The 100 Mile Nordics Club got together for it’s fifth annual Ladies High Tea and Ski event on Jan. 20.
“It went really, really well,” said Lauren Bock, the organizer. “I think we had more ladies and people than we ever had before.”
One goal of the event is to gain exposure for the lodge and its trails but the main goal, according to Bock, is connecting women, so they can find someone to enjoy skiing and snowshoeing with, a healthy alternative to going out and eating or getting coffee.
“Lots of people don’t like to go out there alone, especially a beginner or if they are new to the area and new to the trails,” said Bock. “By having all these women come up together, they get to meet new people and find someone they could maybe come up [with] and meet them and go out with.”
The amount of women who came, Bock said, shows that women and the public want more events like this.
The age range of the turnout was from a one-month-year old child to women over 80, though the majority were over 30 with only a handful of women in their twenties or younger.
Bock said there were no plans she was aware of to encourage the younger demographics to come out but said the Ski S’kool is one way for student-aged girls and young parents to get more involved in skiing and the club.
Everything from tea to baked goods, cups and silverware are supplied by donation, usually from club members. Entry to the event is also by donation.
The club raised $600, which will go directly to the club’s social fund, allowing the club to put on more events in the future for the public and club members.
‘We have great members that volunteer, come out and help. The only challenge is never knowing quite how many people will arrive and that’s fine, we just cater on how many people we can,” said Bock on organizing the event.
“It’s great that we could pull something off like that and we had wonderful feedback from [the] women who came. It makes us feel good and it does the club a lot of good.”