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02/05/2007
Photo StoryFrigid weather doesn't stop ladies' day out
Traverse City natives Linda Deneen, left, and Barb Hackney ski through the woods. THOMPSONVILLE — Cyd Coppert's home team was playing on Super Bowl Sunday, but even that couldn't keep her away from the Women's Winter Tour. Coppert, 57, drove from Indianapolis to hit the snowy trails on Sunday at Crystal Mountain Resort. It was her third time participating in the noncompetitive cross-country ski and snowshoe trek that hooked her and her friends with its unique blend of camaraderie, chocolate and champagne. "The size of our group has grown every year,” said Coppert. The feisty, all-girl event is in its ninth year raising money and awareness to fight domestic abuse. It is best known for the stops along the course that offer chocolates and other goodies. About 700 women participated in Sunday's tour, which capped off a weekend of activities that included a luminary snowshoe hike on Friday night and cross-country ski clinics on Saturday. Event tents offered tour enthusiasts hot soup, bread and music, and a warming fire roared nearby. Event organizer Kaye Krapohl said about 1,000 women registered for the tour but the blustery winter weather may have kept some of them away. Temperatures hovered around zero, and snow fell steadily for much of the day. "We had great snow,” Krapohl said. "It was beautiful out here” Krapohl organized the Women's Winter Tour in 1999 as an alternative to Super Bowl Sunday, and the first year event drew about 200 participants. The event has also grown nationally, with tours held this year in Lake Tahoe and Idaho. Nancy Williams of Beulah sipped a steaming bowl of soup after skiing her fifth tour. The annual event has become a tradition for her contingent of northern Michigan friends, who were preparing to head out on the trail for a second run. "It was warmer in the woods than it is out here in the open,” she said. The local event has raised more than $60,000 during the last eight years for local charities. This year's proceeds will benefit Madeleine's House, the Women's Resource Center and the Zonta House of Benzonia Nationally, the tour has brought in more than $120,000 for organizations that deal with domestic abuse.
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