Breaking Barriers

Peggie Allen, the former president for the National Brotherhood of Skiers, works to promote diversity in skiing.

By Gavin Branch

Waking up in a cozy lodge, lounging in the hot tub and drinking some coffee, eating breakfast at a table with a view of the sun rising over snowcovered mountains, then throwing on your skies and walking out your front door to the ski lift. This is what my friends must think I’m doing whenever I mention that I ski. I wish it were like that when I wake up at 6 in the morning and hop into my friend’s aging minivan, where I am boiled alive as the heater incessantly blows hot air at my face the entire car trip. I am routinely wedged in between multiple buckets of gear and my friend’s little sister who loves singing songs from Frozen. My reality may be different from others, but it’s obvious that skiing has an image problem.

Growing up I always thought of skiing as a fun activity where anyone could go out and enjoy the open slopes, freshly laid powder, and the adrenaline associated with speed and danger. I never challenged this belief until I got into high school. Anytime I mentioned skiing I was called a rich white kid. These experiences made me think about and look into the demographic of skiing. I realized I was raised in a household of skiers. I had the financial resources to ski, and the mountain was a place where I felt comfortable and welcomed. In contrast, when I started looking I realized how few people of color I actually see on the mountain.

This epiphany eventually led to a conversation with one of the most well-versed, influential black skiers in the nation, Peggie Allen, who was the president of the National Brotherhood of Skiers (NBS) for four years. The official mission of the organization is to get the youth of color onto an Olympic podium for a winter sport. The first step: place a black skier on the U.S. ski team.

Most important to Allen was the camaraderie and friendship that came with membership to the group. “When they formed the organization there were a lot of people of color that were skiing, but it was also wanting to come together and ski together,” says Allen. “It was more of a sense of security because the skiers are as white as the snow they ski on. So it just added that sense of comfort and security when they started skiing together back in the early 70s.”

The NBS was created when two founders, Ben Kinley and Arthur Clay, gathered 13 Black ski clubs together for an event, which later evolved into the Black Summit. The first Summit brought 350 black skiers together with the goal of identifying and discussing problems and subjects that were unique to the black skiing population, as well as opportunities for socializing. The number of attendees was a surprise for everyone on the mountain, to the point where the National Guard was called to the resort. Now the Black Summit is a yearly event, with their most recent gathering in Sun Valley, Idaho in March 2020 attracting 600 attendees.

The fact that the National Guard was once called in response to a peaceful gathering of black skiers is indicative of classist origins. According to A.G. Colemen, an author on race and skiing, the stereotype of wealth surrounding skiing has been around since the beginning of this newfound American sport. In the 1930s, skiing was brought over from Europe and marketed as a luxury European experience. Early marketing targeted wealthy people and made resorts more of a getaway, a multi-day ski vacation rather than a resort meant primarily for skiing. Companies saw skiing’s money-making potential and began trying to sell expensive snow gear, advertising their products as a way for someone to show off their riches. Products marketed to this new consumer base were only sometimes ski-related, and ranged from expensive alcohol to clothing lines dedicated to ski fashion. “Ski images emphasizing the ‘Europeanness’ established, in effect, a new ethnicity—full of savior faire and glamour—with which many white Americans wanted to identify,” writes Coleman.

The early lack of diversity on ski slopes likely made skiing seem out of range for the lower class. American skiing started in the 1930s when black people were often not socially accepted by whites, a fact reflected in the advertising featuring only white people. According to Coleman, common advertisements displayed white stereotypes such as white cowboys on horseback holding skis in place of guns, studly white men in shades encouraged to “stand in the lift line looking cool,” and smiling white women in fancy ski clothes. Yet, as Allen points out, “not everybody who skis is tall, beautiful, and blonde.”

While there seems to be no consensus about the exact numbers of black skiers, the percentage will inconsistently hover around two to seven percent. Noted author on black skiing Anthony Harrison explained how he often felt singled out at ski resorts as a minority skier. “Now, I’m a pretty good skier but I’m not so great that I deserved this special attention… as an African American I can intuitively sense when I’m being judged through the lens of race,” says Harrison.

Allen also identifies with Harrison’s narrative; as she recounted experiences on the mountain over the years. “It’s mostly the looks, or some rude comments, just some ignorance about stepping in front of people and not waiting in line, that kind of thing,” she says. “But there have been some incidents where it’s been carried on a little bit further.”

Harrison also talks about the idea of “generational skiing” as a possible contributor to the low numbers of Black skiers. “We should also keep in mind that… parents who ski have children who ski,” says Harrison. Without family influence, Harrison believes few black skiers come into the sport. Similarly, a lack of generational skiing may make anyone in a lower to medium socioeconomic class or people of color much less prominent on the mountain.

Along those same lines, Allen concludes that in order to grow the sport of skiing you need to be able to introduce skiing to people who never considered it an option. “The National Brotherhood of Skiers has helped many colored youths experience the world of winter sports,” she says. “At my local club here, we’ve been really pushing, as part of our mission, to introduce people of color and particularly young folks to winter sports.” She added, “we want (parents) to play more of an active role in their kids getting out in the mountain, and we found that that has led to ‘well, if I’m gonna go do all this, I might as well take up skiing myself.’”

Allen calls this the “snowball effect,” where if one person adopts skiing they will spread it to their family members, ultimately resulting in more people of color skiing.

A major obstacle for people considering skiing is the overall cost of the sport. All categories of skiing can be very expensive, whether it is the price of a lift ticket, the snow gear, the food, the lodging, or simply getting to the mountain. This is where Allen voices the benefits of belonging to a ski club like the NBS that can negotiate discounted tickets and discounted lodging. “Accessibility is an issue, especially for our inner-city kids,” she says. “I think it’s also up to organizations like ours to get the word out that we do have programs, that we can make it affordable and accessible when we [organize trips]. Most of our clubs rent buses… to take our youth out skiing, and a lot of [NBS clubs] are trying to partner with Boys and Girls Clubs, their local churches, the YMCA, Jack and Jill organizations that involve youth and make sure that they know about us. So we can show them that, yes, this is a sport that’s out there. Come out, give it a try.”

The freedom and adrenaline of skiing is something everyone should be able to experience, regardless of a person’s race or class. Up to now, skiing has remained a non-diverse sport due to its history and the continued marketing and advertising toward the upper classes. There are still barriers impeding diversification, but there are groups like NBS trying to overcome them. NBS brings new people into the sport by creating social momentum and opening doors to new recreational opportunities. The ski industry needs to seek out minorities to help solve the problem. As Allen states, “there can’t be a room full of white people sitting around at the table, trying to figure out how to diversify or how to be inclusive.”

Without a doubt, skiing is an expensive sport and it will take a bit more sacrifice than other sports from participants and resorts alike. Despite this, groups like NBS are trying to make skiing accessible to everyone. Nonetheless, all skiers need to take responsibility for promoting equity and push for spaces that will embrace a sense of belonging for everyone.