The skiing industry was profiled by Edwin McDowell of
the N.Y. TIMES under the header, "Changing Skiing's Macho
Image." McDowell notes women have been "abandoning" the
slopes in recent years with "their share of a flat market
plummeting" to 41.2% last winter, from 46.3% in '92-93,
according to the Nat'l Ski Areas Association. But ski
operators "are making a concerted effort to help women feel
more welcome on the slopes - and to find more time to be
there." Many resorts are introducing women's ski and
snowboarding programs and adding women instructors. Some
offer "day care for toddlers and beepers for mothers." Joan
Christensen, a spokesperson for Winter Park, CO, ski resort:
"We've even beeped mothers off the ski trail to breast-feed
their babies." McDowell says "it's too soon to know if
these various blandishments will succeed in luring women
back, although the industry appears to be attracting some
who had left the slopes when they had children." To get
more skiers on the slopes, "resort operators are going after
more than just women." CO recently offered free ski passes
to its 58,000 fifth graders, "hoping to replenish the
pipeline for the future" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/15).
BOARDING: On "Market Wrap," CNBC's Susan Lisovicz
examined snowboarding, which has grown about 17% each of the
past four years, and boarders now comprise 14% of all U.S.
ski resort visits. Lisovicz: "Corporate sponsors such as
Mountain Dew also want to ride snowboarding's popularity."
Volkswagen sponsors snowboarding competition and is running
a promo offering a free pair of skis or snowboards with the
purchase or lease of a car (CNBC, 2/17).
