We care deeply about creating a welcoming, inclusive and safe skiing experience for all. With Black skier representation below 2% in 2020-2021 according to the NSAA, we are on a multi-year journey to achieve our mission to build more inclusive mountain environments. We are partnering with and learning from organizations that have been on this journey longer than we have and share our mission.
Girls Inc. of Chicago, in partnership with our Epic for Everyone Youth Access Program, provides youth in urban communities with introductions and continued access to winter sports and careers in the outdoor industry. At Wilmot Mountain, the first-time skiers from Girls Inc. of Chicago experienced the mountains and became leaders. Seventeen-year-old, Aya, participated in the program last winter and shared, “This program has taught me that there’s different ways you can be a leader. You don’t have to be the loudest person, or the person at the forefront of things. It can be simply being impactful in a positive way: encouraging others, being supportive, having an open mind, being welcoming to other people. Now I can identify myself as a leader.”