Coalition Snow's prototype all-mountain ski on the slopes of Lake Tahoe last winter.
Word around the post-ski tailgate session is that the lady skiers don’t want that soft pink ski. She wants a stiff ripping ski with the stability to rally icy groomers, the width to float through nipple-deep pow, and the snap for those last-second line changes. Coalition Snow was founded to deliver just that.
“You spend enough time skiing and snowboarding with women and these themes start to emerge like ‘My gear sucks,’ or ‘I bought these men’s skis because the woman’s stuff was too soft,” said Jennifer Gurecki, founder of Coalition Snow. “It became really obvious that there was this opportunity to become part of this grassroots movement where woman were taking ownership over their experiences in the mountains.”
Coalition Snow founder Jennifer Gurecki at a Lake Tahoe fundraiser for the S.A.F.E. A.S. clinic.
At first, starting a ski company was just an idea, a topic to throw in conversation around the campfire, but it continued to grow. The more women she talked to, the more Gurecki began to envision an actual product. People were responding to the idea in such a positive way that Gurecki knew she had an opportunity. By the end of summer, she developed some samples–two pairs of skis and two snowboards to take to the hill and put to the test.
“I was going to Kenya in the fall, and I thought what a great opportunity to launch the company by taking our skis and snowboard up a 16,000-foot mountain and skiing the glacier,” said Gurecki. This wasn’t her first trip to Kenya and Coalition Snow wasn’t Gurecki’s first project working towards woman’s empowerment.
Jennifer Gurecki and Meghan Kelly on the summit of Mount Kenya.
During grad school, Gurecki had travelled to Kenya to research bottom-up approaches to social change. What she found was that many of the women in the country lacked access to capital. Gurecki founded Zawadisha, a non-profit organization that provides microloans, business training, and preventative healthcare to help women in the region raise themselves out of poverty.
Through what she named Summit for our Sisters, Gurecki raised $16,355 for Zawadisha while launching her second company, Coalition Snow, on the 16,355 foot summit of Mount Kenya. There was a product and interest, but a lot more work had to be done.
Meghan Kelly skiing from the summit of Mount Kenya on Coalition Snow prototypes.
“From there, it’s just like starting any other business. You need to figure out what is it that you’re really about and who are you trying to target,” said Gurecki. So it was back to the drawing boards for more research.
“I’ve spent an incredible amount of time looking for data that women need a softer ski,” said Gurecki. “It seems the predominant narrative in the industry is that women are at a disadvantage physically. It’s not just like that in skiing and boarding, I think that women are perceived like that in all athletic endeavors–that they’re just weaker than men, and because of that, companies try to make gear that somehow compensates for that weakness.”
I’ve spent an incredible amount of time looking for data that women need a softer ski,” said Gurecki. “It seems the predominant narrative in the industry is that women are at a disadvantage physically. It’s not just like that in skiing and boarding.
It’s not just about advocating feminism or men versus women, but it doesn’t take more than a few days on the hill or a trip to the local bar to know that the mountain lifestyle and the ski and snowboard industry are generally a man’s world. Coalition Snow isn’t about building radically different ski design or creating an exclusive woman’s club – it’s about proving to more women that there is plenty of room in the mountains for all voices.
Coalition ambassador Jillian Raymond pedaling towards the California backcountry.
“We didn’t create anything drastic. We started with what women wanted rather than building something first and marketing it to women,” said Gurecki who spend a year talking to different women, having them test ski designs and give feedback and figuring out not just a solid product but building a community.
Looking for women's specific mountain bike apparel? Check out our profile of Colorado's Shredly!
“As far as what makes it womens’ specific, I think that is more about the company’s founding, vision, and sisterhood then actual specs. I have had multiple dudes see my boards, get stoked and want to ski them–and they can!” said Jillian Raymond, a Coalition Snow Ambassador. However, the focus on what has become the “Sisterhood of Shred” has not detracted from creating a quality product based on what women are asking for.
Swedish Slopestyle Tour champ Sandra Dejin putting some airtime in on Coalition's all-mountain ski.
