Catch Some Air (at the U.S. Toboggan Championships) with A Flying Flock

Welcome to the latest Guides Gone Wild special release! Today we're hyping A Flying Flock, the intrepid all women team who’ll be layering up in their bright pink and yellow snowsuits this weekend (February 4-5, 2023) to compete in the U.S. National Toboggan Championship taking place at the Camden Snow Bowl in Camden, Maine.

The flamingos and ducks that make up this fabulous flock include five Mainers - Maile Buker, a marketing junkie from Portland; Tricia Tobey, an interior designer from Kittery Point; Marianne Naess, an aquaculturist from Cape Elizabeth; Helene Dicesare, a nurse from Arundel; and Deanna Smith, a lobster woman from Tenants Harbor - and a lone New Hampshire-ite, Lisa Teague, an interior designer from Portsmouth.

Maile, Lisa, and eventually Deanna joined me  for an impromptu chat to talk about the history of the toboggan championship; their fundraising recipients, Trekkers; and why a handful of women 'of a certain age' would decide to impersonate a pink puff pastry with yellow cream filling and take their lives into their hands hurtling down a 400’ long ice chute onto a partially frozen, rockpile strewn lake.

It’s freaking nuts, and I absolutely love it.

Whether you’re on Team Flamingo or Team Duck, you’re going to enjoy these ladies’ meteoric flight pattern.  So layer up, grab a balaclava and those cowbells, and head over to Camden Snow Bowl this weekend - the teams will be running all day on Saturday and Sunday morning in the hopes of making the finals.

Check out the schedule and get information about parking, shuttles, the bands, the fun, all the things over at camdensnowbowl.com. And I hope you’ll consider supporting Trekkers in honor of these brave ladies, you can go to @a_flying_flock on Instagram and use the link in bio to donate.

**
P.S. Maile wasn't kidding, apparently there was a flamingo-duck. And Chute Master Stuart Young has his own inspiring story!