It is very hard to get funding for new projects in snowsports these days. Marketing dollars are extremely thin.
It isn't a correct assumption though that a women's movie has no ROI - women's skis are a very valuable segment of the industry and I would imagine that there are definitely sponsor dollars out there to get them.
The problem usually is being new, and not wanting to sacrifice anything. When you get sponsors for a project, that comes with needs from those sponsors and you're never quite as free as if you're self funded. Being new causes the fact that you may get very little in the first year until you've proven yourself.
Crowd funding seems like a very solid way to film a movie that fits outside of the conventional mould, and to not have to go insane finding sponsors for a year before anyone gives you a chance.
Its funny though - most crowd-funded projects in Skiing seem to do really badly. I don't know what it is that causes that, as we actually are a very wealthy sport overall. Perhaps we pay enough for gear that we expect the companies we spend the crazy amounts of cash with to foot the bill for our media.