SVSEF Board Profile: Wally Limburg
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The board of directors plays a vital role in SVSEF’s realization of its mission and goals. Get to know our board members; next up is Wally Limburg, a commercial real estate broker by profession. Wally learned about SVSEF on the hill – he ran into Brian Caulkins, whose enthusiasm for the program apparently rubbed off. Here, Wally shares a bit about himself and what he's excited to work on with SVSEF.
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Wally with his son, Wyatt, and wife, Kathy.
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BACKGROUND
College/graduate programs: Arizona State University, Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing
Career background: Commercial Real Estate Broker specializing in shopping center landlord representation as well as retail tenant representation on a national basis.
1998-Present – Founding Partner with Strategic Retail Advisors (SRA), a retail commercial consulting and brokerage firm, Newport Beach, CA
Prior to that, Senior Vice President with CBRE, Newport Beach, CA
Career accomplishments:
Awarded CBRE’s Number One Retail Broker for Orange County for ten years.
Founding Member of X-Team, a national network of retail brokers with over offices across the country.
Family/hobbies:
Married to his wife, Kathy, since 2005.
They have an eight-year old son, Wyatt.
Hobbies include skiing, fly fishing, camping, mountain biking, and golf to name a few.
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Where are you from? Newport Beach, California.
Has skiing always been a big part of your life? Not really, as I started skiing in my mid-twenties. Even though I was late to the sport, it has changed my life’s path.
How did you get involved with SVSEF? In 2016, I met Brian Caulkins at Warm Springs Lodge and he introduced me to the LASAR program. My son has been part of the LASAR program for the last two years and last year, he was fortunate to be a part of the Devo Team. This year he will be advancing to the Mini World Cup Team.
What do you tell people about the organization? That it’s not just about the skiing – the program helps teach mountain safety, teamwork, respect for others, all the while helping to lead a healthy & positive lifestyle.
What are you most excited to work on as a new member of the board? My goal is to be involved in helping develop a permanent training venue for the ski team, including assisting with the development of Rotarun Ski area.
What do you do for fun? First and foremost, spending time with Kathy and Wyatt. We love to travel, ski, fish, golf, etc. That being said, I also like to fish for Trout and Steelhead in a lot of different places in the West as well as spending time in exotic locations where I like to salt-water fly fish. About every other year, I go on a whitewater expedition, somewhere in the World with some lifelong friends. Past locations have included Africa, India, China, South America, to name a few.
Thank you so much, Wally!
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Week in Review: December 18
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ALPINE
FIS Open Tech series at Snow King
FIS athletes traveled to Jackson Hole for an Open Tech series at Snow King; over the course of four days, skiers competed in two slalom and two giant slalom races. SVSEF athletes walked away from the event with multiple podiums and winning runs; a good sign of things to come this season. Notably, Jack Smith claimed victory in both of the men’s giant slalom races (December 17 and 18). Lily Fitzgerald also skied onto the podium in the women’s giant slalom on December 17, finishing third behind Isabel Grondin and Zazie Huml. Bridger Harrison and Bennett Synder each had winning runs, in the giant slalom and slalom, respectively. Sage Curtis, a first year who made the flip this year from the USSA team, had a significant result in the first giant slalom, finishing 23rd overall. Alison Rathfon broke the top 10 twice (seventh in December 15th slalom, eighth in December 17th giant slalom). In an extraordinary instance of familial coordination, brothers Bennett and Will (alum) Snyder tied for seventh in the men’s opening slalom on December 15. Will also scored a top result in the slalom on December 16, taking bronze. "It was a good weekend; our skiers approached their races with good attitudes, despite tough conditions," said SVSEF Alpine Program Director Will Brandenburg. "There was better skiing out there than results, and we had really good results – it shaped up to be a nice series."
