How winter sports programs are diversifying Utah's slopes

State of play: Launched by Ski Utah in 2021, Discover Winter provides clothes, equipment, transportation, four lessons and a multi-resort pass for people of color who want to learn how to ski or snowboard.

• Typically, that would cost about $3,000 but people admitted to the program get to experience it for free. They just have to show up.
• The program has had over 500 participants and about 86% continue the sport once it's over, with some obtaining full ski passes.
• "This has never really been done before," Raelene Davis, Ski Utah's vice president of marketing and operations, told Axios. "We knew that we had to break down all the barriers."

Zoom out: Similar programs in the West include the National Brotherhood of Skiers, Outdoor Afro and SOS Outreach.

By the numbers: Utah's slopes are significantly white in more ways than one.

• Nearly 90% of Utah skiers and snowboarders are white, followed by 5% who are Hispanic, 4% who are Asian and 1% who are Black, per a Ski Utah survey from the 2023-24 season.

What they're saying: "We realize that the population is changing in America," Davis said. "To keep our sport alive, we need more diversity. We want everyone to have the opportunity to learn to ski and ride."

• Non-Hispanic whites are projected to no longer represent the majority of the U.S. population by 2044, per the Census.
• People who identify as two or more races saw the largest population gains by over 200% in the Salt Lake metro area between 2000-22, according to an Axios analysis.

The big picture: The racial justice protests following George Floyd's murder that prompted discussions around inclusivity, alongside the pandemic-driven desire to connect with nature, have sparked a movement to diversify outdoor activities.

• Ski resorts aren't the only industries attempting to make the outdoors more inclusive.
• About 75% of visitors to state and national parks are white, the Washington Post reported. To create a more inclusive culture, the National Park Service launched the Office of Relevancy, Diversity and Inclusion in 2013, providing programming, trainings and engaging youth.

Zoom in: Growing up in Utah County, Wayne Latu, the son of Tongan parents, often felt left out of his friend's ski trips.

• As an adult, he hesitated to learn due to the costs of expensive ski gear and lessons for a sport he'd never really tried. He joined the program two years ago which helped break down those economic barriers.
• Today, Latu is taking his teenage daughters to ski and it's become a family activity.
• "I think it's important for them to feel as integrated into the community, as a contributing member of society, to participate in these activities," he said.

The intrigue: "I saw it as a sport that was for white people," George Mphaka, who participated in the program when he was 29, told Axios. Before moving to Utah, Mphaka lived in South Africa and saw skiers depicted by white people in television and movies.

• Now, he frequently returns to Solitude, where he took lessons, and recently brought a new pair of skis for this season.

Follow the money: Opening the slopes to more diverse communities can also positively impact a resort's bottom line, Latu noted. And the nation's buying power has never been so racially diverse.

• About 17% of the nation's buying power came from Black, Asian and Native American households, according to a 2022 report from the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.