It’s
hard
out
here
for
a
ski
fan.
With
local
temperatures
topping
70
degrees
in
recent
days,
fans
of
winter
sports
aren’t
finding
much
action
near
D.C.
Luckily,
the
winter
brings
a
series
of
gay
ski
events
out
West,
where
locals
can
escape
the
January
heat
and
hit
the
powder.
“I
first
went
to
[Aspen
Gay
Ski
Week]
in
the
early
days,
in
the
’80s,”
says
Richard
Strange,
a
former
World
Bank
employee
and
veteran
attendee
of
gay
ski
weeks.
While
the
events
might
have
started
off
small
(Strange
remembers
people
gathering
around
a
local
pond
for
wintry
events),
today’s
gay
ski
weeks
are
held
all
over
the
West,
and
they’ve
become
major
go-to
winter
destinations.
“It’s
more
like
a
festival,”
says
Dean
Nelson,
director
for
WinterPRIDE,
a
gay
ski
week
on
Whistler
Mountain,
the
highest
mountain
in
North
America,
in
Whistler,
British
Columbia.
“We
discerned
that
people
are
coming
here
to
meet
old
and
new
friends
from
around
the
world.
It’s
a
celebration
of
diversity.
It
was
starting
to
sound
like
a
Pride
festival
except
in
a
ski
resort.”
WinterPRIDE
was
born
when
the
previous
Whistler
gay
ski
week,
Altitude,
was
cancelled
at
the
last
minute
during
the
2006
ski
season,
leaving
ski
fanatics
with
plane
tickets
to
nowhere.
In
response,
Gay
Whistler,
a
privately
held
company
that
plans
gay
ski
weeks
and
other
gay-friendly
events
in
Whistler,
scrambled
and
put
together
a
full
event
in
just
12
days.
The
success
of
that
hair-raising
inaugural
week
led
to
the
creation
of
WinterPRIDE,
which,
this
year,
is
made
up
of
a
panoply
of
attractions
sure
to
entice
avid
skiers
and
snow
bunnies
alike.
Although
whooshing
down
the
slopes
is
the
main
sport,
WinterPRIDE
also
offers
snowboarding,
dog
sledding
and
even
canopy
tours
—
a
series
of
zip-lines
set
up
in
the
snowy
treetops.
Indoors-only
types
who
might
have
been
dragged
along
by
a
mountain-loving
partner
won’t
be
left
out
in
the
cold.
One
of
Canada’s
top
fitness
experts
Cat
Smiley,
herself
a
competitive
skier,
will
be
leading
an
exercise
boot
camp
that
promises
a
no-holds-barred,
intense
military
style
workout,
sans
the
belittling,
yelling
and
intimidation.
Plus,
from
photos
of
Smiley,
the
ladies
will
have
some
serious
eye-candy
while
getting
whipped
into
shape.
NOT
CONTENT
TO
be
just
about
physical
pleasures,
WinterPRIDE
also
offers
educational
classes
for
health
professionals
taught
by
accredited
instructors.
Topics
include
facial
reconstruction
for
AIDS
patients,
issues
faced
by
lesbians
during
menopause
and
the
special
health
needs
of
the
transgender
population.
If
this
all
sounds
like
too
much
work,
never
fear
—
there’s
still
plenty
of
hedonism
on
the
schedule.
A
culinary
event
combining
singles
and
aphrodisiac
foods
is
sure
to
raise
the
temperatures
of
some
attendees.
Singles
attending
the
mixer
will
wear
chef
hats
and
help
to
feed
one
another
lusciously
tempting
foods
like
strawberries,
oysters,
figs
and,
of
course,
chocolate.
“You’re
getting
your
hands
dirty,”
Nelson
says,
“and
you’ll
have
fun
doing
it.”
In
fact,
the
weeklong
festivities
have
no
shortage
of
social
events.
There
are
afternoon
happy
hours,
après-ski
events,
comedy
shows,
a
formal
banquet
and,
most
impressively,
a
mountaintop
tea
dance
being
spun
all
night
by
DJ
Jamie
Sanchez.
This
year’s
event
is
expected
to
bring
in
around
2,500
people.
In
the
past
it
has
been
about
95
percent
men,
but
a
larger
advertising
base
with
lesbian
publications
is
expected
to
push
women’s
attendance
up
to
10
percent.
FOR
THOSE
SEEKING
a
quiet
get-away,
WinterPRIDE
is
probably
not
the
ideal
option,
but
Vail
Gay
Ski
Week
in
Vail,
Colo.,
could
be
the
perfect
intimate
vacation.
Though
the
town
is
the
largest
ski
area
in
the
United
States,
its
gay
ski
week,
held
from
Feb.
6-11,
usually
only
draws
about
50
skiers
who
are
mostly
in
their
30s,
40s
and
50s.
Even
with
events
planned
every
day
—
generally
a
dinner
or
smaller
party
with
the
exception
of
the
large
closing
night
party
—
the
biggest
attraction
at
Vail
is
the
skiing.
Vail
Mountain
stretches
seven
miles
long
and
is
made
up
of
a
variety
of
specially
dubbed
sections,
including
the
Front
Side,
Blue
Sky
Basin
and
the
Back
Bowls.
The
Front
Side
is
mostly
suited
for
novices,
the
Blue
Sky
Basin
is
made
up
of
intermediate
and
difficult
runs,
and
the
Back
Bowls
is
strictly
for
the
experts.
The
town
of
Vail,
nestled
in
Colorado’s
breathtaking
scenery
like
an
Austrian
ski
town,
is
noted
for
its
shopping,
gourmet
dining,
art
galleries
and
luxurious
spas.
A
long-established
vacation
spot,
Vail
has
many
housing
options,
including
a
number
of
condos,
which,
according
to
Vail
Gay
Ski
Week
organizer
Josh
Harriot,
is
the
preferred
accommodation
for
a
majority
of
guests.
“Most
stay
in
condos
which
are
very
accessible
to
the
lift,”
Harriot
says.
“A
lot
of
boarders
come
as
well.
People
tend
to
come
from
all
over
the
country.”
Given
the
rash
of
serious
snowstorms
in
the
western
U.S.,
Harriot
says,
“Vail
actually
has
excellent
snow
this
year.”
Somewhere
in
the
middle
of
the
previous
two
events
is
the
Telluride
Gay
Ski
Week.
Located
in
Telluride,
Colo.,
the
event
has
the
same
laidback
attitude
as
the
town
itself.
“The
best
thing
about
Telluride
gay
ski
week
is
how
different
it
is
from
the
typical
gay
ski
weeks,”
says
the
event’s
publicist,
Scott
Barretto.
“It’s
very
casual,
not
a
party
atmosphere.
We
leave
time
for
people
to
do
what
they
want
to
do.
It’s
much
more
laid
back
in
that
everyone’s
not
dressed
up
to
go
to
things.
It’s
not
high-energy
events;
it’s
more
a
casual
vacation
that
you
go
to
catch
up
with
your
friends
instead
of
going
from
one
dance
to
another.”
Telluride
is
known
for
its
locally
owned
bakeries,
restaurants
and
shops
as
well
as
its
top-drawer
resorts.
The
town
also
...
