Downhill Diversity

NEW HAMPSHIRE SKI AREAS ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO HIT THE SLOPES

BY CAROLINA VALENTI

As someone who never learned how to ski or to enjoy the snow in general, I knew I had two choices when I moved to New Hampshire: hiding six months inside the house hoping the few days of summer would arrive soon, or venturing outside and facing my fears.

The whole idea of putting on a pair of boots, gearing up for the frigid temperatures and jumping into the unknown sounded terrifying, to say the least. I would quickly realize, though, that it was not just a matter of learning how to ski or snowboard, but there is also a real financial cost that comes along with it.

For all the people who feel like I did once, there is a clear message the skiing industry wants us to know: “We are welcome, and the spaces for us are there.”

One of the resorts committed to bring diversity into the winter sports industry is Pat’s Peak, a family-friendly mountain located in Henniker, New Hampshire. Since 2005, the resort has been a Youth Enrichment Services (YES) Partner, a program that allows kids from any background to obtain sponsor tickets and purchase used rental equipment at a very discounted rate.

The resort offers signs in 28 different languages and even advertises through various Spanish media outlets. Through their partnership with WeForm, they also welcome families from Boston suburbs.

“We hire employees who speak different languages, including Mandarin, to work in our rental shop and as instructors,” says Lori Rowell, Pats Peak’s director of marketing and sales. They also run a Cultural Exchange and Diversity Program with students from South America.

By celebrating their Diversity Day during the Martin Luther King holiday, Pats Peak acknowledges the importance of attracting all types of skiers. The event celebrated 21 years last January. With just one entry ticket, attendees can access skiing, snowboarding, snowtubing, rentals and more. The next celebration will take place on January 16, 2023. “The event commemorates the importance of diversity, nondiscrimination and freedom,” explained Rowell.

A couple of years ago, I decided to take advantage of the resort’s Passport Program, a prepaid package that included four lessons and a pair of skis once you completed the required training. This offered me some savings, as well as a chance to encounter people with similar backgrounds to mine, many of them mothers, eager to learn how to ski. Clearly, the efforts to attract a diverse crowd are working.

Making the impossible a reality

Even for those who face extremely challenging circumstances, there are alternatives. Waterville Valley Resort, for example, has a well-established Adaptive Sports Program that started in 1991. It grants access and instruction to people with disabilities and intellectual challenges.

“We deal with any disability there is; we try to accommodate whatever the needs of the individual are and we are doing a really good job at that. We have a great group, 60 to 70 volunteers, a lot of whom are high school-aged children,” explained James Waddell, a key figure involved with the program, who will be its manager this season.

By providing non-traditional skiing options, the resort has gained customers for life. “We have participants who come every single solitary year. We have students who began with us as seven or eight-year-olds and now are 20-something year olds, and moving on,” he added.

There is a huge reward associated with such an initiative, but also, a heavy financial cost. Running the program requires special equipment, depending on the individual’s needs, and most of the financing for these purchases is obtained through fundraising. One event, the Cold Turkey Plunge, is Waterville’s most successful gathering to secure funds; it takes place the Saturday after Thanksgiving. For the past couple of years, the resort has also celebrated Pirate Day, inviting everyone to do the most runs they can in a day, dressed as a pirate if they wish.

Thanks to the generosity of these events’ participants, Waterville keeps extending its reach and impact. “Last year we got a brand-new ski which is called the TetraSki. Developed at the University of Utah, it can be used by an individual who is paralyzed from the neck down, who has no ability to use his or her limbs. This opens up the door for people who would have never been on skis,” says Waddell.

Fear of heights? No problem!

Skiing or snowboarding is not for everyone. It can be intimidating. However, sometimes all you need is to start easy and slow. Why not try cross-country skiing then? A discipline in which skiers use their own bodies to move around the snow, there is no need for slopes, just plain terrain. It can be practiced pretty much in any place where there is a decent amount of powder.

“We are exploring efforts to be more welcoming. We are looking for opportunities to be closer to urban areas. Snowmaking has become much more important in our sport to reach audiences that may not travel to more rural areas,” explained Heidi Lange, executive director of the New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA), a group that promotes learning and development of the sport.

There is also an access that cross-country skiing offers in terms of equipment. “One of the things we appreciate about cross-country skiing is that our equipment is not quite as expensive as alpine,” added Kait Miller, who serves as NENSA’s youth and introductory program director.

The Association currently runs an elementary school introductory ski program called Nordic Rocks, which provides instruction at no cost. The initiative targets students in more diverse

demographic regions, as well as kids hailing from lower-income families. The financial burden that buying or renting equipment can add to the youngsters’ families is also actively addressed by NENSA.

“We have new equipment this year that has a universal binding. Children can use it with their usual snow boots rather than having a devoted cross-country skiing boot, so it makes it very accessible to everyone,” commented Lange.

Ladies have a special day

Women eager to try cross country-skiing can get a taste of the sport by participating in the Women’s XC Ski Day, a NENSA-sponsored event offered to anyone who identifies as a female and which includes a full day of introductory clinics, lunch and a raffle. A great opportunity to build a sports sisterhood!

“This would be our 22nd year of our women’s day, (an event) conceived and started by an Olympian (Trina Hosmer). It’s been hugely successful; it has filled to capacity every year, and we are very proud of it,” concludes Lange. The next one for those interested will take place on January 22, 2023, in Jackson, NH.

The road ahead

Even though there are no clear statistics in New Hampshire related to participation in winter sports by gender, race or disability, these examples prove there is an existing concern and efforts in place to attract a more diverse crowd to the snow.

Just last September, Vail Resorts, which operates Mount Sunapee, Crotched, Wildcat and Attitash, announced $560,000 in grants committed to increase youth access to outdoor recreation. “Each of the nonprofit partners works to support youth of color in major metropolitan areas surrounding Vail Resorts’ locations, including Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland and New York, among others,” reads their press release.

Sometimes, the main obstacle is ourselves. After all, once you get on that lift and land on that hill (in my case, hopefully without falling), it’s only you and the snow. The powder is colorless, there is no referee, no limitations on how fast or slow you can go. It’s just fun and games out there. As James Waddell put it, “People may have challenges, but they are on a level playing field when they are on the mountain with all the other skiers.” 603

The New England Nordic Ski Association provides equipment and instruction to skiers who have physical or intellectual disabilities to help them get out on the slopes at New Hampshire ski resorts like Pat’s Peak in Henniker, Loon Mountain in Lincoln and Waterville Valley.