MEET THE GUIDES/COACHES
JULIE-ANN CHAPMAN - LEAD GUIDE / Owner/Operator of She Shreds Mountain Adventures
instragram: @sheshredsmountainadventures
Eight years ago, Julie-Ann Chapman created She Shreds; being the first 'all girls' snowmobile clinic in the world. Prior to this, Julie-Ann was once a professional snowboarder (2005-2010) that "converted" to a professional snowmobiler in 2011.
Julie-Ann and her team specializes in teaching women to progress their skills on their snowmobile and now we welcome men to join us for clinics and guided adventures as well! With a strong emphasis on backcountry safety, She Shreds provides one of the best snowmobile adventure learning experiences. She Shreds also provides avalanche safety courses in conjunction with Avalanche Canada.
What do you like most about sledding?
It's most of the time an unknown adventure. You can plan your day of sledding all you want (its always good to have a safety plan) but you are always faced with something new and exciting. I love how its a bit of "the unknown adventure" every time!
What is so inspiriting riding with a bunch of girls?
Whenever you're out with a bunch of girls its always fun. Everyone tends to open up a bit more when there is no men around. No one to impress, no one to look down on you, no one to get mad at you and you can express being a girl in the most bad ass way. Being able to push each other to our next comfortable level on the sled with encouragement from other girls is an indescribable feeling!
Sledding in 4 words:
Rewarding, challenging, so fun, badass.
Most memorable sledding day?
Any day with a good group of friends when the sun is shining and the snow is belly button deep. The feeling you get when you return to the trucks safe and completely exhausted: so good.
Aliz Kovac - Tail Guide in Nelson BC
Instragram: @theonlyaliz
Sledding started as a means to access deeper, fresh lines to snowboard. But now Im in love. As my riding improved, I started spending days out on my sled without bringing any boards, just playing around and exploring the mountains. For years I have been committed to having winters free to snowboard and play at the ski hill, but now most of my winter days start with the smell of two stroke and end with face shots and that exhausted feeling in your body when you know you have pushed yourself to a new max. I am grateful to live somewhere I can sled directly from home, deep into the backcountry, climbing mountains or getting stuck in creeks. I hope to share this passion with people. I want to encourage other girls through those tough moments when you feel like giving up. Some days its hard to push through, but if you do the rewards will be great! You will be that much better the next time. This progression and growth is one of the best things about sledding. It just keeps getting better and better every time.
What do you like most about sledding?
My favourite thing about sledding is it allows me to access the far away bowls and peaks of our mountains. I love the feeling of working hard to climb and weave further and further away from roads and tracks to reach a new mountain top or pillow field that you’d just never get into without a sled. Feeling like an explorer! To me, that is freedom.
What is so inspiriting riding with a bunch of girls?
I love riding with girls because I feel like I can be silly and just be myself. Girls are more patient and stick together to help each other out when things get dicey. Also, it’s so inspiring to see what other girls are capable of and pushing my own boundaries to try to keep up with them.
Sledding in 4 words:
Freedom. Challenge. Explore. Learn.
What do you look forward to most working with She Shreds?
Teaching people is a great way to learn more about what you’re teaching. I hope to learn from the people I meet and the new situations I get in. Learn something every day.
Most memorable sledding day?
If I have to choose just one, I’d say it was a day that we finally got to a high alpine bowl we’d been working to access for 2 days. The first day we spent putting the trail in to the upper alpine lake. The second day we rode up above that lake to an incredible zone of pillows gully’s bowls and ridges. The snow was deep and the skies were blue and riding was epic. Pretty unforgettable.
Stephanie Sweezey - Lead Guide in Pemberton BC
Instragram: @stephsweezey
Stephanie was one of the OG women snowmobilers of Whistler BC area. She used to rip around on her Yamaha triple pipe back in the day blowing all the men out of the water on the slopes! She has recently graduated from her Operations Level 1 with the CAA making her a qualified lead guide for She Shreds.
What do you like most about sledding?
What don’t i like about sledding? I mean it’s really the best thing ever. For me I find it to be very therapeutic, the thrill and joy you get from conquering a zone, or climb or drop or whatever it is for that moment that got your heart rate up is like nothing else. To have that power at your thumb to go crush those mountains with or even just float through the deep powder on a graceful decent is impossible to beat. Always a smile from ear to ear
What is so inspiriting riding with a bunch of girls?
To go riding with a crew of all badass chicks is a totally different world. The vibe is super supportive. You really feel like everyone is going to come help you out if you need and not shame you for getting ogered in somewhere dumb. And girls do things differently, our bodies move differently and our minds think differently. It can be quite beautiful to be surrounded by other that get that in what once was such a male dominated sport!
Sledding in 4 words:
Happiness, soulful, exhilarating, rowdy
What do you look forward to most working with She Shreds?
