GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — As Sarah Wilkins carves her way down the snow-covered mountain it's hard to differentiate between her and any other snowboarder out there.

Speeding and turning as hard as any of the guys, it would be easy to mistake her for one of them.

But as she finally comes to a stop at the bottom of the lifts and unstraps her board, it's clear by her Prada sunglasses and Roxy snowboard that she is all girl.

Wilkins, a Florida college student on vacation with her family, represents one of the fastest growing trends hitting the slopes these days: women.

According to a February article in TIME magazine, women have a purchasing power of more than $600 million when it comes to ski- and snowboard-related goods and services, and currently represent 49 percent of all lift tickets purchases in the United States.

Those sheer numbers alone are making resorts and manufacturers nationwide take notice, and many are now producing products and programs aimed directly at the female sector.

Sunlight Mountain Resort is one of the many ski venues in Colorado that has started to cater more and more to females.

Recognizing the potential profitability of women's programs, in January and February, the resort offered a five-week series of lessons aimed specifically at women, called She Rides. Women can take classes in either skiing, snowboarding or telemark, with each lesson lasting two hours.

Jane Till, who works in the Sunlight Mountain Resort ski school, said 14 women are currently enrolled and many are expressing specific interest in learning telemark, a type of skiing classified by a free-heel ski configuration and bended-knee turns.

Till also said the resort's children's program, the Snow Riders Club, now garners more attention from girls than ever before.

Of the program's 65 members, 22 are girls, Till said.

Enrollment numbers may not show the whole picture, with many girls simply teaching themselves.

Glenwood Springs resident Dania LaGiglia, 12, is an example of a self-taught rider. She said she learned to snowboard by watching her brother.

She chose her board on design alone, not by whether or not it was a girl's board, and didn't see any difference in herself and male riders.

"It's not weird being a snowboarding girl to me because there are so many other ones out there," LaGiglia said.

Fellow Glenwood Springs resident Anita MacQueen shares Dania's point of view.

"It's whatever when it comes to being a female out here," MacQueen said. "I've skied for 25 years so I really don't see anything new in it."

Whether or not the skiers themselves see anything new in women hitting the slopes, the manufacturers are trying their hardest to make sure when females do buy new equipment, it's theirs.

Big names in skiing and snowboarding such as Burton, Head and Rossignol all have skis or snowboards designed specifically for women of all sizes.

Wilkins said she bought her board and bindings after talking to her local ski shop and researching online.

She estimates she has spent a couple of thousand dollars over the last six years or so on gear, lift tickets and lessons.

Prominence of women in televised ski and snowboard competitions may also have peaked recent interest thanks to stars like Picabo Street and Linsdey Jacobellis.

Whatever the reason, the numbers still stand that women are a significant and important sector in the winter sports market, a trend that does not look to diminish anytime soon.

"As long as I don't break all my bones, I keep snowboarding till I can't anymore," Wilkins said.