LAAX Aims To Reshape The Future Of Winter Sports

LAAX has been shaking up tradition in the Swiss Alps since the 1980s, being one of the first European resorts to transform traditional slopes into snowparks. But the outdoor and winter sports industries once again need a wake-up call to address a long-standing diversity gap.

According to Sport England, Black participation in snow sports was too low to register in the 2022–23 season. But that’s beginning to change. LAAX has announced two game-changing partnerships that spotlight underrepresented communities in a bid to make the mountains more inclusive for the next generation of skiers and snowboarders.

Since kicking off its mission to open up the mountains for Black participants back in Q1 2025, LAAX has already experienced a 66% year-on-year increase in British visitors compared to the same period (January-April) 2024, making it the top performing resort in Switzerland.

Alpine Summers for City Adventurers: Explorers Comes to LAAX

This summer, LAAX kicked off a collaboration with Explorers, an outdoor activities social group founded in 2023 by Londoner Sam Gordon. With a community of over 10,000 members, Explorers empowers primary Black Brits and other ethnic minorities living in urban cities to get out and explore nature — from hiking trails to snowy slopes.

The group has gone from strength-to-strength, partnering with well-known outdoors brands such as Patagonia, Salomon and Sports Direct, before launching its first international adventure trip to LAAX this September, where 70+ Brits will hike, bike, swim, zipline and water raft together, opening up a new world for its community. 

Rooted in a simple philosophy — come alone, leave together — Explorers was born out of a need for connection and representation in outdoor spaces.

“It’s about creating a world that my younger self wish existed,” says Gordon. “This partnership with LAAX is about carving out space in the mountains where people from where I’m from can discover what the world has to offer and understand our place within it.”

A Cultural Movement on the Mountain: Soft Life Ski Returns in 2026

Looking ahead to 2026, LAAX will also become the home of the largest Afro-Caribbean ski festival in Europe — Soft Life Ski (SLS). Following the success of its inaugural 2025 edition, which sold out in just seven-minutes and drew over 900 travellers from the UK and beyond to the destination, SLS will return even bigger, expecting 1,500 skiers, boarders, and culture lovers for a week-long celebration of winter sports and Afro-Caribbean joy.

Founded by friends Emmanuel Ojo, Kendrick Fordjour, Edmund Antwi, and Mikun Olupona, Soft Life Ski redefines the traditional ski holiday by blending high-altitude adventure with music, culture, and connection.

From slope-side DJ sets to après-ski parties with a twist, SLS is pioneering a new kind of winter experience — one that centres Black joy, community, and style on the snow.

“We created SLS because we didn’t see ourselves represented in the ski world,” says co-founder Emmanuel Ojo. “Now we’re building something that feels authentic, welcoming, and exciting, and we’re already proving that when a gateway is created through culture, diverse communities are ready to bring new energy to the mountains.”

LAAX: The Resort Leading the Change

Together, these partnerships are part of LAAX’s wider commitment to reimagining what winter sports can look like — and who gets to participate.

With 33% of Londoners admitting they spend less than an hour outdoors per day, initiatives like Explorers and Soft Life Ski are crucial in encouraging new, diverse audiences to explore the mountains, offering something for every type of traveller – whether that’s snow sports, hiking, adventure or music.

“Diversity doesn’t happen by accident — it happens by design,” says Andrew Westbrook of LAAX. “We’ve always been a resort that welcomes everyone with open arms and creates a home from home, so we’re proud to support movements that are opening up the outdoors to new communities and making the Alps a more inclusive space for all.”

Andrew adds, “The ambition of both Explorers and SLS has blown me away, and supporting this new, ambitious generation achieve their goal of  further diversification in the mountains is paramount to us. This really is just the beginning for LAAX, as we look to work with our likeminded partners to bring bigger, bolder and more events to the mountains and beyond…”

For more information, visit: https://www.laax.com/ https://explrers.club/ https://www.softlifeski.com/