FULL RESULTS
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SNOWBOARD
Alum Chase Josey found the podium a second weekend in a row, this time in the Dew Tour modified superpipe at Breckenridge on Saturday, December 15. In the new Dew Tour event, which included slopestyle jumps at the beginning and end of the run, Josey finished second in the event, behind Australian Scotty James (who also won last week’s Grand Prix event at Copper). The alum scored 88.33 on his second run, securing his silver medal at the event.
TEAM USA WRITE-UP
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CROSS COUNTRY
SVSEF, along with Galena Lodge and BCRD, hosted its annual Winterstart race at Galena to kick off the local competition season. The event drew 80 participants, most of whom were SVSEF athletes. Leading the charge in the four-lap (roughly 8km) category was Gold Team skier Peter Holmes, who finished in 19:07. Behind him were Adam Witkowski (20:05) and Scott Schultz (20:31) to round out the podium. The three-lap category was dominated by SVSEF skiers, as well; Bjorn Halvorsen won with a time of 16:03, followed by Anja Grover in 17:49 and Sammy Smith one second behind Anja in third. In the group that completed two laps, Prep Team skier Holden Archie topped the field, finishing in 12:33. Berkeley Canfield was second in 12:43, and Teddy Hobbs third in 14:10. Sven Halvorsen, McCallen Campbell and Zach Quesnel went one-two-three on the single lap, and Levi Reuner, Duncan Freyberger and Anne O’Sullivan did the same in the mini loop category. SVSEF athletes head to Bozeman this weekend for their first JNQ of the season. Gold, PG and Comp athletes are also gearing up for U.S. Nationals, which will be held at Craftsbury, Vermont, in early January. Kevin Bolger, who narrowly missed qualifying for heats in the final sprint race of Period 1 on the World Cup circuit in Davos, Switzerland, has a break from racing before Period 2 picks up in Toblach, Italy.
FULL RESULTS - WINTERSTART
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Staff Spotlight: Lindsay Mann, Alpine USSA Coach and Mountain Awareness Program Coordinator
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Lindsay Mann joined SVSEF in the fall of 2018; she came in with fresh perspective, incessant energy, understated professionalism, and a quirky, dry sense of humor. SVSEF is already reaping the benefits of having her on board – with a wealth of experience in both elite-level alpine ski racing and backcountry guiding, Lindsay is a welcome source of knowledge and motivation. This is not limited to the alpine USSA team and the big mountain program; diving in head-first, she has developed a Mountain Awareness Program (MAP) for SVSEF, which provides professional avalanche awareness and mountain awareness training to SVSEF athletes of all ages. Teaming up with the Sawtooth Avalanche Center, Sawtooth Mountain Guides, Sun Valley Guides, and BRASS, Lindsay has already orchestrated multiple informational sessions for athletes, coaches and parents alike. Lindsay's work with SVSEF has caught the attention of industry professionals – read the recent skiracing.com article that details her work that has resonated with the BRASS Foundation HERE.
In addition to her initiative as the Mountain Awareness Program Coordinator, Lindsay is on the hill with SVSEF athletes as an assistant coach for the alpine USSA team. We caught up with Lindsay to learn more about her and the experiences that have informed her current role – read all it below.
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You've mentioned that you were both a dancer and a skier when you were younger – why did you choose to pursue skiing?
Growing up I did ballet, gymnastics, ski racing and soccer. When I was 13 I was in the Boston Ballet's Youth Programs and ski racing for WVBBTS (Waterville Valley Black and Blue Trail Smashers). Due to my ski racing commitments, I never auditioned for the Nutcracker and this did not please my ballet teachers. At this point, I decided to pursue an activity in the mountains rather than an indoor sport. Since moving to Sun Valley, I have found a great dance community here and attend dance class regularly in Hailey at Idayoga. For dryland this fall the dance instructor, Sean, came and taught a hip hop class to our U16 athletes.
Where did you grow up skiing? How did you end up at Dartmouth?
I grew up skiing at Waterville Valley in New Hampshire and then attended Green Mountain Valley School (GMVS) for my junior and senior year of high school. In the East we often raced again college teams at FIS races, and all of the eastern collegiate ski teams always seemed to support each other. From being around this, I knew that I wanted to ski race in college and I thought that Dartmouth seemed like a good fit for me. Fortunately, I was lucky to get in and ski race for them for four years.
