LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – What started as an observation on a chairlift turned into the development of a women’s ski designed to hold up to the strength and speed with which hard-charging female skiers attack the mountain.

“When we go to ski out there,” She-Shredz founder Constance Traynor said, “sometimes it feels like you might be going to war a little bit, and when you go into battle, you want something that’s going to keep up with you and that you can trust.”

Meet the Valkyrie, a collaboration of She-Shredz, a Truckee-based and global-reaching online platform for all things women’s ski and snowboard, and Praxis Ski, a factory handcrafting skis out of Incline Village.

The all‑mountain ski seeks to fill a void in the ski market by harnessing the capabilities of men’s and unisex skis that advanced female skiers gravitate toward, yet designed according to women’s biomechanics.

The idea started when the team at She-Shredz looked down on a Headwall chairlift to notice that every woman was skiing on men’s or unisex skis.

“We’re like, ‘whoa,'” Traynor recalled, “‘why is a chair full of these incredible women skiers all feel the need to gravitate more towards the men’s skis?'”

It’s no revelation that women are built differently, and therefore ski differently. Population-level characteristics generally include a lower center of mass, wider hips that increase the angle at the knee, and increased ankle mobility that can influence the female body’s movement on a ski. Women also show more continuous force application through a ski turn due to lower‑body strength distribution and movement patterns.

There are many women’s skis on the market that account for these differences, yet, Traynor explained, for advanced women skiers, “we didn’t find women’s skis to quite match how we wanted to ride.”

In focus groups, She-Shredz found women’s skis often had one of the elements needed in stiffness or length, but rarely both in a way that performed the way advanced/expert women wanted to ski in high-performance terrain.

Traynor explained that when it comes to general ski manufacturers who are trying to sell as many skis as possible, they tend to cater to the average skier, which is not the advanced, aggressive female skier.

That’s why Praxis Skis and She-Shredz have designed the Valkyrie to cater specifically to this often overlooked demographic.

Traynor emphasizes the ski is not for beginners or intermediates, but the fierce female skiers who shred fast and expect more from their gear. “If you’re a girl who’s like, ‘hey, I’m on a men’s ski, but is there something that might be better for me?’ That’s who this is for.”

The Valkyrie is a blend of three of Praxis’ standard edition skis. Its tip shape and rocker are inspired by the FRD’s longer, slower tip rise and moderately tapered shape, though shorter and less aggressive. This rocker profile is key to how the ski initiates, skims, and stays predictable in variable snow.

The ski incorporates the 9D8’s tail shape for a clean turn finish, paired with a half‑twin upturn inspired by the Slugger for smoother releases in steep or technical terrain.

Tip to tail is intentionally tapered with the tip measurably wider than the tail. This feature helps the ski engage and hold a carve across the fall line and stay balanced for float without needing a wider waist.

With a 100 mm waist width, flared tip, traditional camber, and directional shape, the Valkyrie is designed for float while remaining stable and composed at speed.

It features a core of ash, maple and aspen for a flex pattern that drives hard, yet releases clean for versatility in variable snow and smoothness during pivots, smears or resets.

Designers sought the highest-quality materials so it’s built to last. The Valkyrie is available in sizes 160, 166, 172, 178 cm and has a turning radius of 15 meters at the 166 length. Traynor says the skis are built true to size—no need to size up.

Whether it’s hucking it off a cliff or bombing down a fall line at 50 miles per hour, Traynor says, the Valkyrie is designed to keep up, no questions asked.

“The idea is to give a woman her best day ever on a pair of skis,” Traynor says, “that can handle literally whatever she throws underneath her.”

Pre-orders for the Valkyrie open on August 20th. They can be purchased on she-shredz.com and will ship in October.