Leer en 别蝉辫补帽辞濒
On a February afternoon at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area in Summit County, part-time snowboard instructor Javier Pineda stood at the bottom of the Molly Hogan bunny hill. He welcomed his beginner students to their second class.
鈥淭oday we are going to focus on what we practiced last time,鈥� Pineda said in Spanish.
The four students - decked out in snowboarding pants, big winter coats, helmets and goggles - started off by reviewing turns, especially how to initiate them from the heelside or toeside of the board.
After about 90 minutes, Pineda decided the class was ready for the next challenge: going up the Black Mountain Express chairlift to practice on steeper terrain. Before the students tackled their first green run, Pineda gave an instruction.
鈥淭his is going to be technique, not speed,鈥� he said in Spanish.
Get top headlines and KUNC reporting directly to your mailbox each week when you subscribe to In The NoCo.
This winter, Pineda will teach seven free four-week sessions with rental equipment and full-day lift tickets provided at no additional cost. He has 40 students across his seven courses, all of whom are Hispanic or Latino, and many of whom are part of the local immigrant community. To help his students learn, Pineda's lessons are taught either entirely in Spanish or as a bilingual mix of English and Spanish, depending on the group.
鈥淥ur target is to create a community within our own community, and not feel so left out from the sport,鈥� he said. "We need to feel included and welcome in the space."
During the 2022-2023 ski season, a of skiers and snowboarders visited resorts in the Rocky Mountain region, including in Colorado. The vast majority of them鈥攁lmost 9 out of 10 visitors鈥攚ere white. Only 5.6% of those visitors identified as Hispanic or Latino, according to the National Ski Areas Association.
Pineda was among that small percentage.
He moved from Mexico to Summit County with his family when he was 12 years old, and learned how to snowboard in high school. But Pineda said his instructors never looked or sounded like him.
鈥淎ll the lessons were in English. The instructors were usually from the Anglo community,鈥� he said. 鈥淰ery typical, I guess, face of the ski industry.鈥�
Pineda works at Mountain Dreamers, a local that works with immigrants and their families in the Central Mountain Region. Through his role as program coordinator, he started Oso Outdoors last year. Oso, which means "bear" in Spanish, is a nod to the nickname his late brother gave him when they were teenagers. They loved participating in the Boy Scouts and other outdoor activities together.
Oso Outdoors' is the free snowboard classes Pineda leads. Now in its second year, the snowboard program has become so popular that over 100 people expressed interest in the 40 slots. The lessons are only for adults, but many chose to sign up with other adult siblings, spouses or parents.
鈥淥ftentimes, if we reflect on our own skiing experience, riding experience, we rely on having a nucleus or a group that we can be supported off. And for a lot of us, that's within our families,鈥� he said.
Get top headlines and KUNC reporting directly to your mailbox each week when you subscribe to In The NoCo.
Snowboarding student Sofia Saurez moved to Summit County from Colombia a couple years ago with her family. She understands English a little bit, but said having a Spanish-speaking instructor is a big benefit that makes communicating easier.
鈥淚t is very cool to learn from him,鈥� she said in Spanish.
Suarez started learning how to snowboard last season with her husband and sister by watching videos on YouTube and other social media outlets. When she heard about Oso Outdoors, Suarez recruited them along with her father and another sister to take lessons.
鈥淎t first, it was very difficult for me to enjoy the sport. And when I started to enjoy it, I wanted my dad, my sister鈥攚ell, my other sister already knew a little more鈥攂ut above all, my dad and my little sister, to enjoy the sport,鈥� Suarez said.
Daniela Suarez, Sofia鈥檚 younger sister, said snowboarding is really fun but it can also be really painful. But if she makes a mistake or falls during the lesson, her family is there for support.
鈥淚 feel calmer that no one is going to judge me, because at first it is very difficult,鈥� Daniela said in Spanish. 鈥淚t's cool to do it with the family. You feel confident.鈥�
For Jonathan Roncancio, Sofia Suarez鈥檚 husband, the snowboarding lessons at A-Basin are a good way to meet new people in a friendly environment. He thinks the program is a great opportunity for the local Latino community.
