Probably many of you have been curious as to why I helped start a local women's snowboard group called 'No Bunnies' and then turned around only to write for a magazine called Snow Bunny Magazine. A pretty contradicting move and seemingly hypocritical, especially to those who fought alongside me to remove the negative snow bunny stigma that men have placed on female shredders for years. I have to admit, at first, I was skeptical. The name certainly irked me but I was trying to keep an open mind. During the first several months of my involvement, I had gotten to know the faces and personalities behind the mag but I was not sure of its direction. I have learned to love being a woman in all of its diversity - there certainly is not ONE way of being a woman - but I had reservations about if this mag fit what I thought the snow culture and its women represented. Before the mag officially launched, we were doing fashion shows, photo shoots and bar hopping events, which really was counter to my own personality and interests. But after the mag launched and articles started coming out, I felt more comfortable with the vision and direction of the mag. Yet, I still fought accepting the title, because I did not want to be affiliated with such a negative stigma.
Then it happened. The subject of 'No Bunnies' came up in a meeting. It looked a little odd that one of the core staff members was headlining a local group that, in appearance, seemed to undermine the mag. At first, I was upset. Not because I did not see the contradiction, I understood where they were coming from. I was frustrated because 'No Bunnies' was something so dear to me. 'No Bunnies' helped give girls in our local snow community a place to gather around and identify with other women. It became a group that encouraged women to progress and helped garner a healthy competitive appetite. It unified our local women and created a close knit family; it was a place to recognize and praise each other for our accomplishments. I did not want to let go of the name because I did not want to seem like a sell-out. I sat down and really began to think about my motivations for this mag and what I wanted to add to it. I wanted to write about our local snow scene and women; I wanted to give women's issues a greater voice and a grander platform to showcase accomplishments. And yes, I wanted some of the perks that come with writing for a magazine (hey, I am being honest).
Misty brought up the fact that Snow Bunny Mag can do more for the snow scene in the long run than 'No Bunnies' ever could (and not in a condescending way). I mulled on this concept for a few days, while talking to various women, including other 'No Bunny' co-founders and here is what I have taken away from all this. Yes, I was embarrassed of the title 'Snow Bunny'. Myself and others have tried to avoid this stereotype for a long time and you know what? People are always going to stereotype and have fixed notions about particular groups of people, no matter how hard you try to avoid them. In fact, at the end of last season, I had a kid call me a "snow bunny" and meant it in a negative way, until I showed him up in the park. My point is, I choose to team up with those who care about women and the things they love, and not care about those who seek to tear others down. Snow Bunny Mag represents a vast array of women, from the stereotypical snow bunny to the hard core outdoor enthusiast. Who am I to tell a girl what kind of woman she should be? Sure, I want to encourage healthy self-worth and images, but when it comes to common interests, it's not up for me to say we all have to agree. If a girl wants to wear make-up and look all cutesy on the hill, it doesn't hurt me and ultimately, it is not my place to judge her for that. So if we have an article about waterproof make-up on the slopes, it has an appeal to certain women, maybe not to all, but to some it does. I have found that women do a great job at dividing themselves. We constantly compare, judge (even if it is secretively), and out-do one another instead of working on our acceptance, love and encouragement to one another.
So here it is, the title 'No Bunny' will be no more. Instead, I am changing the name to 'knoW bunny". The idea of the group will remain the same and you are more than welcome to call yourself whatever you want. I have decided that I am teaming up wholeheartedly with Snow Bunny Magazine because I feel it will give women the voice, attention and recognition they deserve. We have been thankful for all of your support, ladies. We hope to put on more women-focused events and continue to write about the awesome things that make up so many different types of women. I am blessed to have a diverse set of women in my life, it just shows how fearfully and wonderfully each one of us are made. As Misty has stated about the mag, "we're not a feminist magazine but a feminine one". Hope you all understand and share in this exciting next step for our local scene, I truly feel like this is a good move. Love you all so much.
If you did not hear, Sunday I took off with four other ladies to Mt Hood, Oregon for the Burton AM Slopestyle competition. Our story goes like this...
Prior to our trip, Dylan Sifford and I had to head up to our local mountain to gather our gear and pick up our pal Kelley. Today the mountain was a sad sight, it had been pouring rain all day but in an odd way it worked to our advantage because Rachel and Kelley ended up getting off work early, thus enabling us to leave on our trip earlier. As Dylan and I are about half way up the rain soaked mountain, the windshield wipers on my car flutter and abruptly stop!! Concerned, we pull over to the nearest turn out to inspect the problem- apparently, a rock came up and lodged itself at the base of my right wiper and ended up burning out the mechanism that rotates the wipers. Since we had to get up the mountain, we continued our trek without wipers- gnarly! We made it to Bogus safely, gathered our things and Kelley and make a stop at the mechanic shop on the hill to see if they could fix it...but alas they could not. Oh and I slipped on the ice- twice!! Now, I am covered in water and have to drive back down wiper-less. Finally we made our descent home, met up with Rachel, picked up Sarah in Caldwell and hit the open road...life is a highway remember?
