Resorts seek skiers who aren't all snow-white

Some resorts working to attract more ethnic groups to skiing and snowboarding

The Associated Press

HUNTINGTON LAKE, CALIF. // Skiers cut through a fresh dusting of snow, their skis hissing softly against the powder as they crisscross down the slopes, then grind to a halt at the icy base of the Sierra Summit resort where Richard Shimizu is taking a break.

Although the ski resort is in Fresno County, where almost half the population is made up of minorities, most people crunching past Shimizu in their ski boots are white. It's a scene repeated in ski resorts across the country, where only three out of 20 skiers or snowboarders are minorities, according to marketing researchers.

"You see some Asian people sometimes, but few blacks and few Hispanics," said Shimizu, who is Japanese- American. "It's changing, but still there's a big difference. We used to never think about things like ethnicity. Now people pay more attention."

READ THE AP STORY AT THE SEATTLE TIMES.COM