NewsIdaho Back Roads

Actions

Sun Valley hosts International Women's Week with unique events that celebrate women in the outdoors

Posted
and last updated

Sun Valley Resort is hosting a slew of events during International Women's Week to celebrate the accomplishments of women while working to inspire the next generation of young ladies.

The celebration kicked off on Wednesday with a group ski led by Sun Valley legend Muffy Davis who has won multiple medals at the Paralympic Games, including three golds.

"I just want to thank you all for coming out and being the powerful force that you are," said Davis. "But, we are not done. We still have a lot of work to do."

Davis led a group of women down the mountain as a way to kick off Sun Valley's second year of hosting International Women's Week.

"Oh my gosh, it it was so magical and truly inspiring," said Bridget Higgins of Sun Valley. "To have her participate and lead the charge and have us all follow her down crushing some powder was really awesome."

Thursday night included a night of films at the Opera House about women, and Friday night will feature Wild Rye's Ski Night at Rotarun in Hailey.

The outdoor industry used to be dominated by men, but I've noticed a change during my lifetime. Women's representation has grown exponentially as women now fill many roles at Sun Valley, including ski patrol and leadership positions within the organization.

"We have had a focus, as an organization, to be more inclusive. It’s our obligation to the community, our obligation to the industry and quite frankly, an obligation to ourselves," said Higgins.

RELATED | Sun Valley Ski Patrol mitigates avalanche danger and trains for rescues scenarios with dogs

Sun Valley has more events planned for this Sunday, including a sunset ski up Bald Mountain with the organization She Jumps, and the Muffy Davis Cup at Dollar Mountain from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

This event gives women a chance to fill the shoes of adaptive athletes and sit-ski down the mountain. It looks hard to me, but if I had to choose someone to teach me, I would pick Muffy Davis.

"Yeah learning from the best - that’s the way to go. It's like learning basketball from Lebron James," said Higgins.

Sun Valley planned on hosting the sold-out Wild Skills Junior Ski Patrol Clinic, but elected to reschedule the event to next week due to all the snow expected to dump in the area this weekend.

Season passes also went on sale for next year at Sun Valley. They offer several different options and if you buy a pass now you can ski at Sun Valley for the rest of this season.