PARK CITY — As a person of color, Fantaye Gilbertson, originally from Ethiopia, sometimes felt like an outsider when skiing the slopes of Minnesota, where she grew up.

"I definitely struggled with being isolated, feeling like I didn't really belong," she said.

The speed and thrill of skiing, though, kept her going, and now she's an Olympic aspirant based in Park City, training full-time and competing in alpine events for Park City Ski and Snowboard. Still, though the number of Black and other minority skiers seems to be edging up, Gilbertson, 19, would like to see even more. She's taken it upon herself to serve as an ambassador of sorts to the cause, promoting diversity in snow sports.

"I'm starting to feel a lot better, and there's a lot more opportunities and more people of color in the winter sports industry. But it's still not enough. There's always room for more improvement," said Gilbertson, adopted when she was 2 years old and brought from Ethiopia to the United States by her adoptive parents.

She and teammate Tallulah Proulx reference their push to diversify the ski industry in a GoFundMe pitch to help them cover the costs of competing in the pricey sport. Proulx, 16, is a dual national of the United States and, through her father, the Philippines. "Our goal is to not only compete in ski racing professionally, but to promote and help diversify the winter sports industry," reads their message.

But their efforts go beyond that post. Gilbertson said her presence on the slopes as a minority skier has motivated others, which has spurred her on. Parents and other minority athletes have reached out to her, she said, saying that seeing her in action serves as an inspiration to keep at the sport. Earlier this month, she spoke to a gathering of 100 or so minority kids at Copper Mountain in Colorado as part of a National Brotherhood of Snowsports event meant to encourage interest in skiing.

"For me, I love ski racing, I'm super competitive. But besides the fact of loving ski racing and being competitive in it, my other big drive is to be able to pave the way for other athletes of color ... and be representation to make them feel less alone in an industry that is predominantly white," she said.

According to a survey by the National Ski Areas Association, an industry group, 88% of ski area guests in the 2023-24 season were white, 6% were Asian or Pacific Islander, 6% were Hispanic, 1% were Black, 1% were Native American or Native Alaskan and 1% were of another race. Survey participants were able to pick more than one racial or ethnic category, boosting the total past 100%.

Proulx can attest to such numbers, but she has gotten used to being the only minority, or one of just a few minorities present when she's skiing. Nevertheless, she'd also like to demystify the sport and encourage interest in the activity so more can enjoy it. She's originally from California and, like Gilbertson, lives and trains in Park City and aspires to the Olympics, possibly as a Filipino national team member.

"I definitely think it's important that the sport diversify because I want everyone to know that even if there aren't that many people of color, they can still enjoy the sport as well. It is a very welcoming community," she said by phone during a break at the Western Region Junior Championships at the Mission Ridge ski resort in Washington. "I feel the outreach really isn't there, and there aren't that many programs in place that promote things like ski racing to these diverse groups of people."

Both Gilbertson and Proulx are sponsored by the National Brotherhood of Snowsports, a nonprofit group formed to bolster the ranks of minorities competing at the international and Olympic levels. Mike Lanier, Olympic scholarship fund administrator for the organization, thinks geography is a big factor in the limited number of minorities interested in skiing and other snow sports. Most Black people live in urban areas, far from mountains and ski resorts. The cost of the sport, too, limits interest, he thinks.

But it's worth it to encourage interest, he says. Getting up on a mountain and then speeding down it can be life-changing and eye-opening for kids not accustomed to such an experience. "Having experienced the joy of mountain snow sports, it's been a blessing," Lanier said.

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Ski Utah, partnering with local resorts, sponsors a 4-year-old program geared to Utah's "ethnically diverse community," Discover Winter, to encourage interest in skiing. Participants — 850 since the initiative launched — get ski or snowboard lessons, rental equipment and transport to resorts.

"The mission of the program is to foster a lifelong love of skiing and snowboarding amongst Utah's ethnically diverse community," said Ski Utah spokeswoman Alison Palmintere.

Palmintere said the Discover Winter program is geared toward adults with the hope that they'll introduce skiing to their kids and broaden interest in the sport. Gilbertson, for her part, stresses the importance of reaching out to kids and, as a person of color, being physically present on the mountains.

"A lot of it for the kids is seeing someone who looks like them, who's kind of like a role model to them," she said. "Make it fun for them to make them want to keep coming back to ski and come into the mountains."

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