.  “It feels really nice to be able to find and foster community,” Klein said. “Snow sports, it is such a male-dominated scene, and it’s really cool to see women riding together, getting stoked, maybe stepping outside of their comfort zones.” That was true for myself. It was true, in fact, for every woman I talked to. By Sunday afternoon, we all left sun-kissed and speckled with glitter, riding the high that only a women’s ski weekend can offer.  The post I found my confidence as a skier. All it took was support from dozens of women appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less