Our drive contained of typical girl antics, laughter and car games to pass the time and yes, we got a lot of it on camera. We set up camp at a country home-cookin' themed hotel with a single queen bed for five girls. The four all slept sideways on the bed and I opted for the floor with minimal blanket...but hey, this is what road trips are all about. We rose early the next morning, because we had to register and get checked in on the mountain by 9am. Pumped and ready we head out to the new challenge that awaited us. Mt Hood Meadows greeted us with freezing rain and high winds, but we still kept our excitement. We get all registered and head up the lift to begin our practice rounds- we had an hour to get as many runs in as possible. We see the set up from the lift and it looks like the first jump is about 30/35 ft, the second is 45 ft or so and then two lines of two rails each below the jumps. Butterflies fluttered in our stomachs because none of us have actually hit any real jumps this season, so we all touched our nose to see who dropped first- Sarah lost so she is first. On the second jump, all we can see from the top is her getting a lot of air and then moments later people running over to the landing, so we hastily scuttle down to the landing to what appears to be Sarah with a dislocated shoulder! Ski patrol wraps her up, toboggans her down while the rest of us follow them to the ski patrol building. It is a dislocated shoulder, so patrol sets it back into place and allow her to rest- she okay'd us to continue the competition so we get back out on the slopes...this time a bit more intimidated! Our girl just went down and we missed the practice runs, so our qualifying runs, the two that we were allotted would be our first time hitting these features!! Talk about pressure!
The girl competitors had to wait for the guys to get their qualifying runs in before we could drop. The wind was crazy and the sleet did not give up, but we mingled and did what we could to keep warm. There were thirteen girls competing, apparently twenty signed up but only thirteen showed (that is still more girls than I have ever seen at one comp). The four of us met and talked with some of the other women competitors, it was refreshing to meet some really great female riders who could actually throw down. The time had come for the women's heat to ensue and then we were approached by the event coordinator who was asked if we just wanted to skip the qualifiers and go straight into the finals, thus making our next two runs the "all or nothing". Since the weather was not agreeable, we accepted the offer and away we went. Surprisingly the jumps were amazing and not scary at all! They were super soft and forgiving! Our runs were not our best, but considering the circumstances, we were all proud of ourselves. None of us walked away with prizes, but as a Lifetime Original Story would end- we walked away with some self-confidence and a sense of pride. We all did something we had never done before, we gained some experience and who knows, maybe next year it could be any one of us on that podium. All in all, it was a great trip with lasting memories- nothing like getting the girls together and going snowboarding...except "this car smells like feet".
It has been four in a half months since my Alaskan departure and life has yet to slow down. I have realized that after high school, life goes into hyper drive. My reintroduction to the lower 48 could not have been better! Flew into Denver, only to be picked up by my best friend Lacey Massey and hubs, oh and I can not forget Titus :) Later that night, had a much needed "date night" with Lacey that can honestly be rated one of my top favorite dates...with a female anyway. After dinner and great conversation, we came back to her house only to be greeted by my other bestie and roommates, Glover and Jessie. We had such a blast together during our few days in Denver. Got to see my cousin Richie whom I hadn't seen in years and my dear friend since high school Tricia and her son Isaiah. So blessed to have all these amazing people in my life. Such a great way to end the summer.
The roomies and I drove back to the wonderful City of Trees- the place that has my heart: Boise. I finally got to meet the new man in my life, Chester- the four year rescue Beagle that immediately stole my heart. Oh, I love that dog!! Once arriving home, I had one day to situate and get prepared before Fall semester started the next day. I had a busy semester ahead of me, with 5 classes and and a lab to complete, I had more than enough to keep me busy. It certainly was a tough semester, but I ended up walking away with 3 A's and 2 B's. I even got a trip to Vegas for a few days to visit long time friend since middle school Randy as well as my grandparents. What I was not prepared for was Bogus Basin to have a miracle fall upon it and have a Thanksgiving opening!! A busy school schedule, work, snowboarding and I do not mix well together- something always gets sacrificed! I managed to pull it off and kept my priorities in check and now I am working/riding everyday.
I am really stoked on this season, I have been working with a couple of amazing shred betty's to get the female ride community up and going. Thanks to local support from Newt and Harolds and Mttheory, we have been able to start a Girls Ride Night every Sunday. I really hope it takes off and the female shred scene becomes a real cohesive and tight knit community. Well, thought I would update the world or those who actually read this on the current inner workings of my life, ha! Stay tuned for philosophical/theological posts in the near future...some things I have been chewing on the past few months. Also, looking into going to New Zealand for a snowboard trip this summer!! Hope that comes to pass! Blessings!
