Moms on board: A growing throng of women are riding the slopes with their kids

Detroit Free Press (MCT) - Jessica Belbot sat in the lounge at Mount Holly Ski Resort, trying to get warm by a fire. She sent a text message to her sons, who were out snowboarding: Where are you?

No reply. Typical teens.

"Do you want to go back out?" Belbot, 35, of Fenton, Mich., asked her friend, Karen Moffitt , 46.

They zipped their jackets, grabbed their boards and hit the slopes.

There was a time when snowboarding was for rebels _ crazy teens disdained by traditional skiers _ but the sport has settled into the mainstream and a growing number of moms are snowboarding with their kids.

Today, there are almost as many snowboarders as skiers on the slopes, according to the National Sporting Goods Association's survey. And from 1998 to 2007, the number of female snowboarders between the ages of 35 and 44 rose by 300 percent, the survey showed.

Belbot, who was snowboarding with sons Max, 15, and Mason, 13, is part of that trend.

She was using Mason's old snowboard and boots. Her latest hand-me-down snowboard is conservatively decorated compared with the last board she borrowed from him.

"It had a sticker of a half-naked lady in a bathing suit," she said. "I hated that board."

Erin Ernst, the public relations manager at Boyne Mountain and Boyne Highlands, has seen an increase in the number of female skiers and snowboarders. "For moms, it's a way to spend time with your kids," Ernst said.

The trend has grown so strong that Boyne Mountain hosts a skiing and snowboarding retreat for women. "It's a great way for women to learn from women instructors," Ernst said. "It's getting women out on the slopes. It's great for first-timers."

April O'Connell has seen the same increase in female snowboarders _ from the slopes to the stores.

O'Connell, 48, is a member of the Mount Holly ski patrol. She also sells snowboard equipment as the floor manager at Sunrise Bikes & Boards in Fenton.

Oh, one more thing: when she's not working, she is a part of the trend. She likes to board with her 19-year-old son, Micah.

"I'd rather spend a day with my kid out here, talking to him, where it's still OK to talk to Mom on the chairlift," O'Connell said. "It's an expensive sport, but so is diabetes and heart disease and all the other things. You are going to pay one way or the other. What do you want to pay for? I'd rather pay to be in something that is healthy. It's not only good for me physically; it's good for me mentally."

O'Connell said there is little distinction between skiers and snowboarders anymore. They even dress the same: "It's blending. You don't have a snowboard look and a ski look. You have a rider look. That's what it's called. Most companies are presenting a free-rider look. It's a slightly looser look. It's more comfortable."

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"We tend not to say 'skiing' anymore," O'Connell added. "We say, 'Who are you riding with?'

"It's a generic word. You can be riding on your skis. You can be riding on your snowboard."

Belbot stood at the bottom of Mount Holly, watching her son Max finish a run. He took a jump, slid toward her and stopped.

Belbot said she doesn't ride down the hill with the jumps because "my sons would kill me."

"She's not good," Max teased.

"How is she compared to others her age, though?" asked Moffitt, also of Fenton.

"For a girl, at 30 whatever, I guess she's pretty good," Max conceded.

Belbot has been out about four times this year, not as often as she'd like because her boys are busy with other sports.

"Mount Holly is a great family place because it's small enough to keep track of your kids," Belbot said. "They can go and be independent, but they can still meet up with you for lunch or on the lifts."

Over on the bunny hill, Moffitt sat in the snow, putting her boots in the bindings.

After a lesson and a few hours of work, Moffitt made it to the bottom without falling, carving a slow, steady pattern through the snow.

"I always wanted to learn to snowboard," Moffitt said. "I've only fallen about 50 times. My butt is a little sore, yeah. But I like it. I probably would like it better than skiing once I get the hang of it. It's more fun."

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© 2009, Detroit Free Press.