What is the biggest thing you took away/learned from skiing at Dartmouth?
Although ski racing is an individual sport, I really enjoyed the team atmosphere of college ski racing. To be successful as a college team we needed to have a strong nordic team and alpine team. Being in an environment where the team did well the harder I worked and trained motivated me to work hard and ski fast while I was there.
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Best memory from your time there?
In 2007, my senior year, the Dartmouth Ski team won NCAAS! It was the first time at Dartmouth that the women's ski team had been apart of a National Championship, and it was the highlight of my time there. One of the things that made the team so special this year was on the women's side we didn't have any stand out skier. In years past there was always one girl on the team that we expected would win races or do really well. I remember at one of our early season FIS races, my teammate Michelanne won an Eastern Cup GS race. The majority of the Eastern Collegiate Teams were at this race and I remember that although we were really excited for Michelanne, we all knew that we could all ski as fast as her. It was like a light clicked on for all of us and we knew that we could be a very strong team and compete. We carried that momentum with us throughout the whole season and into NCAAs.
How/when did you become interested in guiding and backcountry?
When I was 13, my ski team went up and skied Tuckerman's Ravine on Mt. Washington in the spring. My dad came with our group, too, and I really enjoyed being in the mountains and experiencing a different side of skiing. This was the first time it was on my radar and I knew that when I graduated college I wanted to move out West and get more into backcountry skiing. As a college graduation present my parents bought me a beacon, shovel and probe and paid for my Avalanche 1 Course. From there I had a good friend from college who worked for Rainier Mountaineering, Inc, and he helped me to get my first job guiding.
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How did high-level alpine racing inform/support your growth in guiding/backcountry?
Because I grew up a ski racer, I was really comfortable in the mountains and comfortable in difficult weather conditions. I was also used to spending time in a dynamic environment. As a ski racer there are many times that the plan changes, and you learn to be adaptable. This ability to adapt the plan has been a tremendous asset to me as a guide.
Best trip you've been on?
This is a hard question..the past few years I have gotten into doing sail and ski trips. This was also initiated by my father who is both an avid skier and sailer, and thought it would be interesting to combine the two. One of my favorite places that we have gone to is Iceland. Where we ski in Iceland is only accessible by boat, and I've done four trips there now – it is pretty cool to be skiing in an area where we know that we are the only ones out there. In the past two years, Keely Kelleher and I have started running all girls backcountry ski trips in Iceland.
What do you like about guiding?
I enjoy taking people into the mountains showing them that with some effort you can get to some pretty amazing places. I also enjoy the teaching aspect of guiding.
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What are your goals at SVSEF this season?
To continue to create lifelong skiers and help each athlete reach their athletic potential. To show these athletes that the skills learned in ski racing translate into valuable life skills.
On the Avalanche Awareness side, my goal is to continue to educate staff, athletes and coaches about how we can teach the athletes good habits, to initiate conversations that we can be having with athletes as parents and coaches and develop understanding of tools that we can give our athletes, whether they are freeskiing in bounds or venturing out of bounds.
What do you like about the program and organization so far?
Everyone has been very welcoming in this community, which has made the transition pretty easy. Scotty and Will have also given me the opportunity to develop our Mountain Awareness Program and I really appreciate that. I think that there is a lot that we can do with these programs, and I am happy that I can be a part of making them happen and learning about the avalanche community here.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I really enjoying exploring in the mountains and dancing.
What advice do you have for your athletes?
Enjoy being in the mountains and being a part of SVSEF. Whether you are the fastest on your team or continuing to develop, SVSEF and being involved in these programs provide athletes with so many lifelong skills and long lasting friendships. This is truly a unique sport that we are a part of and I hope they take the time to enjoy it.
