By her own admission, Taylor Godber is not your stereotypical snowboard chick. She wears makeup, is into fashion, and wears high heels to her day job as a bartender at Earls in Whistler.

"A lot of guys don't take girls like me seriously [as snowboarders] because we don't dress the part," Godber told the Georgia Straight. "Which is fine with me, because it gives me the chance to catch them off guard."

In a telephone interview, Godber said that when she started working at the restaurant in 2006, she would bug one of the male bartenders to let her and her friends ride with him for a day.

When he finally relented, "We gave him a run for his money, considering that a couple of 'Earls girls' could keep up," she boasted.

Four months later, in May 2008, Godber was doing more than simply proving she can hold her own. Only 20 years old, she was selected by Option Snowboards—a Vancouver-based company—as one of its only female team riders.

Godber conceded that it isn't always easy for young women to advance in the world of snowboarding. Guys she's ridden with have acted like her best friend and then shit-talked her style when she wasn't around, she said. And there has been the occasional catcall from the chair lift when she's been riding the Super Park at Blackcomb.

But the gap between male and female riders is closing, Godber added. Competitions once closed to women have opened up to allow everyone to compete, and last September Runway Films released See What I See, its second annual women-only snowboard video.

"And there are all of these new companies coming out that are tailored to women," Godber said. "There is so much opportunity right now."

Deanne Gale paid homage to the women whose footsteps Godber is walking in. Gale, a soft-goods buyer for Showcase Snowboards, explained that its riders like Vancouver's Natasza Zurek and Whistler local Victoria Jealouse—women who have been appearing in male-dominated snowboarding videos for nearly a decade—who have pushed for the development of women's gear and cleared the path for projects like women-only videos.

"One of the bigger things that has allowed women to get where they are today has everything to do with the equipment and gear that has been developed especially for women," Gale told the Straight in a telephone interview. "Having gear to fit us exactly the way that it should fit us has allowed us to progress in the sport."

Meredith Eades, an assistant manager at the Boardroom on West 4th, has been skiing and snowboarding for over 20 years. She said that she has watched female snowboarders slowly progress to a point where they are respected in a way that women in freestyle skiing are not.

Eades gave credit to role models like Tara Dakides, Leanne Pelosi, and Gretchen Bleiler for taking women's snowboarding to where it is today. "Those girls play a huge role because they are people that young girls look up to and that guys respect for having the guts to go out and ride with the guys, try new things, and push the limits," Eades told the Straight in a telephone interview.

She said that these days, girls are asking for top-of-the-line snowboards that were once only sold to men. "Girls are coming in saying, ”˜I'm not the average chick—I can ride and I can rip it and I want something good,' " Eades added.

Has she had to put up with the same type of teasing Godber has? "I've shown a lot of people up," Eades answered. She remarked that there is nothing like doing a 720 in front of a bunch of guys who didn't think you could handle a jump.

"They were like, ”˜Okay, I guess we better step it up a little,' " Eades said.