The Sea to Sky ski group wants to increase diversity

Local Squamish founder Indra Hayre launched Incluskivity in fall 2020 and early 2021 to increase representation in the ski community.

What started as a small passion project for Indra Hayre has grown into something bigger.

Tired of not seeing diversity in skiing, Hayre launched Incluskivity between fall 2020 and early 2021. Just a few years later, Incluskivity is now running between six and eight winter programs to increase its presence in the ski community.

“I was very passionate about outdoor inclusion and frankly the lack of it,” Hayre said of her thoughts before launching Incluskivity. “I love being outside; I hated the way I was perceived before I was even there. And I just wanted these spaces to be more inclusive.”

Unable to find what she was looking for, she did the next best thing; She created a program and helped set up an initial avalanche safety course.

After that, other things started to fall into place.

Since that first course, Hayre has relocated to Squamish from the Lower Mainland and has developed partnerships with companies like Arc’teryx and Evo across Sea to Sky to help deliver more inclusivity courses. And while inclusivity remains a passion for Hayre, the community she created continues to grow.

For example, an upcoming course in February had space for about six to eight participants, and Hayre said she received about 60 applications for the spots.

“It shows that not only is there a need for these programs, but … their very existence has shown people that they can enter these spaces,” she said. “Maybe they never thought about doing backcountry until they saw there was a place where they could learn how to do it safely.”

As for expanding into other outdoor sports, Hayre said there are many other inclusive organizations — like Color the Trails and Indigenous Women Outdoors — that are already adopting these sports and activities.

“There are so many programs that do similar things,” she said. “I think all these programs that fight for inclusion have opened up so many opportunities for people.”

As such, Hayre is initially content with running between six and eight courses a year.

Still, she’s impressed with the growth so far.

“It just got so much bigger than I ever imagined,” she said. “I never thought after this first avalanche safety training that we were looking at a world where we do five or six courses a year.”

For more information about Incluskivity, including how to apply for courses and future programs, follow the organization on Instagram or visit Linktr.ee/Incluskivity.

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