What do ski pants have to do with fear, inclusivity, and mid-mountain meltdowns?

According to Maria Baker, founder of Nobody’s Princess Snow Gear, a lot. I met Maria because I’d been following the rise of her snow gear company, Nobody’s Princess, out of respect and curiosity. Her clear interest in connecting with the ski and snowboard community in an authentic way reminded me of the organic joy and authenticity I saw in Corinne Prevot’s Skida headwear back when I worked for the SnowSports Industry Association. As a long-time content marketer, I recognized the soul that defines companies with staying power. But the more I read and followed, the more I was interested because not only was Nobody’s Princess clearly a women’s ski gear company with soul– but also, their mission of making women’s ski pants that fit all shapes and sizes was speaking to me.

You see, as a 5’1″ middle-aged woman, I know a thing or two about ill-fitting ski pants. I have been provided with so many ski resort uniform pants that look ridiculous on me and make me feel uncomfortable. I have also bought many pairs that I’ve had altered and still were too baggy in the legs and too tight in the waist. So when I saw Maria’s clever title, Chief Pants-splitter, and read about her cold-butt chairlift moment of deciding to make better women’s snow pants, I was intrigued.

We connected on Zoom to chat about her company, but ended up talking about so much more. I thought we’d discuss how she got to where she is, how her ski gear is different, and what’s next, but once we started talking I realized she is really tapping into something that I see every weekend when I teach women at Whitetail Resort, and that I see in my women friends and family that ski: fear.

Fear, and its cousins vulnerability and insecurity, are common themes I hear in our women’s clinics. Maria told me she started snowboarding as an adult, and felt like she didn’t measure up in some ways. She said, “The fact that there weren’t snow clothes meant to fit my body, and I was a bit uncomfortable, paired with the general feeling that I was not part of this snow sports culture, just made me feel a bit less-than. But after talking to some friends who had been snowboarding for a long time, I realized most of us felt that way no matter how cool they looked or I thought they were. We’re all going through it, but we’re just not used to being vulnerable creatures and sharing that.”

Baker also shared that fear and ill-fitting clothing contributed to her recent ACL tear, which she is currently rehabbing. “I’m pretty sure it happened because I was not comfortable that day. I was not set up right, I couldn’t concentrate, and it led to injury,” she said. “If you’re using the energy in the back of your head to worry it reflects in how you present, how well you can focus, and that’s when mistakes happen.”

“I think if you haven’t stopped at some point and had a mental breakdown on the mountain you’re doing it wrong. We all have inner demons we’re facing,” she said.

Goodness knows I’ve had my fair share of chairlift crys, so this resonated with me. And I see fear of all types in my students. Some are simply afraid of falling, some are afraid of heights, some fear their inability to control their skis and going too fast, and some are afraid of looking uncoordinated or silly.

We’ve all been in these places at one time or another, and Maria’s philosophy that at least being comfortable in your clothing takes away one layer of worry made so much sense. “If you’re thinking, ‘Is everyone looking at me? Am I constantly hiking up my pants?’ It’s a stressor,” she said.

As an instructor, I can help people work on all of the other fears with practice and incremental tiny steps, but discomfort in your clothing is a baseline issue that it’s important to address. The problem is that most snow sports manufacturers don’t want to make too many sizes and too many options because it’s expensive.

This is a personal issue for me with ski boots– I have very small feet and there is literally one ski boot made that is my size. It’s just too expensive for the companies to bother with catering to my uncommon issue. Same with the pants. I take them to the tailor, but still always deal with a bit of a baggy pants look because I have no choice.

Nobody’s Princess is solving this problem with jackets and pants that not only come in numbered sizes from 2-20 instead of the typical S, M, L, XL, but also have clever adjustments built-in to each garment so you can customize. I loved that the website fit guide lets you pick one of four basic body types to steer you toward the right line for your shape. And three different pants lengths! Halleluja!

Baker concluded, “It’s about taking at least that one stressor away, reducing that mental load. If the gear can be one less thing to worry about then so be it. If as women we can help each other and lift each other up, and help women look great and be comfortable in their ski gear, then I’m happy.”

To learn more about Maria and Nobody’s Princess, and to check out all the great colors and cute styles, go to the website at https://nobodysprincess.com.au/. I have pants and a jacket on the way, so when they arrive I’ll post about them and let you all know how they are. You can come see me at Whitetail and check out the pants in person, too! Maria has also said she’ll visit us for the second Women’s Day on February 14th, so sign up if you’d like to meet the Founder and Chief Pants-splitter in person!