Snowsports In Bigger Bodies
PLUS-SIZE SKIERS AND SNOWBOARDERS SHARE ADVICE AND THEIR LOVE OF THE MOUNTAIN
Published December 18th, 2023
Real talk: I didn't grow up as an "outdoorsy" person. I am horribly arachnophobic, I don't like being cold, and my immigrant parents made it very clear that sleeping on the ground outside was not their definition of success.
I took my first ski lesson in my late twenties as a testament of love, and then fell in love myself: the thrill of flying down the mountain, first in snowplow and then carving down bumps. Almost ten seasons later, there is no other feeling on the planet. Skiing was my gateway outdoor sport: I'm now an avid hiker, climber, backpacker, and surfer.
But one thing that really impacted me when I first started (beyond the sheer expense of getting into snowsports!) was the lack of size-appropriate gear; it's more than okay to learn with sweatpants under rain pants and a hoodie under a rain jacket, but as you progress it's important to have clothing that keeps you both safe and comfortable. Snowsports are inherently dangerous–athletes absolutely MUST be focused on their environment, NOT whether their clothes are chafing or pinching in uncomfortable ways. (And let's not get started on gear like ski boots! The Juicy Calf Club is unimpressed.)
I'm an engineer who loves to solve problems, so I learned to sew the same weekend that I learned to ski. My sewing journey, in tandem with my outdoor sports journey, ultimately led to me stepping up and making my own outdoor apparel. My company, Alpine Parrot, creates technical apparel that actually FITS bodies of a variety of shapes and sizes because we all deserve to take up space in the outdoors.
The beauty of all of this is that I'm by far not the only one to feel this way–people in bigger bodies have always participated in outdoor activities (even if everything we see in the media says otherwise).
I reached out to a few snow sport enthusiasts from around the country to get a sense of what their experiences have been like as snow athletes in bigger bodies.
In this interview, Tania Awalegaonkar, Violette O’Leary, Joanna Cellarly, and I discuss our love for the outdoors, disappointment at barriers to entry for snow sports, and other aspects of enjoying the outdoors in bigger bodies.
Here are our stories, why we love getting out in the snow, and what gives us motivation and inspiration despite the challenges of finding clothes that fits and a culture that always accepts us.
This article in a series on reducing barriers to outdoor access was made possible by funding from REI.
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MEET THE ATHLETES
We interviewed skiers and snowboarders from across the country. Here are the snow athletes.
Tania Awalegaonkar is an athlete on and off the snow. Photo by Mike Yoshida.
TANIA AWALEGAONKAR (SHE/HER)
Hometown / Home mountain: Salt Lake City, Utah
Sport: Snowboarding
Instagram: @Tania_Anjali
Tania has been a snowboarder for 22 years and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves savoring all the different aspects that snowboarding has to offer and learning to progress in each of those spaces.
VIOLETTE O'Leary (SHE/Her)
Hometown / Home mountain: Bozeman, Montana
Sport: Skiing (resort and backcountry), snowmobiling
Instagram: @fishski406
Violette has enjoyed skiing and snowmobiling for the last 10 years, and is based in Bozeman, Montana. She splits her time evenly between the resorts and backcountry skiing and snowmobiling. She says she "loves to un-aesthetically ski my way down lines of a level 10 skier."
JOANNA CELLARY (SHE/Her)
Hometown / Home mountain: Poconos, PA (and weekend warriors at Killington, VT)
Sport: Skiing
Instagram: @plussizeskigirl
Joanna has been skiing since the age of 3. She lives in the Poconos, Pennsylvania, a ski destination itself. She’s a weekend warrior in Killington, Vermont. She's spent most of her time skiing at resorts, but is hoping to get more into the backcountry. She says, "I can ski the entire mountain, but I have bad habits and am always looking to improve my form."
WHY DO YOU LOVE SNOWSPORTS?
Tania Awalegaonkar in snowboarding gear.
TANIA AWALEGAONKAR: There are so many reasons! I love the community that it creates. I love the way that it teaches others to believe in themselves in the same way that it continuously teaches me to believe in myself. I love the way there is an endless amount to learn and grow within the sport, the way it connects me to nature, the way it humbles me.
Violette O’Leary skiing with her 3-year-old.
VIOLETTE: I love skiing because it feeds my soul. Having not found my love for skiing until my mid-twenties, I have since called it my “soulmate sport.” Skiing has also been the light of my life through extremely dark times. It has saved my life countless times. There is nothing about it that I don’t love, other than improperly fit boots and lift lines, of course!
Currently I am in love with sharing my passion of skiing with my 3-year-old, who is also finding his own obsession with the sport!
Joanna Cellary at Tuckerman’s Ravine in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
JOANNA CELLARY: Skiing is pure happiness. The winter can be a dark and depressing time. Going outside and getting exercise is a huge help–especially the adrenaline rush of going down the hill. It's so much fun and all you can think about is skiing. It's an entire lifestyle.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU FACE AS A BIGGER-BODIED SNOW ATHLETE?
Tania Awalegaonkar says having the correct apparel and gear for bigger bodies will help reduce the gatekeeping of snowboarding.
TANIA AWALEGAONKAR: Honestly, I think the biggest challenge is the gatekeeping of the sport. This happens in so many facets of snowboarding and can get really discouraging. A big portion of that is through the correct apparel/gear.
Tania Awalegaonkar is a snowboarder motivated to be part of the change.
There's a social aspect of this as well, whether it be [others] underestimating my skill or knowledge of the sport, or not being considered a "snowboarder."
Plus, it's tough having limited models/mentors to learn from and look up to who understand the perspective of navigating this sport in a larger body.
That being said, all of these challenges only further ignite my fire to be a part of the change!
