If you are a mother who skis or snowboards, you know what a day on the slopes with children can be like: “Mom, where are my mitts?” “Mom, have you seen my goggles?” “Mom, I’ve lost my lift ticket.”

The chorus of “Mom-this” and “Mom-that” can leave you exhausted before you’ve had a single run. And inevitably it seems, just when everyone is finally outside, a little voice will pipe: “Mom, I need to use the bathroom.”

Oh, sigh! Off goes all the equipment, waddle back into the lodge, and then start the whole Sisyphean task again.

That’s why, for years now, I have loved women’s days or women’s weeks at British Columbia ski resorts. It is the one time each year when I can ski unfettered, worried only about myself. With husband and kids at home, I don’t need to ski slowly along the blue runs while encouraging the young ones along.

Instead, I can have free-flowing runs on the blacks with my like-minded girlfriends. And not one of them will ask me to smooth out the wrinkles in their thermal socks or carry their skis to and from the car.

With just a few days of this kind of carefree, selfish skiing, my batteries are recharged, my sanity restored, and my love of the sport rekindled to share selflessly with my family once more.

A number of B.C. ski resorts offer daylong, weekend, or weeklong women-only events designed to make it cheap, easy and fun for women of all ages to hit the slopes with their girlfriends.

You don’t need to be a mom to appreciate the ease, the special attention, the deals and the entertainment. In fact, participants in women-only ski events range from gung-ho young women in prechildren stage to middle-agers or retirees with kids long gone and time on their hands.

In short, any woman age 18 to 80 who likes to be shushing on the mountains will find something to enjoy at one or more of the women’s-only offerings. There even are women-only heliski getaways.

This year, Whistler/Blackcomb’s annual women’s week is March 1-9. It features specially priced, women-only clinics for skiing and snowboarding to improve technical skills in a supportive environment. Other perks of Whistler’s Women’s Week are daily, specially priced apres ski events and special deals on accommodations, spa treatments and equipment sales.

One of the annual highlights at Whistler is the Red Party on the second Saturday night. This fundraiser for cancer research includes wine tasting, a silent auction and live music.

Other resorts, such as Fernie and Kicking Horse on the eastern side of the province, and Big White, Silver Star and Red Mountain in the central interior, offer special ski or board camps and clinics geared to women.

One of the most famous is Kirsty Exner’s Women’s Freeride Camps at Red Mountain in Rossland, B.C., just over the Washington border north of Colville. Exner is the two-time silver medalist in the World Extreme Free-skiing Championships and her challenging three-day weekend camps have been named one of the top 10 ski camps in North America by Skiing magazine.

Another Canadian woman ski legend is Nancy Greene Raine. As Nancy Greene, she was Canada’s woman athlete of the century for her gold and silver medals at the 1968 Olympics, and her 13 World Cup victories and 17 national championships. At Sun Peaks Resort outside Kamloops, women (or men) each weekday get an opportunity to ski with Raine for free.

Raine was my childhood idol and I’ll never forget the afternoon when just the two of us skied together on black-diamond and double-diamond runs. She put my skills to the test with encouragement and enthusiasm and it remains a highlight of my skiing life.

Since I live in Victoria on Vancouver Island, I usually try each year to coordinate with a couple of girlfriends to take in one or two days of Women’s Week at Mount Washington, just outside Courtenay about three hours north on Vancouver Island.

This season it will it run March 3-7. For just $56 (the usual cost of a lift ticket), you get not only a day of skiing but a two-hour ski lesson, catered lunch and apres ski entertainment, including wine- and chocolate-tasting events. With four of us sharing a two-bedroom suite with kitchen at Deer Lodge or Bear Lodge, accommodation comes to about $50 a person a night.

Mount Washington also has many private lodges and condos, which are rented out midweek, some holding more than 10 people, giving a wide range of choices for accommodation.

Typically on my getaway, each woman takes responsibility for one meal — easy compared with cooking for the family each night after a day of skiing. No one needed to pack a lunch because that was provided each day — with fare such as a pasta buffet with salad and dessert.

We usually join different levels of ski classes. One of us had skied only once before, another was a cautious intermediate, and two of us were experienced skiers with years under our belts.

“It was fun for everybody, no matter how good you were,” says Sandy Wheeler, the intermediate skier. “It was so nice to ski at my own pace, with no pressure from anybody. I only had to worry about myself.”

What I like best about women’s week is bonding with girlfriends and getting that wonderful, spent-muscle fatigue that comes from skiing hard and fast all day, knowing you’ve had your fill of good runs with not a “Mom” to be heard. And that, for me, is enough to replenish my patience and enthusiasm, so I can say, “Come on, kids, let’s go skiing!”

Mount Washington – Women’s week runs March 3-7. For information or to book accommodations at Deer Lodge or Bear Lodge, call 888-231-1499 or local: 250-338-1386. Listings for private accommodations are available by visiting mountwashington.ca and clicking on accommodations.

Whistler/Blackcomb – Women’s week runs March 1-9, with accommodations starting at $100 (U.S.) a night. Weeklong as well as two- and three-day packages available. Call the reservation center, 866-218-9690, or visit whistlerblackcomb.com.

Red Mountain – Kirsty Exner’s Women’s Freeride Camps are held over a three-day weekend and feature top-quality female coaching to master technical skills over challenging terrain. The camps include evening entertainment, video analysis, lunches and prizes from equipment sponsors. Dates are Jan. 4-6 and Feb. 1-3. Cost $400 (U.S., not including tax), with lift tickets included. Bookings for the camp can be made via e-mail to info@kristyexner.com or at redresort.com or 800-663-0105.

Kicking Horse Resort – The Rossignol Girls Day Out, Jan. 26-27, is a special weekend hosted by Rossignol Skis for passionate women skiers. The weekend includes on-mountain clinics, ski and snowboard demos for women only, the opportunity to ski with pro skiers, contests, prizes and movies. More information at kickinghorseresort.com or 866-754-5425.

RK Heliski – Flying out of Panorama Mountain Resort, three hours west of Calgary, this heliski company offers three-day, women-only getaways in the Purcell Mountains. Taking just five women, the package includes heliskiing, three days and three nights private accommodations at Firlands Ranch, a wine and cheese reception, and a gourmet cooking class. Intermediate skiers/boarders or those who have never heliskied or skied deep powder are encouraged to participate. Information: 800-661-6060 or heliskiingforwomen.com.