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Week in Review: December 11
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Photo: Woodward Copper
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SNOWBOARD
SVSEF alum Chase Josey, a member of the U.S. National Snowboard Team, hit the ground running for the 2018-2019 competition season at Copper for the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix. In qualifying heats on Thursday, Josey posted a top result in second behind Ikko Anai of Japan. In the finals on Saturday, Josey earned his best result in his third and final run, putting him in third overall with a score of 90.50. Josey finished behind Australian Scotty James and American Toby Miller.
FULL RESULTS
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CROSS COUNTRY
SVSEF Gold and PG athletes competed on the second stop of the SuperTour, a North American FIS-sanctioned race series. This past weekend, the group raced at Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre within SilverStar Provincial Park in British Columbia. Saturday featured a freestyle sprint, and Sunday was a 10/15km classic race.
Peter Holmes led SVSEF in both the sprint and the men's 15km classic race, qualifying for the B final and finishing seventh overall on Saturday, and 10th overall on Sunday in the distance race. For women, Gold Team skier Maddie Morgan was 14th overall in the sprint, while teammate Katie Feldman was 22nd in a field of 46. PG skier Heidi Booher charged to 11th in the women's junior sprint.
In the distance race on Sunday, Adam Luban followed Holmes' 10th place finish in 22nd out of 104 competitors, while Cate Brahms had a solid effort, finishing 15th overall in the women's 10km field of 88.
Athletes on the SuperTour have a brief reprieve before competing at Craftsbury, Vermont, for Nationals at the start of January.
FULL RESULTS
WORLD CUP
Gold Team skier Kevin Bolger continued his efforts on the World Cup circuit in Beitostolen, Norway. Bolger was selected to compete in the men's 4x7.5km mixed relay on Sunday, December 9; he skied the second classic leg for the United States. The men's relay team, which consisted of Bolger, Erik Bjornsen, Scott Patterson and Simi Hamilton, finished 12th overall. The World Cup racing continues this weekend in Davos, Switzerland.
RELAY RESULTS
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Athlete of the Week: December 6
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SVSEF provides ski and snowboard programming to nearly 700 athletes in the Wood River Valley. Athlete of the Week is an opportunity to highlight individuals who embody the values championed by this organization; sportsmanship, citizenship, character, teamwork, creativity, passion and perseverance.
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Zach Quesnel, 11, Cross Country Prep
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Zach Quesnel is the epitome of team spirit! His energy and enthusiasm for cross country skiing and the SVSEF team is never-ending and contagious; from below freezing temps to intervals to games, Zach tackles all the parts of skiing with the same zest for adventure and fun. Zach has demonstrated his constant positivity on a daily basis in training, but also recently at the team training camp in West Yellowstone. Zach’s energy was visibly rubbing off on his teammates and the older kids at that camp, with his never-ceasing smile and excitement for each day on snow; he quickly was named by the older kids their own 'personal mascot.' This is Zach’s first year on Prep Team, and we can only hope that this young man’s love of skiing and SVSEF will be as strong tomorrow as it is today!
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Merumo Ishimaru, 16, Alpine FIS
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This is Merumo’s first year on the FIS team, and the coaches have already seen tremendous growth this season. Mer is working hard on snow and in the gym and consistently brings great energy to every session. Last weekend, while freeskiing, Mer saw a man fall and asked her coach if she could stop to help him. The man was blown away by her level of respect for other skiers, and retold the story to other SVSEF coaches he saw throughout the day. Mer is starting the season off right and we are so pumped to have her on the team!
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Caleo Morrison, 10, Mini Xtreme & Cross Country Devo North
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Caleo Morrison is our pick because of his positive attitude during the last dryland training. We took a small hike up above the barn and stopped for a little meeting. Caleo and his pal Silas wanted to go higher and he ran to a high point above the barn. I told this story to his dad Brian, and he said Caleo always has run like a deer.
