She Grooms: Smoothing the Way for Women in Ops

BY Heather B. Fried

Where women and cats are concerned, a lot of images and connotations likely surface before a female snowcat operator comes to mind. Allison Marriner, grooming manager at Mt. Hood Meadows, Ore., is working to change that.

Now in its fourth year, She Grooms is an experiential three-day clinic that takes place annually in the spring at Meadows. Attendees range from those who’ve not so much as climbed into a snowcat to expert operators wanting to widen their machine mastery. Its founding group of highly experienced industry groomers and operators also includes Sabrina Straszewski, snowmaker, groomer and winch cat lead at Schweitzer Mountain, Idaho; Katy Crook, grooming manager at Ski Cooper, Colo.; Kait Burds, who was a fellow cat operator at Mt. Hood Meadows and is now a construction foreman; and Jenn Ambrose, snowcat operator at Stevens Pass, Wash., and a registered nurse at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Female skiers and riders have long had the chance to learn and fine-tune their skills in an empowering environment focused on camaraderie over competition and fun over frustration. Opportunities like She Grooms and Trollhaugen’s Take the Rake bring that to women working in snowsports. With the way it’s been going and the clear appetite for bespoke women ops training, they won’t be the last.

Behind the Controls

You might have heard of this event as the women’s version of Cutter's Camp. While Marriner finds that comparison flattering, she clarified that She Grooms was built with a different purpose in mind.

“Our focus spans a broad range of mountain operations disciplines,” she explained. “Park grooming and planning, winch operations, alpine course construction and surface preparation, introductory grooming, snowmaking, mechanical labs, welding labs, heavy equipment training, leadership development, skill building workshops, and candid discussions about the realities women face in this field.”

Inspired by, or perhaps tired of, countless conversations with women who classified running a snowcat as an intimidating impossibility for them, Marriner manifested She Grooms gradually over 20 years.

“In two decades of running snowcats, and the 10 years I spent in lift maintenance, I’ve only crossed paths with a handful of other women doing the same work,” Marriner said. “Over the years, our conversations — spread across different mountains, seasons and job titles — kept circling back to the same questions: Why are there so few of us in these roles? Where are the women who I know must be out there, running equipment, fixing lifts, managing terrain, keeping mountains running? And why do we so rarely see each other or even know the others exist?”

Marriner has seen this imbalance show up on the mountain, at industry events and in everyday exchanges where women doubt themselves. But in their hesitation, she noticed a pattern; it wasn’t about ability, but perception. In Marriner’s estimation, most people assume the job is all brute strength and mechanical wizardry, a misunderstanding that keeps women from applying. They count themselves out before understanding that the job actually looks more like problem-solving, patience, awareness and a willingness to learn — qualities that women bring in spades, along with “grit, skill and perspective that make entire operations stronger,” she said.

“That absence made me wonder about access, visibility, mentorship and confidence — questions that don’t get answered when we’re scattered across resorts and rarely in the same room,” explained Marriner. “She Grooms was created to bring those women together, to make us visible to one another, to build skills and confidence, and to open doors for the next generation of operators and mountain professionals. It’s about changing perceptions, demystifying the work and showing women, especially the ones who doubt themselves, that they belong here if they want to be here.”

The journey in taking this event from a passing idea to full-fledged reality still feels surreal to Marriner. She first brought it up to Crook and Straszewski, pitching a gathering of women to run snowcats, share a BBQ and swap stories. It was a casual chat she didn’t expect to amount to much, but it stuck with her enough to share with Matt Troskey, then VP of HR for the ski area. He escalated it to the executive team, who fully approved. That’s when it got real; she might actually have to pull this off.

As the idea took shape, the She Grooms OGs got behind the effort, as did industry colleagues, vendors, operators and connections. People were excited, curious and eager to help, and after their inaugural event, even more so.

“The industry truly grabbed onto it. The enthusiasm, sponsorship and outreach since then have been overwhelming in the best possible way. It’s been amazing to see how many people believe in what She Grooms represents,” Marriner said, naming numerous women and men from Meadows, among other champions, to whom she is deeply grateful. “Their willingness to invest in this vision is humbling. They’ve been essential not only in planning the event, but in shaping the conversations and mentorship behind it. They are leaders and role models. She Grooms simply wouldn’t exist without their dedication.

“Jeremy Evans, [director of fleet ops], deserves special recognition as the mastermind behind the annual … snowcat caravan to the top of Cascade — one of my favorite parts of the event every year,” Marriner added.

    

On Convoy

That trip to the top of the world, as it’s called, leaves an imprint on everyone in the She Grooms sphere. Hannah Roth, operations manager at Mount Sima in Canada’s Yukon, recounted the ride that capped off their 2024 event.

“We all hopped into the cats and convoyed to the top of Hood Meadows. On that day, it was still puking snow (it had snowed like three feet over the course of the three days), and we were all kinda bummed that it would be so cloudy at the top,” Roth reported. “Next thing you know, the clouds peeled open and the sun shone down on us gals. Let's just say the stoke was so so high. Seeing this huge row of cats and girls hopping in and out, smiling, I don't think I have ever felt so happy to be a part of a group.”

