Industry News
Winter Park Resort in Colorado has announced the unveiling of a new art installation, “There Is Snow On The Ground,” developed in collaboration with Native and Indigenous artists, skiers, riders, and outdoor stewards. This project, four years in the making, aims to raise awareness of Winter Park’s sense of place, its original Native and Indigenous heritage, and the vital importance of snow beyond recreation.
In partnership with NativesOutdoors, a Native-owned athletic and creative collective, Winter Park Resort identified artists and Indigenous perspectives to guide the project. Named after the Arapaho word “heniiniini,” meaning “There is snow on the ground,” the installation comprises four distinct elements.
The focal piece, prominently displayed in front of Sunspot Mountaintop Lodge, features outlines of four significant peaks: Longs Peak, Mount Blue Sky, Byers Peak, and Parry Peak, all representing watersheds that collect melting snowpack each spring. The piece incorporates a river winding down to nourish a garden bed with native plant species in the summer. The Arapaho word is boldly displayed with a pattern created by artists Jordan Craig and Vernan Kee, both with Indigenous backgrounds. The Winter Park snow stake, a device measuring daily snow accumulation, has also been redesigned to include the same mountain outlines and patterns by Native artists. The trail signs and historical markers are still works in progress.
An Instagram post by Ski Magazine announcing the new project sparked discussion between people praising the changes being made and those critical that the project doesn’t go far enough. User Paddy O’Connell commented on the post, “@sacredstoke again out here making skiing so much better for all of us.” While on the other side of the discussion, user Josalyn Lamoureux questioned how much this benefited the native communities, commenting, “Are the Arapaho people financially benefitting from this ski resort on land stolen from them?”
The installation aims to remind viewers of snow’s critical role in cultures, lives, and ecosystems. Embedding the Arapaho language into the project honors Indigenous peoples’ longstanding relationships with the landscape. The goal is to spark conversations about the surrounding geography and everyone’s role in stewarding the mountain community. Sky Foulkes, president of Winter Park Resort, emphasizes the multifaceted importance of snow, stating, “There Is Snow On The Ground is a project that will hopefully make people stop and think about the intersection of snow, water, recreation, heritage, and history, and sense-of-place here at Winter Park.”
Connor Ryan, a Lakota professional skier, filmmaker, and Winter Park ambassador, highlights the deep connection Native nations have with the land and water. He notes that skiing can be a space for Native people to connect with these elements that have always been part of their cultures. The project builds on Winter Park’s 2021 statement acknowledging the resort’s location on historical and ancestral Native and Indigenous land. While the land acknowledgment was a foundational step, “There Is Snow On The Ground” deepens the resort’s commitment to inclusivity, keeping access open to all people, regardless of gender, ancestral background, race, ethnicity, or religion.
Irrespective of what some may think, the project is a sufficient step towards progress; it will certainly start a much-needed dialogue. What are your thoughts on the new project?