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Mikey Nannini, 16, Big Mountain
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The Big Mountain Team would like to highlight Mikey Nannini as our Athlete of the Week. Mikey is our team cowboy with a strong handshake which also displays his genuine character. He is commuting from Kimberly to be a part of this team and has been such an asset to the team dynamic; he is always positive and enthusiastic. Mikey is a strong athlete – he also competes in team roping, and won the Filer Rodeo this fall. I can see that he is determined to continually improve his skiing abilities, and he has shown that he is willing to work hard to achieve his goals!
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Mikey Nannini from svsef on Vimeo.
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Week in Review: 12/4/18
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We're back with the Week in Review; a look at what SVSEF athletes have been up to in their competitions and travels.
ALPINE
SVSEF FIS athletes competed at Copper in giant slalom and super G events. In the November 26 giant slalom, Bridger Harrison finished 33rd overall, and Jack Smith did not finish. In the following day’s giant slalom, the roles were reversed; Jack skied to 28th, while Harrison did not finish. Competition switched gears to super G on November 28, with two competitions (one to replace a race intended to be held November 29). Jack Smith, Bridger Harrison and Bennett Snyder all stepped it up with solid runs and a tight grouping in both races. In the morning, Jack was 15th, Bridger 16th and Bennett Snyder 18th. In the second race of the day, Bennett finished 13th, Bridger 16th and Jack 17th; this was a significant result for the team, as it was SVSEF’s first ever U18 podium sweep at a FIS sanctioned competition.
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Cate Brams (l), Johnny Hagenbuch (r), photos by Ian Harvey
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CROSS COUNTRY
SVSEF Comp, PG and Gold Team athletes spent two weekends racing on the Rendezvous trails in West Yellowstone, Montana. On November 24, athletes competed in a 5/10k freestyle FIS race. Comp team skier Johnny Hagenbuch took an impressive second place in a field of top collegiate and professional athletes, and Gold Team skier Adam Luban took fourth. In the women’s field, Comp team athlete Sydney Palmer-Leger was seventh and Gold Team skier Katie Feldman was tenth. Athletes returned to West Yellowstone for the SuperTour season opener on December 1-2.
The first race of the SuperTour opening weekend was a 1.5k freestyle sprint. First-year Gold Team athlete and former Middlebury skier Adam Luban led the charge, skiing into the men’s final heat and finishing fourth overall behind Andy Newell, Ben Lustgarten and Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier. Teammate Peter Holmes qualified for semifinals, finishing tenth overall in the men’s field. Top racers in the women’s field for SVSEF were Katie Feldman in 16th, Maddie Morgan in 19th, and Ella Jackson (Aus) in 20th. In the junior men’s field, Adam Witkowski had a solid effort, making it to finals and skiing to sixth overall. Haydn Halvorsen was first across the line in the B final. Jake Jampel was also in the B final, and landed 12th overall. Starting her season off strong was Sophia Mazzoni, who won the Junior Women’s sprint in a time of 3:23.35. Teammate Anja Jensen joined her in the final and on the podium in third. SVSEF had four athletes in the B final; Sydney Palmer-Leger won the B final and finished seventh, Logan Smith finished eighth, Jenna Nurge ninth and Heidi Booher tenth.
Sunday’s race was a 10/15k freestyle. Johnny Hagenbuch mirrored his success from the previous week with a fifth place overall finish in the men’s 15k, and was the first U18 finisher. Peter Holmes tied for eighth, Adam Luban was 13th, and alum Eli Jensen (now skiing for the University of Montana) rounded out the top 20, tied for 20th. Sydney Palmer-Leger led the SVSEF women, skiing to fifth in the women’s 10k. Katie Feldman also broke the top ten in eighth.
In the U18/20 division, Johnny Hagenbuch was first and Scott Schulz fourth. Sydney Palmer-Leger was first for U18/20 women, followed by Anja Jensen in third, Sophia Mazzoni fifth, Lily Brunelle sixth, and Heidi Booher and Jenna Nurge tenth and 11th.
