By Molly Casper
Tahoe Cross-Country Ski Education Association (TCCSEA) Program Director Lianne Nall always dreamt of a program for the ski area that would make both mountain biking and cross-country skiing programs more inclusive of Latina youth. She had made significant strides in the Ambassadors, where bilingual mentors are available to assist incoming Strider Gliders in their first year of skiing. After the mentors grew from three to 12 in two years, it was clear to Nall that the demand for more support and participation was there. Since its creation in 1999, the Tahoe Cross-Country Ski Education Association’s biggest challenges to expanding mountain sports have been language barriers and transportation.
Inspired by a successful program in Colorado called Cycle Effect, which empowers young women through mountain biking, Nall spent two years researching and developing Las Chicas. Las Chicas is a casual way of saying “girls” in Spanish, and it is representative of the program’s inclusive, welcoming, and approachable design. The year-round program aims to empower young women through experience and mentorship in both mountain biking and cross-country skiing. No mountain biking experience or bike required.
Like all TCCSEA education, a new program would mean additional funding through donations or grants. The nonprofit already serves over 2,000 local students every year while maintaining free and affordable skiing.
In January, TCCSEA was awarded a $60,000 grant from the California Tahoe Conservancy to fund the first 3 years of the new program. Additionally, Nall secured a grant from the Martis Camp Foundation to purchase mountain bikes, and she ordered six bikes from Olympic Bike Shop in Tahoe City, while technical bike apparel was donated by Flylow and Wild Rye.
One of the most important goals for Nall was to find the right people to lead Las Chicas. The program requires, at minimum, one coach and one mentor for the first six participants. Nall hopes to incrementally increase enrollment to 12 participants by 2027. The right person would be bilingual, with some experience in both mountain biking and cross-country skiing, be female, and be intrinsically committed to the heart of Las Chicas.
The first person Nall turned to was longtime Tahoe XC community member, retired North Tahoe School cross-country coach, and friend Lourdes Shaurette. Her enthusiasm for the outdoors is contagious, and Nall felt that she had the necessary leadership skills. The next to join the team was North Tahoe School sports physical therapist April Rosas-Willet. Finally, two North Tahoe High School students, Andrea Oropeza and Azul Garcia, came on as mentors. Even though they had little to no experience with biking and skiing, they were driven to work with young girls and learn side by side with their mentees.
On June 21, six girls ranging in age from 10 to 12 years old, along with the two mentors and two lead coaches, met for the first time and set off on their inaugural mountain bike ride from the trailhead at Tahoe XC. Since then, the girls have met every week for 12 weeks. Nall picks up the participants and mentors near the Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Kings Beach and drives the TCCSEA van to and from TXC every Thursday. The girls, who first began their rides to Tahoe XC in silence as strangers, now fill the van with laughter.
“The most valuable thing that I will keep in my heart is knowing each of the girls from Las Chicas,” said Oropeza.” I learned a lot from each of their personalities, and we all created a great and strong connection that I would like not to be lost. The support we gave to each other on and off the trails was amazing.”
When asked what motivated her to become a mentor, Garcia said, “I wanted to be part of Las Chicas because I saw it as a new opportunity to connect with more people and to expand my skills in the sport, in addition to being grateful for having been given the opportunity, this being my first summer as a student in Lake Tahoe. From this first summer at Las Chicas, I will remember the downhills after many very tiring uphills that were worth the climb.”
TCCSEA anticipates that Las Chicas’ coaches and mentors will evolve into significant role models for the participants as they transition through their middle and high school years. Nall hopes the program will help the participants cultivate personal growth, broader self-awareness, and greater self-confidence. This will empower Las Chicas students to apply their newfound confidence beyond the trails at Tahoe XC, positively influencing many other areas of their lives.
“The Las Chicas program this summer was such a great opportunity for the girls to learn bike skills and increase riding confidence in an environment where they were comfortable,” said Rosas-Willet. “The chicas are incredibly supportive of each other, pushing each other to try new things and cheering on others’ successes, which was very special to witness.”
In just a few short months, their coaches felt that the girls made significant progress on and off their bikes.
“Las Chicas demonstrated a strong sense of teamwork and support for one another,” said Shaurette. “They’ve acquired valuable skills like changing gears and mastering the saddle going up and down. The bilingual chicas translated for others who only spoke Spanish. It’s clear that these experiences have been both fun and educational for the girls. Their positive attitude and willingness to learn are inspiring.”
The Las Chicas program hopes to remove the financial barrier to entry for mountain sports. Over the next 3 years, Nall said that she “knows that this will be a gradual labor of love, but believes strongly that the reward of confident, empowered, athletic teens who, in turn, may become role models for younger girls, is a worthy and achievable goal.”
Las Chicas ended their summer session on Aug. 26 with their coaches, mentors, and families with a fiesta in the lodge at Tahoe XC and will meet again in January, only this time on snow. Las Chicas is still accepting applicants.
~ Molly Casper, originally from Rye, New York, moved to Kings Beach in 2011. A University of Colorado, Boulder, graduate in creative writing and English literature, she’s a writer, graphic designer, and marketing coordinator for Tahoe Cross-Country. She enjoys hiking, cooking, gardening, and cherishes time with her husband and three sons.
