Industry News
The 2022/23 season saw a record number of people visiting mountains with over 65 million skier/snowboarder visits according to the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). This was the highest number of reported skier visits since records started being kept in the 1978/79 season. This is great news for fans of skiing and riding, ski resorts, and the industry as a whole, but there are other numbers to break down that shed light on the details of those skier visits. The ski industry is always trying to grow the sport and breaking down the demographics of skiers or riders is important.
It is no surprise that the number of white skiers represents the largest racial and ethnic group in the industry and comprised 88.1% of all the skier’s visits last season. The NSAA report also found that 6.5% were Asian or Pacific Islanders, 5.6% were Hispanic or Latino, 1.5% were Black or African American, 1.5% classified as Another Race, and Native American or Native Alaskan represented 0.8%. Increasing and introducing the number of people of color to skiing or snowboarding would greatly increase skier visits as a whole. However, the overall objective should be to introduce people who have never skied or ridden before, or had the opportunity, or could not afford it, the opportunity to fall in love with the sport that we all love. That is the mission of Spencer Conley, former Professional AFL and CFL football player who also attended NFL camps during the 1990s. He is a professional speaker and author of the leadership book, Lead with L.O.V.E.
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As a former professional athlete and coach, and a professional speaker, Spencer Conley brings his expertise as a leader to get more people of color into skiing and snowboarding. His method is to encourage, empower, and support life-changing leadership through the power of positive influence, according to Conley’s Instagram page. His love of snowboarding and being on the mountain is the passion that drives him to attract more people of color to the sport.
Conley has always wanted to try to snowboard and he finally got the opportunity to do it at the age of 49 in Alaska. He credits Lars Flora, a U.S. cross-country skier who competed at the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Games with connecting him with Jason Borgstede and David Lehew. Borgstede is an OG snowboarder and is an X-Games gold Medalist and Lehew is an instructor at Hilltop, Anchorage Alaska.
It must have been a sight to see a six-foot-four-inch 305-pound man come barreling down the mountain. “It was the most fulfilling and physical thing I have ever done outside of football and I loved it,” Conley said. He did admit that on his first day, he spent a lot of time on the ground, but you are not trying unless you are not on the ground, Conley said with a laugh. Getting people from different backgrounds together and enjoying the sport of snowboarding is what Conley is working on.
Last year, Conley organized a group of snowboarders and skiers to go to Timberline at Mt. Hood, Oregon for Juneteenth. The federal holiday, known as Juneteenth Independence Day, Freedom Day, and Emancipation Day, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, approximately 2,000 Union soldiers from the 13th Army Corps arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. Major General Gordon Granger gave the announcement that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth” by the newly freed people in Texas. This year, Juneteenth will be on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, and will be held at Timberline again and Conley would love to see as many people as possible join him on the mountain.
Conley’s passion for bringing people together and being inclusive is unwavering. He believes freedom should be unified and we should celebrate our freedom as Americans. However, with a country like the U.S., its vastness, its history, and its diversity, there is still a lot of work to be done. “We admit that [America] is a melting pot, and we hate everything that is in it,” Conley said. Breaking down stereotypes of what it means to be a skier, snowboarder, white, black, etc. is part of that problem. His solution is to create a space where people can ask the right questions, get the right answers, and in the right way.
Skiing and snowboarding have been viewed as an activity that only wealthy people participate in and a sport dominated mostly by people who are white. Conley wants that to stop and for all people to have the opportunity to decide what sport they decide to participate in. He said that it is just as important for blacks to stop labeling other blacks who ski or snowboard negatively. There should be no specific race or ethnicity that should be labeled skiers or snowboarders, just like there should be no labeling of which races participate in any other sports in the world.
On February 22 and 23, there will be a Freedom Shred for Black History Month that will be held at Timberline. The event will honor Juneteenth on Mt. Hood and will consist of two days of multiple events like snowcat rides, skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing, terrain park lessons, and a DJ and dance party. At the event, there will also be a free movie premiere and viewing party of Freedom Shred: A Juneteenth Declaration in the Mt. Jefferson room in Timberline produced by Conley.
There are many things in the country that we need to work on to make it a better place for not only ourselves but all Americans. No magic pill or silver bullet can accomplish this, but perhaps it is a combination of small things that could make it better. Things like getting people on the mountain to ski or snowboard who may have never had the opportunity to do it before. The idea of being inclusive means that people from all different backgrounds can come together and talk to each other, listen to one another, and participate in any activity they want. Conley’s objective is to do his part, make a positive difference in people’s lives, and do that by including everyone. “When the time comes, I want to pass the torch and leave the world a better place,” Conley said.
For more information on Freedom Shred visit Timberline’s website.
