Women’s Weekend 2023
THIS ONE’S FOR THE GIRLS!
You may have seen we recently launched our Women’s Weekend 2023 event. We are honoured to bring the event back for another year!
Why a weekend dedicated to women?
Action and adventure sports have always been seen as a male dominated area. After seeing this imbalance over the years, we wanted to offer a weekend for the ladies. To break down the barriers and misconceptions about the backcountry. Offering empowerment, education, and an opportunity to get into the mountains with a group of likeminded ladies. We want to demonstrate, and encourage women that they too belong in the backcountry, and that getting out there shouldn’t be intimidating or scary. With the right guidance and information, it is somewhere that everyone can enjoy!
What does the weekend involve?
Women’s Weekend has grown to be a little more than a normal weekend. Offering Avalanche Training in July, and the main event in September.
The main event consists of an open-to-public event on Friday 15th September at Hello Ranger in Northlake. This event will be an opportunity for the Women’s Weekend participants to meet each other, but more than that we invite the public to join in celebrating women in the backcountry by watching a women-led ski movie, and hosting a raffle with some pretty incredible prizes from The North Face, POC, Aspiring Guides, SnoPro, and more. With all of the proceeds being donated to the Mint Trust Charitable Fund. The community night aims to start conversations around female involvement in the ski/snowboard industry and as a meet and greet for women with similar interests to mingle.
The next day, Saturday 16th September, the participants will head to their staging area where they will break into different groups. We are hosting a traditional Heliski day with 5 runs, or for those looking to learn a new skill, we also offer the Introduction to Ski Touring. Both of these activities will join for lunch atop the mountains, before heading out for some more laps. After an incredible day in the backcountry, everyone will come together by the lake for apres with B.Effect providing the drinks, fun giveaways, and some delicious nibbles.
How is the Avalanche Training involved?
The idea behind the avalanche training originated from the organiser, Cassie, having conversations with her girlfriends. They wanted to organise a time that they could all do their avalanche training and Cassie quickly realised the habit of females. We like doing things together. Especially when the thing we want to do is quite intimidating. To have a support network with you, makes it a lot easier. With these conversations in mind, the idea to facilitate an Avalanche Training was born.
Cassie took her idea to The North Face and they quickly jumped on board. With the course aligning with their ethos of education and empowerment for women they could see the value in covering the cost of the course for 11 of the Women’s Weekend participants. Aspiring Guides were also happy to be involved, putting their best women guides on the job!
So now, we’re fortunate to be able to offer the first 11 women to register for the event, the opportunity to attend an Avalanche Skill Course 1 with Aspiring Guides for free. So long as you have a Cardrona/TC pass. If not, then you’ll have to cover the cost of a backcountry pass at $60.
Why would you need Avalanche Training?
Avalanche’s are a real danger in New Zealand. No matter if it’s winter or summer, you can find yourself in a tricky situation if you’re partaking in any activity around snow. This could be skiing/boarding, hiking, climbing, or mountaineering.
These courses aren’t reserved just for professionals and guides, they can help save anyones life when enjoying time in the New Zealand mountains.
You will gain experience in trip preparation, route selection, decision making and rescue skills.
For more information about what you could learn, check out Aspiring Guides.
So how do you get involved?
Head over to our Women’s Weekend page for all of the main information, plus registration.
We couldn’t run this event without the help from our incredible sponsors:
And our event partners:
The North Face
Encouraging, empowering, and educating women is what The North Face is all about. They jumped on board immediately with our ideas and have been a long time supporter of Southern Lakes Heliski. We are over the moon to have their support once again for Women’s Weekend.
As well as the Avalanche Training, The North Face run an amazing initiative - the Mountain Development Scholarship. Covering the cost of a lucky winners flights, accomodation, and gear to help them participate in the weekend. Ensuring that women who usually may not be able to attend events like Women’s Weekend have a way to be included.
POC
POC have supported Southern Lakes Heliski for years, ensuring that our guides have the best protection systems. They continue to lead the way for personal protection, not just for guides and athletes but everyone interested in getting outdoors. We’re excited to have them support us and to offer our participants with the fantastic quality equipment they provide.
