Keely Kelleher Fires Up Fifth Year of Camps

Hey, how does a trip to Alta in March sound? Big-mountain skiing, with Blizzard powder ski demos, video analysis and avalanche awareness education?

Sorry, guys, but only girls can apply. The program is one of several scheduled Keely’s Ski Camps for Girls this season, started by former U.S. Ski Team member Keely Kelleher and aimed toward helping participants from age 10 to 17 thrive in a comfortable and positive environment.

The feedback so far among coaches and athletes alike often includes the words “confidence,” “opportunities,” “inspiration,” “belief” and “fun.”

“They are the first ski racing, big mountain, and backcountry camps in the country that are exclusively for girls,” explains Kelleher. She began the camps upon her retirement and recruits an all-female coaching staff all the way down to the camp cook — her mom, Jennifer.

Now in its fifth year, the program has expanded to include four week-long sessions for race training at Mt. Hood in June and July, and two big-mountain camps in March and April at Alta, Utah, and Big Sky, Mont. New this year is an introductory backcountry camp in the Tobacco Root Mountains, just outside of Bozeman, Mont.

“The camps aren’t just for ski racers; they’re growing into so much more,” says Kelleher. “You get on a mountain with a bunch of girls and ski together, and there is something about that energy that brings everyone together. That’s what these camps are about.”

Having worked at several summer camps at Mt. Hood, Keely noticed there were many more men coaching than women, despite the fact that girls and boys were equal in attendance at the camps.

“It was a lightbulb moment; there weren’t enough female coaches and there was never anything just for girls,” says Kelleher. “I realized that I wished I’d had something like that as a kid.”

Her idea began to take shape and grow while she studied at Westminster College and coached for Rowmark Ski Academy’s junior program. She realized that having an all-female staff filled with former teammates and friends was just as important as the camp itself.

“There’s no better person to run the program than Keely because of her enthusiasm and passion for keeping young girls in the sport,” says longtime friend, former teammate and regular coach Katie Sheehan.

What began as a one-week ski racing camp has expanded to include all aspects of skiing. Kelleher, a Montana native, was a skier first, and ski racer second. Her love of skiing led her to success not only on the alpine World Cup tour, but also as a big mountain skier. She’s starred in Warren Miller films and has traveled to remote places in Iceland and Chile with her equipment and ski camp sponsor Tecnica/Blizzard.

“I think the biggest change in my life since ski racing ended has been my shifting mindset,” says Kelleher. “It’s no longer about myself, it’s about the kids I coach. I find more reward in that feeling than I ever did in racing. I feel like I’m a part of something that is much bigger than myself when I see a 10-year old’s gleaming smile because we helped her hit her first cliff or cross-block a slalom gate for the first time.”

The focus has, and always will be, on giving girls confidence in themselves each and every day. Kelleher selects her coaching staff each year with the intent to lead and inspire by example, whether it’s running the courses on Mt. Hood with the girls, or hitting a cliff at Alta.

Kelleher has also teamed up with Tecnica/Blizzard to offer an annual “Girl on Fire” scholarship contest that provides one racer and one freeskier with skis and boots and a guaranteed spot in a race and big mountain camp, respectively.

“It’s amazing now that there are opportunities for girls to go to camps where it’s not only all girl participants, but all girl coaches,” says Freeride World Tour skier Hadley Hammer, who coached at her first camp last year at Alta. “I think it makes a learning atmosphere where the girls feel comfortable and are motivated by each other, and they are all just pushing off of each other to get better. It’s cool to see girls find their own limits and what makes them really happy.”

Each day at Keely’s Camp begins with skiing. At Mt. Hood, most of the morning includes training on the glacier and then returning to Government Camp for lunch, video, dryland training, naps, dinner, meeting and bed.

“I think coming out of ski racing and then into coaching is incredibly humbling,” says Kelleher. “The girls watch every move you make, so it shows how powerful professional athletes are as role models, they like to mimic what we do.”

Even in the short seven-day camps, says Kelleher, girls who were shy and intimidated on Day 1 are brimming with confidence and full of chatter on Day 7. Many travel there solo but are soon giggling and bonding with new friends.

The emails Kelleher receive reinforce her own belief in the camps. Writes one parent: “You and your staff have inspired my daughter both in her ski racing and in everyday life.”

Another writes: “My daughter has been to several week long camps (many types) over the last 4 years and yours is the only one that she recommends to friends or that she asks to return the next year, and that is without having other friends there. It has the entire package, great atmosphere, good food (very important to her) and a very supportive environment. I am very appreciative for what you have put together, and how you and your coaches treat the girls.”

And yet another explains: “You and the coaches bring a wealth of knowledge and a lifetime of incredible experiences to share with these girls. You provide positive role models and an inspiration to the next generation of female athletes.”

Meanwhile, an athlete shares: “I have so much respect for you and all the incredible coaches who make this camp great. They make me believe that I can achieve my dreams.”

Kelleher’s long-term aspirations are to also include outdoor adventure camps. But for now she has her hands full planning for her seven upcoming camps and enjoys where the journey has taken her.

“I have an unlimited supply of passion for skiing,” she says, “and I have completely fallen in love with the sport again through these camps.”

Registration is now open for Keely’s Ski Camp for Girls.

• Alta, Utah, Freeride Camp March 28 & 29
• Big Sky, Mont., Freeride Camp April 18 & 19
• Intro to Backcountry Skiing Camp, Montana, April 24-29
• Mt. Hood Camps
• Sessions 1&2 June 18-July 3
• Sessions 3&4 July 20- August 4
• Session 5 August 8-15

www.keelyscamp.com