Roth, who attended following her first season snowmaking and grooming at Alberta’s WinSport after a number of years in lift operations and maintenance, was also struck by “the amount of women basically hiding all over the industry, whether they have 20 years’ experience or two.” Hearing that most of those women were doing this work outside of their hometowns and states was even more inspiring.

“I thought to myself that I, too, could move away and take on a new role in a new place, and that's exactly what I did,” she went on. Another big takeaway? “There's support everywhere, and I mean everywhere! We've all faced so much … discrimination, ageism, sexism, (among other isms) that we just want a space where we can wear our pink boots and feel supported without judgement. It's even shown in our Instagram group chat: Anytime of day or night, girls are posting photos or asking questions and every time, there's another gal responding and supporting or uplifting. It truly is magical.”

That magic kicked off with about 26 participants in 2023, all of whom joined through word-of-mouth networking. In the seasons since, the event hasn’t grown much beyond that, by design. These days, all She Grooms spots are filled within hours of registration opening, and they maintain a substantial waitlist.

“We like the intimate vibe of the event and hope we can keep it that way,” said Schweitzer’s Straszewski. “We plan for 35 attendees, as our curriculum can accommodate this number for available seats in snowcats, labs and hands-on activities.”

Even with almost as many in the queue as those who get into She Grooms, waitlisting is worth it because “When we get ready to open registration for the following season, we refer to the previous season’s waitlist to see if they are still interested,” Straszewski added.

Attracting attendees from across the U.S., Canada and as far away as Austria and Australia, She Grooms is perhaps even more impressive for where it’s setting up these women to go from there.

“Many of the attendees have kept in touch through social media and have really expressed their appreciation for giving them the confidence to apply for supervisor positions and take in new roles that they may not have applied for,” according to Straszewski. “So far, about a half-dozen ladies have moved up the ladder at their resorts or have the confidence to branch out to other resorts!”

Room to Grow: Full Spectrum of Mountain Operations

As She Grooms expands into additional ops areas, they’ll be able to welcome more participants through new classes and labs. Still, Marriner remains unwilling to compromise the machine operating time central to the experience and has been brainstorming on how to preserve that level of engagement while increasing attendance.

“This season, we’re … incorporating lift maintenance through an introductory class and hands-on lab,” Marriner said. “The goal is to give women exposure to the full spectrum of mountain operations, not just one specialty, and to create pathways that align with their interests, strengths and long-term career goals.”

The group is also introducing resources and information related to summer employment opportunities that are essential to improving retention for ski industry professionals. By supporting year-round growth, Marriner hopes to help more women move from seasonal roles into sustainable mountain ops careers. As they develop their curriculum, team She Grooms is also looking to reach more industry specific sponsors.

“Our coaches, who are industry professionals with many years of experience from many different resorts, volunteer their time and fully pay their own way to make this event possible,” Straszewski explained. “Our goal is for the right sponsors to come in and secure the appropriate amount of support to help coaches with accommodation to the event.”

Currently, funds cover meals, fuel, facilities, shuttles, logo gear and accommodations for attendees. The folks at Prinoth and PistenBully have been helping make it happen since this event was a twinkle in Marriner’s eye. Both snowcat manufacturers are bringing a lot more than equipment to the table, leading education sessions and coaching on-hill trainings, like winching 101. The men who rep these companies year after year also have their fair share of She Grooms takeaways.

Paul Kirkland, who conducts sales and demos for Prinoth across California and Nevada, appreciates that the stoke level is off the charts while the ego meter doesn’t even register. A refreshing changeup.

“It's not a bro fest or like, you know, who's better? They're just there to learn,” Kirkland said. “They [ask] good questions, taking input and building their skills. That's the most rewarding part of it, to see these girls become better operators out of this.”

That vibe from the event translates to a thoughtful, laidback demeanor at the resort, he added. Similarly, Colin Hales, national product specialist for PistenBully, thinks women have a calming presence among traditionally male-dominated departments.

“A female can come in and have zero ego and do the exact same thing,” said Hales, who remembered an example of this at Whistler Blackcomb that predates She Grooms. “They're smooth and controlled, and they don't cowboy the machines. There are some guys that are really rough on cats, and it's expensive.”

Likewise, Ben Finn, a She Grooms coach who leads demos, training and events for Prinoth, said that among the top 10 winch cat operators he’s been fortunate enough to work with over the years, half of them are women.

“Good training and opportunity are two of the key ingredients that make a good snowcat operator, regardless of gender. She Grooms exists to ensure that the campers have access to both of these,” said Finn, who added that women round out ops with an approach to decision making that’s often more collaborative or teamwork oriented. “Sometimes, being more contemplative before making a decision leads to better results instead of acting hastily and suffering the consequences later.”

Echoing Kirkland, Hales noted that She Grooms attendees are there to hone snowcat skills. He's been impressed to see women from marketing departments and lift ops teams jump into a groomer for the first time — a level of vulnerability that’s a cornerstone of events made for, and by, women.

“We’ve all navigated similar challenges, celebrated similar wins and found our own ways through the tough parts,” Marriner said. “Those shared experiences are powerful, and they’re exactly the kind of knowledge that could help more women enter these roles and eventually move into leadership.”