Three winters ago, I was stuck in a snowboard rut deeper than an Alaskan crevasse: I was a perpetual intermediate, despite having learned the basics more than two years prior. Black diamond runs were an anomaly for me. I rode them only by mistake, after having taken a wrong turn and was forced to get down, usually on my butt. When it came to grace, confidence, and skill to actually carve a black run, I flailed miserably.

One day, while lamenting my wimpyness, I pulled out a snowboard mag, and longing for transformation, discovered in the sidebar of a sidebar to some big story, a tiny notice about the first annual Wild Women's Snowboard Camp (WWSC) in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A camp, it said, where women could "Free their inner spirit." This was the transformation I needed.

The Wild Women Snowboard Camp was launched in March, 1993, by Greta Gaines, winner of the 1992 World Extreme Snowboarding Championships in Valdez, Alaska. In an attempt to provide an atmosphere of physical and spiritual self-empowerment through snowboarding, she launched the first annual WWSC. True to it's philosophy, the spiritual inspiration and camaraderie of other women riders got me past my fears and kept me returning year after year. Mary Seibert, Greta's partner-turned-Director of the WWSC, along with other instructors throughout the years such as Athena, Julie Zell, Morgan LaFonte, and Lori Gibbs, have taught me the grace and balance of board to body, making me feel confident on almost every type of terrain.

Now I go back to the WWSC not because I suck anymore, but just for the fun of it. Always within an hour of meeting my group, I'm transformed again into the Wild Woman, riding with a posse of women who rip Jackson Hole's daunting Hobacks, Rock Springs Bowl, and their homemade pipe. And I always come away thinking I've found the perfect sport for me, as a woman.

The next Wild Women's Snowboard Camp takes place in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, December 10-14, 1997 for beginner-intermediate and January 15-19, 1998 for intermediate. The $700 fee includes four nights lodging, a three-day lift pass, three days of coaching, twice daily yoga sessions, a welcome reception and a farewell party. Contact the WWSC for more information call: Mary Simmons at [307]-739-2792 or BearSb@aol.com. --K.G.