Celebrating Sisterhood: Winter Tour Style

Feb. 1, 2006

Kaye Krapohl had a simple goal when she started her Women’s Winter Tour eight years ago on Super Bowl Sunday. Theorists suspected it was some sort of plot to eliminate the big game. Krapohl contends that she just wanted to encourage some of her friends and some of their friends to get out and enjoy the wonders of winter by cross-country skiing or snowshoeing. But the conspiracy plot thickens as Krapohl’s event allows women to eat chocolate and drink champagne and feel good about it; more importantly to celebrate and to feel good about who they are as women.
The conspiracy worked, and for that matter, is still working. In 1998 over 200 women came out and joined Krapohl. They skied, ate chocolate, drank champagne and celebrated the sassiness of sisterhood. They also raised some cash and created awareness for domestic abuse programs in Traverse City.
What happened was the first 200 women all seemed to bring a friend or two with them the next year. Now everyone seems to be bringing friends. 1,400 plus are expected this weekend, Super Bowl Sunday, for the National Subaru Women’s Winter Tour.

NATIONAL PASTTIME
That’s right, this event has gone national with eight events happening within a six week time period from Winter Park, Colorado to Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. Michigan will host four events; Marquette on February 12, Charlevoix (Castle Farms) on February 25, Lewiston (Garland) on March 5 and in Traverse City February 5.
But let’s get back to the chocolate and the champagne because that is really the conspiracy here: to distract America’s women from the importance of Super Bowl Sunday. Want proof? Krapohl is now taking these events into NFL cities like Pittsburgh and Minneapolis.
“When we were in Pittsburgh two weeks ago they had that big game against Denver and these ladies were going nuts during the event. They all seemed to have Steelers jerseys on,” said Krapohl. “Really I am not trying to take over the Super Bowl Weekend. When I chose the Traverse City date it was the only weekend that didn’t have a ski race on it. When I first started doing ski races I didn’t see very many other women out. I started this as a means to expose women to skiing and snowshoeing. We are done long before the pre-game of the Super Bowl even begins.”
Still it sounds like a conspiracy to eliminate the most watched sports event on television by having a competitive event with lots of women that will surely attract men.
“Sure we have lots of men coming out and helping,” said Krapohl. “We have men volunteering in several capacities.”
Hmm… where is their loyalty to the big game–these guys that would rather go and volunteer at an event with a thousand plus women at it on Super Bowl Sunday? It appears that this is definitely a conspiracy. Say goodbye to chicken wings and cold beer and hello to chocolate and champagne.

LIFELONG CALLING
Krapohl isn’t budging on the conspiracy theory–after all she senses this event has been her lifelong calling.
“I sense now that everything I was doing in my life was preparing me for this; my background in graphics, design and marketing in particular have been quite helpful,” said Krapohl. “I am also blessed by the staff I have. I hired people who were different than me, who have different strengths, and this formula has worked. Really all I did was just plant the seed and the staff and all these wonderful volunteers are watering and fertilizing all these ideas.”
Sure, the seed to eliminate Bud Bowl, and all those million dollar Super Bowl commercials.
Krapohl is also amazed that, almost without trying, the mission and purpose of this event has evolved and taken on different meanings for all who participate.

EMPOWERING WOMEN
“It really is about empowering us as women. This event has women of all shapes and sizes and I am most proud of that fact. Nature doesn’t care about our size, it just wants us to be happy, healthy and to smile,” said Krapohl. “I don’t know many women who don’t smile when they are eating chocolate and drinking champagne. But also it is about health and realizing that there is this sisterhood of support out there. I received this e-mail from a woman who did the event last year in Marquette. She made a promise to herself that she was going to lose 60 pounds before the next event and she wrote to say that she accomplished that goal. Someday we hope to post all sorts of positive testimonials.”
Some of the testimonials Krapohl hopes to post soon will be from women who have escaped abusive situations. The Women’s Ski Tour’s charitable objective is to raise money and to create awareness in each community about domestic abuse.
“Domestic abuse isn’t always about a black eye; it is a complex issue that deals with both emotional and physical issues. What we have been able to do with this tour is create awareness for women who are not in abusive situations with those that are and to help both understand,” said Krapohl. “It is equally as important for women not in abusive situations to understand and connect with those that are. It is also important for women in abusive situations to connect with women that are not. We learn from each other. For the women in abusive situations, we hope that the simple process of joining other women in putting on snowshoes or a pair of skis is the start of the process to breaking out of the chains of abuse.”
Krapohl said that what most people don’t understand, is that for many women being in an abusive situation is a vicious cycle that can be hard to break.
“For many there is a sense of isolation, a sense of fear,” said Krapohl. “We hope that this event will let women know that there is help out there. We are proud that the proceeds from each community event stay in those communities. Every community we have an event in has wonderful programs to help women and we are happy to be able to help.”
While domestic abuse is a serious issue and not a laughing matter, Krapohl feels that it is important that the event be light-hearted and full of fun, chocolate, champagne and sassiness.
“In Traverse City we have a Greek theme this year and I have already heard from some about their desires to dress as various goddesses. While dressing up is not a requirement to participate, costumes are becoming more prevalent each year,” said Krapohl. ‘This year in Traverse City we have added a fashion show on Saturday and a marketplace for our sponsors at the Holiday Inn.”
As for the future, the conspiracy seems to continue as Krapohl and her team look to expand to other communities including Atlanta. Atlanta? Another NFL city and they don’t even get snow there. What’s up with that?
“We are the Women’s Winter Tour and snow is not a requirement to host an event,” said Krapohl. “They have winter in Atlanta and a lot of women. We will offer Nordic walking and hiking as we do in the communities that end up without snow on our event weekends.”
Okay so maybe all this really is a big coincidence. Or maybe 10 years from now the Super Bowl will be a side event to the Women’s Winter Tour.
In all seriousness the Women’s Winter Tour is a great event for our northern Michigan community. It is fun-filled with chocolate, champagne and a lot of sassiness packed inbetween skiing, snowshoeing and sisterhood bonding. More important these events are helping to increase awareness and support programs to help women who are faced with domestic violence. Every nine seconds in the U.S., a woman is assaulted and beaten; four million women a year are assaulted by their partners. Four women a day are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends. Domestic violence is the number once cause of emergency room visits by women. These are just a few of the alarming facts about domestic abuse in our society, there are plenty more.

To participate or volunteer in any of the upcoming Subaru National Women’s Winter Tour events visit www.womenswintertour.com, and to learn more about domestic abuse visit the Grand Traverse Area Women’s Resource Center website, www.womensresourcecenter.org. If you are without Internet access and would like to register for the tour call the office at (231) 929-7775. If you are currently faced with a domestic abuse situation call the Women’s Resource Center’s 24-hour hotline immediately at 800-554-4972.