“I don't think there are real differences, technically, between a ski that’s perfect for women and one that’s perfect for men. Every skier wants something different in their ski of choice,” said Lauren Bello Okerman, one of the ladies on the product research team. “The fun, progressive skis with torsional stiffness and interesting rocker profiles being churned out these days can be slightly out of range for women because of their length.”
Coalition's snowboard, the Myth, which comes in 147 and 151 cm lengths.
After recruiting a team of women to put a variety of ski and snowboard shapes through the ringer, Gurecki chose a limited run of designs to build for the 2014-15 season.
Rachel Graf rips spring groomers at Mammoth on Coalition's prototype snowboard.
“I ride really surfy. I grew up surfing in New Hampshire, so I like rocker boards a lot, but I also used to race snowboard cross, so sometimes I like something stiff and fast,” said Rachel Graf, whose input helped design the Myth snowboard. The skis come in two styles: a 105 mm-width all-mountain ski with rocker in the tip and tail (the SOS) and a 114 mm-width powder ski called the Abyss.
Coalition's powder ski, the Abyss, with dimensions of 129-114-119.
With a design in place and the support of a growing community, Coalition Snow still had to face the challenges of putting a product into production. Gurecki chose to start with a limited amount of skis and boards during the first production season to ensure that she is able to provide a quality product without over-stretching her resources.
Jillian Raymond skinning towards the summit of 14,179' Mount Shasta.
As a small company with no track record, it’s a difficult balancing act for Gurecki to incorporate certain production practices while keeping the end product cost-effective for herself and the end consumer. For example, she chose to work with a factory overseas to build the skis, rather than building the ski locally, because the cost would have made the skis and boards less accessible and the materials are still sourced from overseas. However, as the company grows and evolves, Gurecki continues to search for the best manufacturing processes.
Look for the first batch of Coalition Snow skis and boards at coalitionsnow.com or goodpeople.com beginning this fall. Coalition Snow will also be hosting the premiere of Pretty Faces in San Fransisco this October.
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About The Author
stash member Jenn Sheridan
When she's not skiing and exploring in the mountains, Jenn can be found searching for Sasquatch in the State of Jefferson. Jenn is the Marketing and Content Director at Coalition Snow
adhonawilliam
September 24th, 2014
It is not always necessary that women will look for softer ski or other ski equipments. Rather most important thing is to look for the quality of ski then it may be for men or women. For this you can check out the latest sports store online like Twinner , which deals all kinds of ski for men, women and kids at http://www.twinner-avoriaz.fr/ .
CaliBrit
November 4th, 2014
Great idea. Would have really considered some, but you built them offshore with a company like Praxis on your doorstep? They already build skis for others that hit your price point. Real shame. The ideals of coalition snow and China are not in harmony.
Jenn Sheridan
December 17th, 2014
Hey CaliBrit, I asked Jennifer why she chose to manufacture overseas. She said spent a lot of time talking to US based companies such as Praxis, however to be able to fairly compensate those companies for the time and labor spend building a small batch of Coalition’s skis and boards she would need to raise the final selling price of the end products significantly. She battled with choosing between making the skis and boards overseas and keeping the final price accessible to the average skier and rider or making them in the US and raising the price, but let’s be honest… no one is going to pay a grand for a ski or board from a company they never heard of so she went with the overseas option for now and continues to look into other options.
In the meantime she says she’s working to offset the impact by working with Women’s groups in Kenya to plant tree nurseries
(read more about that here: http://www.coalitionsnow.com/blog/2014/9/9/planting-trees-for-skis)
and making her soft goods in an fair-trade eco-factory whose profits also support the planting of indigenous trees
(read more here: http://www.coalitionsnow.com/blog/2014/8/13/a-different-tee-for-a-different-company).
Thanks for reading!
alexpaul
May 30th, 2018
Indeed, a great idea and I believe that they have succeeded in what they had planned. To have such a high quality soft ski will enable majority of the women to ski and they will be able to even use a snowboard this manner.
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hendry jullius
September 8th, 2018
It became really obvious that there was this opportunity to become part of this grassroots movement where a woman was taking ownership over their experiences in the mountains. At first, starting a ski company was just an idea, a topic to throw in the conversation around the campfire, but it continued to grow. engagement rings
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January 21st, 2019
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