Women of Winter

As everyone knows, the 2026 western snow season was less than ideal, but that didn’t stop the 4th annual She Grooms event, hosted at Mt. Hood Meadows, Oregon. An event begun in 2023 by a group of ladies committed to training and supporting women in ski area operations continues to grow year-over-year.

Classroom training, round table sessions, leadership development and network building were at an all time high this year. Original coach Kait Burds, owner of Iron Lady + Co. came back to Oregon for the event, “The ski industry has a way of roping you back in. I went full time construction, but it has come back in the most wonderful way…and I get to share my knowledge from a trade with these ladies who may not otherwise have the confident or opportunity to try it.”

While on-snow sessions weren’t able to happen, the attendees participated in a variety of sessions with hands-on components including: outdoor workshops with the groomers on all season tracks, winch courses, “yellow iron” large equipment, lift maintenance and welding clinics.

“This is one of my favorite weeks of the year,” remarked Ben Finn, Prinoth Demos, Training, Events. “These ladies are committed to learning, supporting each other, and making the industry better. I’m proud to be part of She Grooms and can’t want to get the cats back on snow next year.”

Organizers are already looking toward next year’s event. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us marketing.na@prinoth.com

Read more about the history of She Grooms in these trade journal articles:

SnowOps Magazine: Where Women Learn To Run The Mountain

NSAA Journal: She Grooms