There is only one rule and that is you have to leave your hottie boyfriend at the base lodge. Not that he isnt a perfectly acceptable dude, but this camp is for women only. It is not boot camp or some kind of self-help group, but a telemark skiing camp called Ultimate Groove. That winter sport that lies right on the edge of being mainstreamif only it didnt look so hard and so tiring.

Heather Paul/Beth Price

Ultimate Groove (UG) was initiated by Heather Paul, a two-time National Telemark Champion, who has appeared in ski films, magazine articles, and at the Winter X Games as a competitor in skiercross. UG gets the word out that telemark skiing isnt about a bunch of bearded men wearing knickers and leather boots. Rather, that telemarking is cool. Just check out Kasha Rigby in Scott Gaffneys film, Breathe, or Christy Kromer clearing gap jumps on her teles at a Lord of the Boards competition. UG gets women of all abilities started on their quest to become proficient in the most mystifying of winters board sports.

Kirkwood, California, was the last stop on UGs four-stop tour. HP, as Heathers friends refer to her, and the girls had just hit Jackson Hole the week before. The road warriors greeted us at breakfast Saturday morning and made us sign some waiver claiming they werent responsible for our sore muscles. (Sore? I dont know what they were talking about.)

Jenn Gleckman getting ready to go/Sara Bennett in transition

Like any sport, there had to be a starting point. So before we were allowed to slip on our Scarpa boots, we had to attempt some of Sara Bennett Alleys favorite yoga positions. We started in Warrior position (hands clasped in front of the body), then moved along to Downward Facing Dog (similar to a push-up), and finally into Sun Salutations (chest and arms open to the ceiling). Sara made sure we didnt extend our thighs over our knees and that we kept our stomachs tucked into our pelvic. Oh, and she didnt forget to remind us how important it is to breath properly at 7,000 feet above sea level.

As we made our way out to the lifts, it was already starting to dump. The rumor floating around was that Kirkwood was going to get one to three feet of snow overnight. (The gossip mill turned out to be true and camp got cancelled on Sunday because Mother Natures generosity closed down Kirkwoods access roads.)

Everyone made a run together, before Sara grabbed Jenn, Mary, Beth and me and led us right off the groomers. All right, girls, like this, Sara tells us as we stand on top of a fairly steep pitch, sprinkled with slushy moguls. She then goes ahead to show us what we would look like, if we had been on the US National Telemark team. Light and centered, Sara is graceful and effortless. We all ski down to her, and our weaknesses are pretty obvious. Jenn drops her knee too much, I dont enough, and Mary just has to stop double pole planting. Beth, who drove up from San Francisco to be the guest speaker Saturday evening, is a former Crested Butte and Salt Lake City resident. It is apparent to us that Beth has spent some time on teles, although she claims she retired them for a surfboard when she moved to the Bay area a few years ago to become an exercise physiologist. Beth said she had to dig her teles out of the closet and that she is out of shape. The woman is a former Eco-Challenge competitor and rode the 24 Hours of Moab mountain bike race in the one gear only category. I would have liked to borrow her legs for the day.

One oclock is lunchtime, and everyone re-groups down at the lodge. As were chowing down some fattie sandwiches: Mary discovers that her boots have been in walk stance all morning and hopes that the afternoon will be easier once she adjusts them; I remember how much I love pastrami; and HP decides she will take our group for the afternoon.

Right when you think you are going to lose it, get off it, HP tells us, after she watches us lethargically traverse back and forth across the hill. What Heather then demonstrates requires a bit more energy, like jumping on hot pavement to cross the streetfast feet, fast feet. Heather stomps through the moguls like she is putting out a fire. We are lucky it is a powder day because when we go to do fast feet, fast feet, we are more likeface first, face first.

No one complains when it is time to go in, especially our cry baby thigh muscles. The evening concludes with a few cocktails, and Beth gives a chat about the importance of strong abs for telemark skiing and womens health in general. (Not to mention that Baywatch audition.)

The thing about women teaching women is that it generates camaraderie. Girls like to hang with girls not just to gossip occasionally but to push each other. If Jenn can have a telegasm as she puts it, (that moment when a tele-turn is executed perfectly) then the rest of us want one too. As far as our telemark futures are concerned, we may not turn into the next Heather Paul, but we will definitely feel cooler for trying.

For more information on Ultimate Groove check out the website at http://www.ultimategrooves.com