FIS WOMEN'S 5K FREESTYLE RESULTS
FIS MEN'S 10K FREESTYLE RESULTS
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Adam Luban (r) in fourth in the men's SuperTour sprint
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WORLD CUP
Gold Team athlete Kevin Bolger is representing the U.S. on the World Cup circuit for the 2018-2019 season. Opening races were held in Kuusamo, Finland; Kevin finished 55th in the 1.4k classic sprint (second U.S. skier behind teammate Erik Bjornsen) and 63rd in the 15k classic. The team moved onto Lillehammer, Norway, where the weekend again began with a sprint, this time freestyle. Kevin was again the second fastest American (after veteran Simi Hamilton), skiing to 61st. In the 15k freestyle race, Kevin was 68th, and in Sunday’s 15k classic pursuit, he finished 59th. The team is currently in Beitostolen, Norway, training for this weekend’s 15/30k freestyle and 4x5/4x7.5k relay.
WORLD CUP RESULTS
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SVSEF Warm Springs Parking Passes Available
Prime parking at the base of Warm Springs in plowed lot, directly across the street from newly renovated Warm Springs Lodge; good for the entire 2018-19 season.
Recap: 2018 Baldy Hill Climb
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Despite the smoke that had settled into the valley on the morning of September 29, 180 participants turned up for this year's Baldy Hill Climb. For the trek to the top of the 3,140-foot mountain, competitors could pick their poison – biking, hiking, racing (on foot), or, if they were feeling really gung-ho, the Cheeso Double. Named in memory of Craig "Cheeso" Kjesbo, a SVSEF alpine coach, the Cheeso Double involves biking to the top of Baldy first thing, taking the lift down, and joining the racing class for another jaunt back up to the top. Indeed, it is not for the faint of heart, body or mind.
This year's race class champion for men was Miles Fink-Debray, a local alumni of the SVSEF alpine program who has shown a knack for this particular challenge; Miles has now won the Baldy Hill Climb nine times. Miles finished the climb in 37 minutes and 37 seconds. Fifteen seconds behind him with a time of 37:52 was Adam Luban, a fresh face on the cross country Gold Team. Peter Holmes, another Gold Team skier, finished in third in 40:30. For women, Alexa Turzian claimed victory with a time of 47 minutes and 33 seconds. The SVSEF cross country alum topped the field by over a minute, even having just completed the biking portion of the Cheeso Double. SVSEF alums and current SVSEF coaches Emily Williams and Sloan Storey rounded out the top three, with times of 48:46 and 49:18, respectively.
In his first go at the Cheeso Double, Eric Chizum won in the men's category with a combined total time of 1:49:05. Thomas Liby was second, and Joel Brazil third. Brooke Hovey, a SVSEF coach and parent, powered to first for women in 2:06:19, followed by Alexa Turzian in 2:26:55 and Alison Burpee in 2:45:56. Brooke Hovey and Eric Chizum both took the win for the bike portion of the competition, as well. Breaking into the top three for overall bike results were Brandon Lynch in the men's race, pushing Thomas Liby to third, and Shelly Wisenhant, pushing Alexa Turzian to third for women.
Thank you to Sturtevants and Washington Federal, who sponsored the event, and to all of the volunteers who helped make the day go smoothly.
To view more photos, click HERE.
RESULTS:
Women's race class podium: Emily Williams (2), Alexa Turzian (1), Sloan Storey (3)
Men's race podium: Alex Luban (2), Miles Fink-Debray (1), Peter Holmes (3)
SVSEF Executive Director Scott McGrew crosses the finish line
Alexa Turzian in the final stretch
SVSEF Alpine Program Director Will Brandenburg and daughter Georgia put in some volunteer hours
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A Look Back with Big Mountain: SASS Argentina
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SVSEF IFSA Big Mountain Coach Conor Davis spent a couple weeks down in Argentina as part of SASS Global Travel. Along for the trip were two SVSEF athletes, who benefitted from small group sizes, pro guides, and a wealth of experience to be gained with such a heavy focus on avalanche safety and exploring the backcountry in a foreign environment. Here, Conor reflects on his time in the Andes.