Joanna Cellary skied 50 days last season—29 days at Killington—and set a goal of skiing 60 days this year.
JOANNA CELLARY: Being accepted as an athlete. There's a stereotype that large people are beginners, out of shape, or a risk to other skiers and riders. I find I always have to prove people wrong that I belong there, that I know what I'm doing.
WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WISH GEAR OR APPAREL DESIGNERS KNEW ABOUT MAKING GEAR FOR BIGGER-BODIED SNOW ATHLETES?
Violette O’Leary backcountry skiing in the Rockies.
VIOLETTE: I wish that designers knew that bigger bodies also come in ALL heights too! Having not always been a bigger-bodied person, but always taller than average, I have noticed that with plus-sized clothing it has been more crucial to get the right lengths. When I was average-sized, I was able to play around with different gender-labeled clothes and sizes.
I have found it much more difficult now based on my curves. This is most crucial with outer layers, as they do have the most crucial role in function.
I would also love to pave a way for maternity snow pants–there are so many of us who continue to play outside in snowy conditions while pregnant, and not a single pair of “highly adjustable” snow pants exists!
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO MAKE THE OUTDOORS MORE INCLUSIVE?
Tania Awalegaonkar is a snowboarder who says inclusivity in the outdoors means considering all bodies.
TANIA AWALEGAONKAR: The average American woman is a size 18-20. Most outdoor brands don't carry any sizing past 12. If we are really searching for inclusivity in the outdoors, we need to be considering all bodies.
“Brands that make it a priority to provide plus-size clothes are sending a clear message: You belong here. We see you,” says snowboarder Tania Awalegaonkar.
There is already a huge mental barrier to being involved in a sport where you feel like you don't belong, and not having access to gear just adds to this in a very concrete way. The brands that are making it a priority to provide plus-size clothes are sending a clear message: "You belong here. We see you."
WHAT ARE YOUR TIPS FOR STAYING MOTIVATED TO KEEP PLAYING IN THE SNOW DESPITE SHORTCOMINGS IN THE OUTDOOR INDUSTRY?
Violette O’Leary ski touring with her child in backpack in Montana. She says, “Us bigger-bodied athletes are paving the way, and the community surrounding us will only get better from here.”
VIOLETTE: One thing that keeps me motivated is not caring what anyone thinks about your appearance or gear. Having the newest, best gear doesn’t make you a better skier! Somedays I just wear leggings, somedays I wear rain pants that are too baggy, and other days I’m wearing my old pre-pregnancy ski pants with my belly sticking out, but none of that impacts my ability to rip down the hill.
Another thing to keep in mind is that us bigger-bodied athletes are paving the way, and the community surrounding us will only get better from here.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people say how surprised and inspired they are by seeing me running an hour on the treadmill, touring for miles in the backcountry, etc. You’ll never hear someone say that to an average-sized athlete.
I think showing the world that bigger-bodied athletes exist can inspire so many other bigger-bodied folks to try something new and maybe find the hobby that ignites a passion to change their life for the better.
HOW DO YOU FIND A COMMUNITY THAT SUPPORTS AND ENCOURAGES YOU ON THE SNOW?
Joanna Cellary at the Killington world cup in Vermont. Joanna Cellary recommends connecting with a community of skiers that are supportive and inviting.
JOANNA CELLARY: Instagram and Facebook groups have made me realize that I'm not the only plus-size person out there who shares the same passion for snow sports. I've met some really great friends this way, since it's rare to see a plus-size person out there. I've also skied in women’s clinics, and those were a ton of fun meeting other women who love skiing. They're super supportive and inviting.
FINAL REFLECTIONS
The author, Raquel Velez, in her happy place on the mountain.
There are a lot of misconceptions about snowsport athletes in bigger bodies, but the reality is that we are not only out here, we are shredding as hard and as often as anyone else on the mountain. It speaks volumes about the tenacity of those of us who find ways to get out on the snow, despite not having the access to gear we truly need! And yet, for folks looking to get into snowsports, the lack of available clothing and gear is a physical barrier to entry to get into the sport.
I’m so grateful for the incredible community of folks who get out there and support each of us like we belong (because we do)!
I think it’s also important to point out that as climate change continues to ravage resorts and backcountry areas, snowsport participation is becoming more expensive, more difficult, and more inaccessible.
We need as many voices as possible to help save our beloved winter recreation areas. With 68% of American women considered “plus size” (and yet less than 20% of outdoor apparel with the same label), it makes more sense–financially and environmentally–to enable as many people to vote and fight for climate mitigation policies and natural area preservation.
People fight for the things they love, but if plus-size folks face too many barriers to snowsports to know if they love the outdoors, why would they care if it goes away in a generation or two? This is why it's so important to make everyone feel welcome and at home outside. And it goes beyond snow sports -- this is why we support the Outdoors for All Act, too. By reducing barriers to the outdoors for plus-size folks and all people, we all help support an environmentally more secure future.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR / WHY YOU SHOULD TRUST US
Raquel Velez seeks to create a more inclusive outdoors through apparel for bigger bodies.
Raquel Vélez is the Founder and CEO of Alpine Parrot, an outdoor apparel company that caters specifically to people of size and people of color.
She brings with her almost two decades of engineering experience, having received her degree in mechanical engineering from Caltech, worked and studied as a robotics engineer, and eventually shifting over to software engineering and engineering management.
Now, as an apparel engineer, she's creatively tackling one of the oldest (and most polluting) industries by creating sustainable, inclusive clothing for a market of people who have so often been neglected in the outdoor space.
As a plus- sized Latina who discovered her love of the outdoors later in life, Raquel has put an incredible amount of careful consideration into the design of each product, focusing on great fit and quality construction. She was named one of Outside Magazine's Outsiders of the Year 2021.
