Park City college student designs custom limited-edition ski with Nordica

Park City college student Heidy Hernandez designed a custom limited-edition ski in partnership with Nordica. Photo: SOS Outreach

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City college student Heidy Hernandez recently had an opportunity some can only dream of, to design a custom limited-edition ski in partnership with Nordica.

21-year-old Hernandez first heard about this opportunity through the youth development non-profit SOS Outreach, which aims to bridge opportunities for young people via progressive 10-year curriculum, positive adult mentorship, and mountain sports like skiing and snowboarding.

Hernandez is an SOS Outreach alum turned part-time staff member and is currently pursuing a degree in UI/UX.

“This is an incredible opportunity to enter the outdoor industry and start building out my portfolio as a designer,” Hernandez said in a press release. “One of my dreams is to work for an outdoor company, so this opportunity is really in-line with my life goals.”

Hernandez collaborated with three other young women to design the ski. Each group member was either a current SOS participant or alumni, identified as female, and was under the age of 22.

“Our group is all women and mostly women of color,” Hernandez said. “So I think it’s really cool to see the industry diversifying first-hand, and it’s even cooler to be a part of that change.”

Hernandez and her fellow group members unveiled their final ski design this past weekend at SOS’ signature fundraising event, The MLK Powder Challenge, in Silverton, Colorado.

Fifty pairs of the custom ski were manufactured and are now available on the Christy Sports website. 100% of the sales will be donated to support youth in the SOS Outreach program.

“We are honored to be collaborating with Nordica and Christy Sports on this amazing opportunity for these four young women,” Seth Ehrlich, SOS Executive Director, said in a press release. “They came together as a team to design this one-of-a-kind ski to represent their relationship with the mountains. Additionally, all proceeds from the sales will directly benefit 3,200 kids this year alone across SOS Outreach programs. We look forward to providing life-changing opportunities for youth.”