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What did a typical day look like, or did they all vary?
We would wake up at 7am and breakfast was over at 8. We would then walk to the mountain at 9am and ski till 4pm – a 7-hour day outside. The first day started off with an avalanche introduction PowerPoint, and our skin the first day was focused on avalanche rescue drills. With this initial day of avalanche experience under our belts, the following days were filled with touring outside the resort and exploring all around the Andes. If the weather was bad, we would go into Bariloche, get a good meal and eat a bunch of chocolate.
What was the most valuable thing your athletes learned?
Traveling to a different country helps an athlete to grow mentally, emotionally and physically. We
learned how to order food in Spanish, and definitely developed our backcountry skillset. One day we hiked out into the backcountry to build a jump and there was a lot of progression in the air.
This was a great opportunity for you, as well – what did you take
away from the trip? What did you learn from the perspective of a guide?
The SASS team is an extremely professional group of individuals, and I learned a lot from them. One of the main things I took away from the Sass guides was their backcountry group travel protocol.
What surprised you, if anything, about the experience?
There's no hot sauce in Argentina. I will definitely bring a bottle if I get the opportunity to go down there again.
What are you looking forward to applying to your coaching/training
plan for the 18/19 season with SVSEF athletes?
I will be updating the coaches’ travel protocol with the athletes. We’ll be adding a lot more beacon/transceiver checks.
Why do you think it’s important to travel to ski in different places?
It's important to travel to ski in different places because one's life experience shouldn't be limited in scope. Skiing is an amazing sport that allows you to see different cultures and gives you the opportunity to learn other languages.
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SVSEF Board Profile: Andy Cooley
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The board of directors plays a vital role in SVSEF's realization of its mission and goals. Get to know our board members; first up is Andy Cooley, who has been skiing since he was nine, and whose daughter, Skylar, just began her first semester at Boston University after graduating from SVSEF and Community School. Andy, a lawyer in Seattle, discusses what he's looking forward to as a new board member, as well as how his family landed on SVSEF and why this organization matters to him.
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BACKGROUND
College/graduate programs:
University of Washington, B.A. Accounting 1982
Seattle University, J.D. 1985
Career:
Practicing attorney since 1985.
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Why did you decide to study law? What keeps you excited about this career choice?
Honestly, the law was a safe career during a moderate recession. I am blessed that I am good at it.
Has skiing always been a big part of your life?
Yes. I started skiing late, at 9 years old. I have raced, instructed, coached and worked as an official since then.
How did you get involved with SVSEF?
I had been on the board at Crystal Mountain Alpine Club as a parent. I realized that once my daughter graduated, I could be a good addition to SVSEF because I did not have a direct personal interest any longer. I could be more objective as the parent of an alumna.
What do you tell people about the organization?
SVSEF is poised to rival Vail, Aspen and Rowmark in the output of high caliber athletes. There is no excuse for not having athletes on the World Cup.
What are you most eager to work on as a member of the board?
Rotorun and CPOC. These are the two initiatives going forward that will make the most change.
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Your daughter skied with SVSEF – why did you choose Sun Valley and this organization?
My daughter had the choice of Sugar Bowl and Rowmark, but chose SVSA for a couple reasons. One was the friendliness. As she put it, “I could talk to the kids at Community School.” The second was that Sun Valley was a place my wife would be willing to live with her. You couldn’t say that about Park City or Truckee.
What do you hope she’s learned from the experience? What do you know she’s taken away from it?
Like most alpine athletes, she has become a committed, disciplined and reasonably driven person. She will go to Boston University next year, but will not ski race in college. Sun Valley remains a speed skier hill, and one area where we need to round out our program is to provide better tech skiing. In college, only tech matters.
What do you do for fun?
I do fun things with my wife. These include fly fishing, trail running, mountain biking and skiing. Last year my wife skied over 105 days at Sun Valley. I only got 35!
Thank you so much, Andy!
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