Local skier encourages women to hit the slopes

A Whitefish native is the force behind a day designed to encourage women to hit the ski slopes.

The International Day of Women and Skiing, held for the first time on Dec. 14 last month, is the brainchild of Alyssa Clark.

Last year Clark, who works for K2 Skis, began to wonder if such a day existed. She searched and found other days focused on skiing, but none for women skiers. K2, along with several partners, served as sort of a sponsor for the day, getting the word out around the globe.

“We didn’t want to pin hole it to K2 skiers only,” Clark said. “We wanted it to be a day that anybody can ski, no matter their brand, as long as they get out there.”

Nearly 60 events were held in the U.S., along with others in Canada, Scandinavia, Europe and Asia. In Montana, events were held at Whitefish Mountain Resort and Big Sky Resort.

“It definitely exceeded my expectations,” Clark said. “It became this widespread wave of bringing daughters, moms and sisters to the slope.”

Clark, who graduated from Whitefish High School in 2007, grew up skiing Big Mountain. She first worked for K2 as an intern and has stayed with the company handling its marketing and serving as K2’s Women’s Ski Team Manager.

The day was designed to be a grassroots effort. A website for the event allowed anyone to register their plans and a pin was recorded on a map so others could find events. K2 Ski Alliance hosted events in Washington and Colorado, while SheJumps, with a mission to increase female participation in outdoor activities, held events at resorts all over North America.

While some of the locations celebrating the day had organized events, most were low-key, exactly how Clark envisioned.

“It’s really about saying ‘let’s just go out and ski,’” she said. “It’s exciting that the number of women in skiing is going up every year — it’s expanding and growing.”

The next International Day of Women and Skiing will be on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014.