Sharing my love for the sport and all the tricks I’ve learnt over the years with the growing female sled world. To help start girls out in the right direction in a positive motivating way or to help develop skills to conquer the mountains in a more efficient manner is super rewarding for me.
Most memorable sledding day?
So many! One in particular that stands out is a day with Kalle where he said I was ready to do some real drops and found about 5 for me to hit that day. nothing there was super big but i hit a pretty broad range of emotions that day and I found it really opened up my eyes to what I was going to be capable of on a sled
Hayley Auld - Tail Guide in Pemberton BC
Instragram: @hayleyauldd
I stumbled into snowmobiling at the age of 16, I was really getting into backcountry skiing and my dad signed me up for an avalanche course with the Black Tusk Snowmobile Club in Squamish BC. We used snowmobiles to get around the mountain and after that weekend my skis were left behind. I now sit on the board of directors for this club and have fully embraced the lifestyle that is snowmobiling. I work full time in Squamish BC as a Forest Technician, spending most of my days hiking through the forests and mountains.
What do you like most about sledding?
The feeling when you wake up at 5:30am, before your alarm goes off because you’re so excited to get out in the mountains with your friends. Or when your body is so sore at the end of the day but you hardly notice it because you’re still running on the adrenaline. Also, when you have an idea of a line in your head and you go for it, and it actually turns out better then what you had envisioned. Actually everything is pretty awesome, even the obstacles because you eventually overcome them.
What is so inspiriting riding with a bunch of girls?
The openness, certain boundaries and barriers come down when it is a group of women. There are no stupid questions. Everyone figuring out how to manipulate the machine with what you have.
Sledding in 4 words:
Best sport ever, seriously.
What do you look forward to most working with She Shreds?
I took a clinic with Julie-Ann when I was 17 or 18, I had a 2002 Skidoo Summit. I came away from that weekend with a fresh energy, looking to tackle the sport from a different perspective. I was completely inspired.
With that being my personal experience, if even one woman walks away from a clinic inspired like I was, that is would be a feeling I look forward to.
Most memorable sledding day?
Getting into a zone I had been bugging my boyfriend at the time for years to ride in. Perfect bluebird pow day and no one except our crew was back there. Incredible terrain features, being able to shithook uphill out of a nasty drainage I didn’t want to end up in, tree riding effortlessly, dropping into bowls and gullies I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it out of – and then made it out of on my own. It’s actually not only my best day of sledding, but top 5 best days of my life to date!
Tina Currie - Tail Guide in Pemberton BC
Instragram: @alanakai8
Prairie girl heading into the mountains...I moved to BC and worked hard for many years to finally be able to afford to ski the mountains in Whistler in 2000 and thats where my love for the snow and introduction to snowmobiling happened! My husband showed me the backcountry by sled and I road princess for many years before finally getting on my own machine in 2009! Lets say it was slow progress to learn from my husband, which lead me to find a female coach! Her name was Julie-Ann and I signed up for a She Shreds Clinic! Best thing I ever did...the day after my full day clinic I went out sledding with my husband and all he could say was ... ”your killing it and when can you sign up for your next lesson?” So for 5 years I took clinics and semi-private clinics with She Shreds and continue to progress my skills and also took my Avalanche 1 & 2 with her clinics using the snowmobiles! I’ve put tons of time exploring & working on my skills with my husband and taking our kids backcountry skiing, its been a blast! The last clinic I took from Julie-Anne was the deepest day I’ve every had and at that point I knew snowmobiling was going to be part of my life forever! So now I’m stoked to be a part of the team and tail-guide for She Shreds and share my passion with other RAD girls that want to learn to ride their own machines!
What do you like most about sledding?
Exploring beautiful terrain in the snowy mountains! I find it fascinating how you can just fine tune the skills and techniques on these powerful machines to make the travel on snow effortless! However some days are more challenging than others and you always get a good workout either way! No 2 days are the same and I love the challenge of working with all the variable conditions of weather, snow, human factor ect! Always stoked to be in nature and come home safe!
What is so inspiriting riding with a bunch of girls?
I find when a group of gals get together they are so STOKED and the energy they put out to learn is over the top! With no men around to do for us...I find women are so positive, supportive and push each other just the right amount to get the job done! I find myself learning new things every time I ride with other gals! Its just a whole lotta fun!!!
Sledding in 4 words:
Face shots and Shit hooks!
What do you look forward to most working with She Shreds?
Sharing my passion for this sport. Supporting and coaching them to do it smarter, not harder and help overcome any fears, but also push them out of their comfort zones safely! Most of all is to laugh a lot to make sure we get a good core workout :D
Most memorable sledding day?
Everytime I get to go Shred and Rip it up on my sled! Every time I ride it always ends with “that was the most EPIC DAY and can’t wait to go again...STOKED!
