The second largest organized ski group on any single mountain at one time was the National Brotherhood of Skiers’ Black Ski Summit ’79 at Sun Valley. Twelve hundred skiers registered for what is one of the classiest group ski weeks in the country. Nothing resembles Black Summit. Anywhere.
I first realized that black people ski during a rainy winter in the early ’70’s at Camelback, Pennsylvania. It seemed like the rain came just about every weekend. So did the Four Seasons ski groups on busses out of New York City. They broke all the rules. For instance, they did not give the ski area 48 hours’ of arrival so they might qualify for the group discount rate. They took their groups where the skiing would be the best that day, and that determination was made early the morning of the trip. Since it was raining, the group managed to qualify for the group rate anyway—the area was pleased to see them. They brought their own ski instructors—headed up by Dick Martin, Canadian Alliance-certified instructor, tour operator and founder of the Four Seasons Ski Club. The group seemed to disappear on the hill during the day, showing up in the cocktail lounge for an apres-ski drink before they boarded the bus for the return trip to New York City. Management noted that they often bought the most expensive mixed drinks.
In 1977, I had the pleasure, both frustrating and rewarding, of working with the National Brotherhood of Skiers on their “mini-Summit” at Vail. The Summit is the biennial gathering of the 23 predominantly black ski clubs across the country. Summit ’77 had officially been canceled because of “low snow” conditions. Mother Nature, ever fickle, provided plenty of snow that week, but it came after the official cancellation notice had been made.
A few memories of that event have stayed with me, including the comments of Vail business people regarding the 340—of an anticipated 1,200—skiers who showed up for the truncated version of the Summit.
“These people were the nicest guests the staff had ever dealt with. They spent a lot of money and there were no problems. Often we have professional groups who are so concerned with letting you know how important they are . . . not this group. Would love to have them back!” (Lions Square Lodge salespersons.) Restaurant owners reported that the group ate well, drank little in the late evening hours and were “great customers.”
This contrasted with the rumor that a major ski clothing manufacturer, noted for stylish, expensive ski outfits, declined the opportunity to design and sell a ski outfit specifically for participants of Summit ’77. The manufacturer reportedly didn’t want his clothing associated with “those people.”
It also contrasted with a response to the announcement of the impending event in the VAIL TRAIL. Vail Associates’ marketing director Chuck Johnsos received a letter from a TRAIL reader in South Dakota, replete with expressions of bigotry toward blacks.
This spring I spent a few days at Summit ’79 in Sun Valley. This community, hosting the Summit for the second time, had gone all out in extending hospitality. Given that Sun Valley was suffering a “low snow” year, just as Vail had two years earlier, 1,200 skiers still made it to the Summit. The good attendance can be attributed to the fact that Sun Valley goes out of its way to serve this group. Ski shop and restaurant discounts are offered on top of the typical lodging and lift discount rates. According to Chip Fisher who runs The Snug ski shops, “We love them! They’re a great bunch of people—very cordial, nice and good customers. They aren’t uncomfortable asking for ‘deals,’ although they do it tastefully. You don’t walk away from that many people if they want to do business with you.”
Says Bill Sayler, Sun Valley director of sales: “It’s a good piece of business. The event is structured around having a good time—lodging, lifts, banquets and cocktail parties are all a part of the package. That group is worth thousands of dollars. They’re nice people, too.”
Corporate sponsors are easily attracted to the group, making possible their daily cocktail parties, races and fashion shows.
“Black Summit is one of the few existing ways Schlitz has found to reach a large segment of this market at one time,” says Don Dooley of Barkin, Herman, Solochek and Paulsen, the firm which handles the public relations for the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company. Schlitz, which has an active minority affairs department, has been a sponsor of a number of Black Summit events both at Sun Valley and Vail. Other sponsors have included United Airlines and Heublein Cocktails.
Earl Graves is a ski nut. The sophisticated publisher of BLACK ENTERPRISE (the BUSINESS WEEK of the black community), has owned a second home at Smuggler’s Notch, Vermont, since 1971. He, wife Barbara and three sons spend most winter weekends and holidays there. Graves claims to have introduced 500 people to skiing and says that at least 200 of them are regular skiers now as a result of their association with the Graves family.
Graves actively seeks ski advertisers for BLACK ENTERPRISE, using TGI (Target Group Index) figures on readers for support. According to TGI, the black consumer market stands at 25 million persons, with their consumption power calculated to be $123 billion by 1980. In 1979, 868,000 blacks participated in skiing (3.5% of the whole), 9% (78,000 plus) at least once a week during the season. Black skier ranks are increasing at an average rate of 20 percent annually.
No other formal surveys have been conducted on the black skier market. However, Ben Finley and George Phillips, both actively involved in predominantly black ski clubs in California, recently made some observations about the membership of their respective ski clubs.
- Blacks are “conspicuous consumers”—they buy high ticket items, not levis, when it comes to ski clothes; they change equipment frequently, actively following fashion, “hot” items, fads, etc.
- A high percentage of their discretionary income is spent on recreation. The market is growing but is relatively untapped.
- The members of the clubs are upwardly mobile, middleclass, primarily professionals, single or married couples with no children. They are active recreationally and their average age is in the late 20’s with group ages ranging from 14 to 65 years.
- They ski for social reasons, with peer group influence affecting their decision to try skiing. The glamour image of the sport—fashion, thrills, physical activity, pretty people—enhances its attractiveness.
- The predominantly black ski club exist, they say, because no concerted effort has been made by the organized skiing “establishment” to recruit skiers from among the black community. Only recently, following the success of Black Summit, has the NBS been trying to get recognition of this viable market by the ski industry.
In this era of inflation and recession, it occurs to me that ski business people will decide to be cautious in their marketing planning, exploiting existing markets, rather than pursuing new, untried ones. It also occurs to me that, possibly to their surprise, the black skier market fits in the former category.
“I try to sell the idea to blacks that travel is prestige,” she says. “Blacks want prestige. Often, they would rather spend money on a trip to Europe or a West Indies cruise than on a house. And, when black people travel, they don’t want the bottom line. They want first class . . . !” (Freddye Henderson, founder of Henderson Travel, the first fully appointed black travel agency in the United States, quoted in Certain People, Stephen Birmingham, Little, Brown and Co., Boston-Toronto, (c) 1977, pp. 208-209.
“Sport contains all the main contradictions of American life, including widespread racism, but blacks are no less immune than other Americans from the national myth that sports are the most democratic area in society.” Ross Thomas Runfola, New York Times, February 27, 1977, Sports, p.2.
