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AWARDS

Growth and Leadership Award Finalist Growth and Leadership Award Finalist
ASSQ (Quebec Ski Area Association) Mountain High Resort
It’s not just the ski areas that are introducing the next gener- Mountain High in California has been working on diversity
ation to the wonderful sports of skiing and snowboarding. In for more than a decade. Situated just 90 minutes from Los
Canada, ASSQ, the Quebec Ski Area Association, is meeting Angeles, the resort is in the perfect location to attract a lot of
kids in their local parks and schools to give them their first skiers and riders. Their location helps, but it takes dedication
taste of snowsports. and authenticity to understand each group that you invite to
In 2005, the association rolled out the Mysnow Experience, your mountain. Mountain High has been successful due to
with a focus on developing a culture of learning. It is a free their ability to recognize those cultural differences and use
introduction to downhill skiing and snowboarding for kids that knowledge to build their facilities and programs to
ages 5 to 8. Available at five locations every weekend during welcome everyone to their mountain.
the winter (the sites also operate weekdays for school groups), Mountain High has done a lot of the typical things
the program constructs a kid-friendly “ski area” in a local that come to mind like diversifying food choices, signage in
park, complete with a conveyor surface lift and snowmaking. multiple languages and improving access. Understanding
Each participant is given the opportunity to take the next that transportation can be a barrier to trial, the resort found
step at a ski area via a $25 package that includes a group lesson a solution by partnering with a local bus company to offer an
and equipment rental with a helmet. affordable transport options with several pick-up locations.
In 2017/18, ASSQ reached 22,831 kids through school On the hill, Mountain High created welcoming experi-
programs and 33,209 through weekend programs. In the ences like family-based lessons with multi-lingual instructors.
2018/19 season, 35,738 youth participated in Mysnow Mountain High has had to hire strategically, with a goal of
Experience (22,291 school visits and 13,447 weekend visits). employing staff who speak a wide array of languages. About half
To date, 266,647 have participated in Mysnow Experience. of their staff speak both Spanish and English, and a number of
In addition to Mysnow, ASSQ runs a successful Burton their winter sports school instructors speak an Asian language.
Riglet school tour program. In 2017/18, ASSQ reached 3,130 Ski mountains are seen as places for wealthy white people
kids through the Burton Riglet program with all of the kids and Mountain High understands the level of discomfort
participating in a new, on-snow portion with 5.6 percent of a potential customer feels if they think they won’t “fit in.”
them visiting a ski area afterwards. Because children in these So the resort created communal spaces, like Yeti’s Snow Park,
schools are offered sports like tennis, golf and basketball, ASSQ where everyone—including those who may not ski or ride,
is okay with a lower conversion rate because they are focused on but just want to experience snow—can gather and share in
exposure rather than conversion through their school initiatives. the mountain experience.
ASSQ is an example of what can be achieved when intro- The results are impressive: at the average U.S. ski area,
ducing a new segment of the market to snowsports, at the 85 percent of the guests are white. But at Mountain High,
perfect age, in the comfort of their own urban landscape. more than 60 percent of their guests are non-white and over
They have partnered with ski areas to create an affordable 70 percent of their learn to ski/ride school participants are
transition to the ski area and measuring their results is a cor- ethnically diverse. Mountain High is a great example of a ski Photo by Dave Gibson
nerstone of their programs. We applaud an association for area that recognizes the need to diversify winter sports, and
diving in head first and getting this important work going. make them more inclusive to our diverse U.S. population.
Gold Sponsor of: Lead Sponsor of: MountainGuard also supports the
Congratulations to all! following industry organizations
and their missions:

@mtnguard mountainguard.com
36 | NSAA JOURNAL | SUMMER 2019