鈥淪ome of them don't have the opportunity to take classes or to come to the mountain and ride and enjoy this beautiful sport,鈥� Roncancio said.
Hispanics and Latinos at least 15% of the population in Summit County, which is home to four world-class ski areas. Almost all of Pineda鈥檚 students live in the area. Alan Henceroth, A-Basin鈥檚 chief operating officer, said the ski resort has diversity, equity and inclusion, but what Pineda is doing is unique.
鈥淚t's not like I sat around with a couple of people that work here and said, 鈥楬ey, we need this many people of color skiing.鈥� You know, this is a program that grew organically,鈥� Henceroth said. 鈥淛avier (Pineda), he is connecting with a lot of local people here in Summit County and getting them skiing and snowboarding.鈥�
A-Basin supports Oso Outdoors, and Henceroth said his biggest role with the snowboarding program is to make sure Pineda has the necessary resources.
鈥淭hen I got to get out of the way because he's making this thing happen,鈥� he said.
To combat the lack of diversity on the slopes, organizations for BIPOC skiers and riders have popped up around the country. One of the most prominent is the National Brotherhood of Snowsports (NBS), which was formed in 1973 to Black ski clubs across the United States.
鈥淚ncreasing diversity would not only make the slopes in the outdoors more friendly and more representative of the population that we have in this country. It would also help their bottom line鈥攖he snowsports industry, that is,鈥� Henri Rivers, president of National Brotherhood of Snowsports, said.
NBS has about 58 clubs in over 45 cities and is partnering with Vail Resorts and other snowsports organizations to increase youth programs. But its is on more than just getting Black people involved in skiing and snowboarding, Rivers said. The organization is also working with the Professional Ski Instructors of America to train instructors, a profession that also .
"If I'm going to learn a sport, it's so much easier for me to associate or feel comfortable with someone that looks like me teaching me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f I get instructed by a Black instructor, it's almost magical. It's like, OK, this guy can do it. This woman can do it. So then I know I can do it.鈥�
Prisma Sol铆s stood near the bottom of Molly Hogan for a quick break. She took Pineda鈥檚 snowboarding class that morning and then returned in the afternoon with her 11-year-old daughter Yareli, who learned how to ride through a school program.
鈥淚 would like to learn to accompany her and to spend time, mom and daughter,鈥� Sol铆s said in Spanish.
Yareli has been snowboarding for three years. Right now, she鈥檚 the family expert.
鈥淚 like telling her what to do,鈥� Yareli said smiling. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 really fun to spend time with my mom.鈥�
Sol铆s emigrated to Summit County from Mexico decades ago and had never previously tried skiing or snowboarding. It was expensive, she鈥檚 not fluent in English, and she didn鈥檛 have anyone to go with. Now, Sol铆s plans to encourage others to try the sport.
鈥淚 want to serve as an example for the Hispanic community that encourages us to achieve what we can, what we set out to do,鈥� she said.
Monica Diaz started following Mountain Dreamers on social media after moving to Summit County from Mexico with her husband and two young kids a few years ago. When she saw information posted about the snowboarding program, it caught her attention. She鈥檚 taking Pineda鈥檚 class with her husband. Her kids are also learning the basics of skiing, and she hopes to inspire them to keep it up.
鈥淚 love playing sports,鈥� Diaz said in Spanish. 鈥淣ow that I had the opportunity to come and take up this sport, the truth is I feel very excited to be able to push my children to start playing sports from a young age.鈥�
Last December Mountain Dreamers a $100,000 Outdoor Equity Grant from the state. With this new funding as well as support from other grants, it's just the beginning for Oso Outdoors, Pineda said.
鈥淔or us to open the door to give the opportunity, it's also a way for them (students) to connect with the local environment and connect with the local community,鈥� he said.
Pineda wants to increase Oso Outdoors鈥� programming and create affinity meetups on the mountain so folks can ride together. But to really grow the snowboarding program, Pineda will need more help. He鈥檚 hoping to build a roster of bilingual - and bicultural - instructors so that even more immigrants will feel welcome on the slopes.
鈥淏ig picture down the road is some of these folks who are going to the program, for (them) to come back and close the loop and become instructors,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat's the way that we want to close the loop, is building leaders within the outdoor industry.鈥�
