This year, we couldn’t narrow down our under-30 industry up-and-comers to just 10, which should tell you something about the caliber of the crop. The 11 under 30 are an impressive group that represents the full breadth of departments, from housekeeping to ski school, and from marketing to mechanical engineering. They come from small independent mountains, municipally run ski areas, and major resorts, and are scattered across the continent—from British Columbia to Bethel, Maine, and Lake Superior to Lake Tahoe.

Though the skills and ambitions of this group extend beyond the current global health crisis, we’d be remiss not to mention COVID-19, as individual responses to the pandemic have been marked by compassion, flexibility, optimism, level-headed decision making, and humility. While the path forward is still opaque, this generation is sure to find its way.

 

CLICK ON A NOMINEE in the list ABOVE TO READ HIS OR HER FULL PROFILE, COMPLETE WITH FULL INTERVIEWS. WE THINK YOU'LL AGREE THAT IT'S AN IMPRESSIVE GROUP — THE EDITORS

 

 

jul20 ll uder 30 bunnellBill Bunnell

Title: Operations Manager, Ski Butternut, Mass.

Age: 28

 

Bill Bunnell planned on being a motorcycle mechanic. He grew up just up the road from Ski Butternut, and though he enjoyed skiing and snowboarding, he was really into motocross. After studying at the Orlando Motorcycle Institute, though, Bill decided he wasn’t so sure about his career plan. He moved back to Massachusetts and started landscaping. That first winter, he was looking for an off-season gig, and Butternut was looking for a small engine mechanic. It was meant to be. At the end of the season, Butternut offered him a year-round position, and Bill enthusiastically accepted. “Butternut is such a fun place to work,” he says. 

What was the defining moment in your snowsports career?

That first summer. Once I got to see what goes on at a ski area in the off-season, I was pretty sold on the industry. It’s almost like having two different jobs between the work we do in the winter and the work we do in the summer.

Describe a challenge you’ve encountered and how you overcame it.

Two winters ago, we had a water main break. It was in one of our parking lots. It was a really busy Saturday or Sunday, and a race day. We had no water to our upper lodge. It was really cold and definitely a scramble. There are only a couple of us who know the process for getting that pump going again, so I was in the hole fixing the pipe. It was a long morning in a wet hole on one of the busiest days of the year. But we have such a great crew of people. They make it easy to get stuff done.

What leadership traits do you admire?

In September, I took over for [longtime operations manager] Jeff Harvey, who retired. He was easy to work with, and I have held on to the way he worked with people instead of over people. The departments here work so well together. At a small area like this, I think that is what’s really important—everyone being able to help each other where needed.

How did you step up as the coronavirus situation rapidly evolved?

The whole crew was in touch with me—they are not the kind of guys who wanted to stay at home. So the GM and I had a couple of phone conferences and decided people could come back as long as they were doing their own things and not congregating. I came up with a list of projects for everyone to do. We met in the parking lot, and I passed out individual copies of the list. The team stepped up and picked their own tasks. It’s tough when nobody knows the right answer. But everyone really cares about the place.

What field would you be in if you didn’t work in snowsports?

I really enjoyed doing stonework—hardscape landscaping. I like to be hands-on. And I got to run a lot of equipment. It was very satisfying to go somewhere, peel apart a property with an excavator and totally redesign and change the way it looks.

 

jul20 11 under 30 byerlyMatt Byerly

Title: Terrain Park Manager, Mountain Creek, N.J.

Age: 27

Matt Byerly clicked into his first pair of planks at age nine and was hooked. By the time he turned 12, “All I wanted to do was go in the terrain park,” he says. College took him south, from central Pennsylvania to West Virginia University, where he spent winters returning to his home state to hit features at Seven Springs. After graduating with a degree in recreation, parks, and tourism, Matt was dead set on finding a job in the snowsports industry. He started as the youth program manager at Snowshoe, W.Va., before taking a step back into more consumer-facing roles. When he got a tip about the terrain park manager position at Mountain Creek, Matt jumped at the chance: “I never thought I would find a job that was so fulfilling to me.”

What was the defining moment in your snowsports career?

I was going into my second winter as the youth program manager at Snowshoe. I knew I was in the right industry, but not the right role. And I resolved to find the role that brought me fulfilment. I figured out I needed to be working a little more closely with people—I needed that direct line from what I do to guest satisfaction. I wanted to start from the ground up on a frontline position, learn more and work my way up. I became a mountain bike instructor. Then in the winter of 2018-19 I worked as a terrain park supervisor at Snowshoe.

Tell me about a memorable customer experience.

There is a skier here at Mountain Creek, I want to say he’s 17 years old, he found me on Instagram and wanted to tell me that I was making his experience on the mountain better. That meant so much to me, because when I was 17, I wanted to be at the sickest parks. That this kid wanted to keep coming back to our parks made all the hard work and long hours worth it.

Describe a challenge you’ve encountered and how you overcame it.

I have zero grooming experience—I’ve ridden around in the red cats and silver cats, but I’ve never gotten behind the sticks. So, my biggest challenge this year was trying to figure out how to communicate with our grooming staff. I can be pretty picky with how I want my parks. But I spent lots of time with the groomers, asking them questions, if stuff was possible. I would try to break ideas down until we had a decent understanding on both ends. Then they could come back and say, “Yes, it’s possible.” Or, “Yes, but it’s going to take forever to do,” and I could come up with a different plan.

What leadership traits do you admire?

An open-door policy and trust. Knowing that I have people above me who trust me, having that support system is crucial. If there is anything I need—information or resources—I know who I can go to. Everyone at Mountain Creek is eager to help.

How have you been passing the time during isolation?

It wasn’t uncommon for me to spend 80-plus hours a week on the mountain. I didn’t spend a lot of time making meals for myself this winter. So, I spent a lot of time learning to cook. It felt good to learn a new skill.

 

jul20 11 under 30 castaldoKarolyn Castaldo

Title: Director of Communications, Sunday River, Maine

Age: 28

“One of my favorite parts of my job is getting to tell people how wonderful this place is,” says Karolyn Castaldo, director of communications at Sunday River. She grew up skiing the resort, but didn’t plan on working there. She actually went to University of Denver to study creative writing and pursued a master's degree in publishing. After graduating, though, Karolyn decided to spend a year as a ski bum. She joined Sunday River as a snow reporter. One season turned into several as Karolyn rose through the communications and marketing ranks. She jumped over the border to New Hampshire for a while, serving as Ski NH’s marketing manager, before returning to Maine in her current role.

What was the defining moment in your snowsports career?

My time at Ski NH was really what solidified wanting to be in the ski industry as a whole, not just enjoying the ski bum life. There are so many things that associations do on the advocacy side, in government relations, and working on initiatives like Learn to Ski, that are important to growing the sport and making sure it’s a viable business. That time learning, growing, and meeting so many amazing people really made it stick that this is what I want to be doing for the rest of my life.

You serve on the board of Ski Maine. Why?

It’s been a good way to balance the sides of the industry that I love. I still get to be involved in the advocacy part and learn what is happening on a state and national level, while having the benefits of being at a resort. Part of my communications role has sort of evolved into community relations. I’m also on the board of the Bethel Chamber of Commerce for Sunday River. It’s a different side of PR, not the media side, but working with the public and making sure we are listening to the community we live in.

What leadership traits do you admire?

When I worked for Ski NH, I worked for a woman named Jessyca Keeler (Ski NH executive director). One of the things I appreciated about her style was that she was always looking for ways to help me grow and find things that interested me. The same has carried through with my manager at Sunday River, Nick Lambert. That is something I try to do with my team. It’s important that they are getting the most out of their time, too.

How are you staying flexible to meet the changes arising from the pandemic?

I think part of the job is always to be flexible, but this is amplifying it. The two or three days leading up to the pandemic were a total whirlwind. We were making so many plans about how to communicate with guests. I was learning crisis communication on the fly. Right now, my focus is on internal communications. Then the next step is communicating new policies and procedures to guests. One of my favorite things about communications is getting to work in so many sectors.

What field would you be in if you didn’t work in snowsports?

I think doing something with editorial journalism would be fun. I write a lot in my day-to-day. That’s always been a passion of mine.

 

jul20 ll under 30 dickersonLauren Nicole Dickerson

Title: Executive Housekeeping Manager, Taos Ski Valley, N.M.

Age: 28

“I had never really snowboarded, but I always wanted to,” says Lauren Nicole Dickerson. That’s a big part of why she moved to Taos from a much warmer climate. Lauren Nicole grew up in Maryland, then lived in Florida. She was eager to get on the snow, though, so she packed up her bags and headed to New Mexico. She applied for jobs at Taos Ski Valley, and started as a spa attendant. Lauren Nicole cross-trained with housekeeping, and when a supervisor position opened up in the department, she seized the opportunity to take on more responsibility. In just two years, Lauren Nicole was promoted first to assistant manager and then to executive housekeeping manager. She now runs housekeeping for The Blake—the resort’s luxury hotel, which opened in 2017—as well as property management, and workforce housing.

How do you set up your team for success?

Just making sure that they are trained well, they understand safety and health regulations and all of the elements that go into housekeeping, and have all of the physical resources that they need. And I think just being honest is important—not sugarcoating things, but saying, “Today is going to be a hard day, but I believe you can do it.” I want to give them that validation and prepare them for what is to come. Strong communication is really important.

How did you step up as the coronavirus situation rapidly evolved?

Leading a department was hard. People had a lot of questions, and I didn’t have all the answers. A lot of J-1s were here. They were worried about their families and how they were going to get home. With the mountain closing, we had to act fast. One thing I did was make sure with all of our housekeeping leaders that our priority was to get people home safely and give them the resources to get home before all the travel bans went into place.

Tell me something you learned during the pandemic and how you can apply it in the future.

I learned how to really delegate and to not take on too much myself. And sometimes you get so caught in a routine that you don’t think about changing things. So, I also learned to be more open to new things and suggestions from others. It’s important to take ideas and look for ways to make things better.

What long-term changes do you see for the industry with COVID-19?

It will be important to think about how people perceive things. We are going to have changes to our housekeeping policies. We just bought fog machines and are going to fog rooms with disinfectant after each guest. You need to take into consideration that some people are going to be more sensitive to these things than others.

How have you been passing the time during isolation?

I just recently rebuilt the engine on my motorcycle. It was really rewarding. That’s what motivates me, taking on new projects and learning new stuff. You never know what you are capable of until you just do it.

 

 

jul20 11 under 30 duffyBridgette Duffy

Title: Sales and Marketing Manager, Mont du Lac Resort, Wis.

Age: 27

Bridgette Duffy grew up in Embarrass, Minn., one of the coldest spots in the lower 48. In eighth grade, she went snowboarding for the first time. Though she bruised her tailbone, Giants Ridge still became her regular weekend hangout. She worked in sales at the ski area while studying for her associate degree in sports management, then her bachelor’s degree in marketing and communications. After graduating, Bridgette migrated a little further south to Duluth. She was working in hotel marketing in the city when Mont du Lac reached out with an offer. She was stoked to make the move. “I’m back in snowsports and couldn’t be happier,” says Bridgette.

What was the defining moment in your snowsports career?

Definitely when I came for the interview at Mont du Lac. I had been out of the industry for a year. It was fall. I looked at the hill. There was no snow on the mountain, but I just smiled. I was so happy to be back in a recreation environment.

Describe a challenge you’ve encountered and how you overcame it.

This past winter we had a brand-new POS system, and we went from paper waivers to online waivers. I work with school groups. Figuring out how to get waivers signed for 200 kids was a challenge. I spent 10 minutes on the phone with one 12-year-old who was explaining the waiver to his grandparents in the background. We had to know that there would be moments like that that would take a little bit of extra time. Being able to work through it over and over as we had more school groups and ski teams, it got easier.

What leadership traits do you admire?

The biggest thing, for me, is having a positive attitude. Everyday life can get really frustrating. I push through with that positivity. And being hard working. Our GM is such a hardworking manager. He’ll be out here delivering pizza to the tubing building for birthday parties I’ve sold. And I’ll be right behind him. We believe in teamwork.

Tell me something you learned during the pandemic and how you can apply it in the future.

I think we have to be able to recognize that if we see hesitancy from guests, that’s OK. And we need to figure out how to communicate the message about how we are keeping people safe. I think we need to get more on a personal level now. So, maybe that’s me out there on a Facebook Live video showing guests what’s going on and asking them about what they want to see and know about.

How have you been passing the time during isolation?

I had a month and a half there when I was going nuts. I love making soaps, though. There was a good pine soap that I made. It was a really pretty light green color and had a fresh northern outdoor smell.

 

 

jul20 11 under 30 farrellRobert "Bobby" Farrell

Title: Mechanical Engineer, Stevens Engineering, Vt.

Age: 29

Before he was an engineer, Bobby Farrell was a ski racer. He grew up in Windsor, Vt., raced for Mount Mansfield Academy at Stowe, and was even an invitee on the U.S. Ski Team. When he retired from racing, Bobby hit the books at UVM, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s in mechanical engineering. While finishing his schooling, Bobby assisted on a T-bar installation at Cochran’s Ski Area. That’s where he got connected with Ross Stevens of Stevens Engineering. He joined Ross’s team two years ago, becoming one of the few next-gen engineers that serve a vital role for the mountain resort industry. He still gets to make turns when he’s not assessing projects, and says, “it’s been awesome to be able to use my degree and stay in the industry.”

What was the defining moment in your snowsports career?

My first site visit with Stevens Engineering. I’d spent all these years riding lifts and not really thinking about what intricate pieces of equipment they are. It was a full circle moment. When I was going through school, I’d struggled with figuring out how I was going to implement my degree. I didn’t want a 9-to-5 desk job. Your typical engineering job is in aerospace or car manufacturing, but ski lifts—nobody in my degree program knew much about them.

What leadership traits do you admire?

Knowing when to give direction and knowing when to let people figure something out on their own. A lot of things I’ve learned over the years are things I’ve figured out. I’m a very hands-on learner, because it provides instant feedback—if you adjust this part of a ski lift, this is the outcome. For somebody in a leadership position to understand how everybody learns and be able to adapt to a person's style is very important.

Best professional advice you've gotten?

Be really thorough. Ross has been great at that. At times, it is easy to get going too fast and want to push a design through or to try to speed up the process. But it’s very important to be thorough and look at every aspect of a design or, at a load test, every aspect of the lift.

Worst professional advice you've gotten?

If you are being told how to do something and the person is not taking the time to show you how to do it, that’s bad advice. It’s like an athlete where the coach just keeps repeating the same phrase. Repetitive advice that doesn’t make a change is just the same as no advice at all.

What long-term changes do you see for the industry with COVID-19?

It’s hard to say, but we may be faced next winter with distancing in the lift lines and that kind of stuff. The ski industry is all about capacity and getting people up the hill, so this could seriously change how people are going about things. I think that, being an outdoor sport, though, there are ways it can be done.

How have you been passing the time during isolation?

We’ve been busy working. But between biking, waterskiing, and working on my truck, I’ve got plenty to do.

 

 

jul20 11 under 30 klottzHailey Klotz

Title: Content Director, Ski Utah

Age: 29

Hailey Klotz has been at Ski Utah since she secured an internship there in her final year of college. Over several years, she worked her way up from communications intern to content director. She now oversees all photos, videos, blogs, and social media produced by Ski Utah. During her time there, Hailey has doubled the organization’s social media following and dramatically improved its email open rate. She also won the coveted Yeti of the Year, awarded each season to the first employee to ski all 15 resorts in the state. An avid skier, Hailey grew up in Boise, Idaho, where her family owned a ski shop. “I love being in the mountains,” says Hailey. Something she also loves: Deer Valley Resort’s chocolate chip cookies. “You want to get there when they are fresh out of the oven.”

 

What leadership traits do you admire?

Patience is the number one thing for all leaders. And, being able to listen really well. That is something I’ve tried hard to focus on in the last few years—to listen to what my colleagues need, are asking for, or are saying. That is something I really admire in our leaders at Ski Utah and hope to pass on to those around me. The third trait I would add is to stay in touch. It can be as simple as taking a different route through the office to say hi to someone different, or scheduling one-on-one meetings.

Describe a challenge you’ve encountered and how you overcame it.

The whole Covid-19 pandemic has been, obviously, one of the biggest challenges anyone in this community will face in a long time. I think looking at it with patience and looking at it as an opportunity was important. I’ve looked at it as an opportunity to create types of content we haven’t created before.

Tell me something you learned during the pandemic and how you can apply it in the future.

Flexibility. I’m such an organized person and a planner. And, in a time like this, to plan summer or winter content is actually quite difficult. I’ve really learned to think on the fly in terms of producing and sharing content. If you’d asked me three months ago what we’d be producing now, it definitely would not have been what we have done. But I think we’ve done an excellent job in continuing to engage our audiences. We’ve shifted to focus on inspiring and educating people rather than promoting.

What long-term changes do you see for the industry with COVID-19?

From a Ski Utah perspective, we are anticipating that the drive markets will increase. People will be more likely to jump in their car to drive to a resort rather than hop on an airplane. So that is something we are looking at carefully. And I think travel insurance and refund policies will change as well.

How have you been passing the time during isolation?

I went to Hurricane, Utah, and found one of my most favorite mountain biking places I’ve ever been, so that was really cool.

 

jul20 11 under 30 millerCaroline Miller

Title: Senior Health & Safety Manager, Kirkwood Mountain Resort, Calif.

Age: 27

Caroline Miller was born and raised at 9,000’ in northern Colorado. She’d always had an affinity for high-altitude sports, but it wasn’t until college that she fell in love with the ski industry. While studying at Montana State, Caroline volunteered for an adaptive recreation program at Bridger Bowl. “Working in adaptive was the best thing I’ve ever done,” she says. When she moved to Utah to get her master’s in public health, she didn’t leave snowsports behind. She managed to juggle her research with work for a heli-ski company. Once Caroline graduated, she was eager to combine her education and her love for snowsports—risk management at a resort proved the perfect bridge.

What was the defining moment in your snowsports career?

I think the first was my active choice to continue in the snowsports industry. So, finishing up school and making the deliberate choice to say, “I love what I’ve educated myself in and I want to bring that to the ski industry.” The second is when I started here at Kirkwood in December. It required an intense amount of courage that I wasn’t sure I was ready to give. It allowed me to take all of these skills that I’m really proud of, and had worked really hard to cultivate, and exercise them at a resort that matched my identity.

How did you step up as the coronavirus situation rapidly evolved?

I’ve never been challenged in such a way of people looking to me for advice and clarity. It’s a new disease. So, for me, it was this huge point of understanding what I know, understanding what I don’t know, and understanding what I can control. I can’t control all of our employees, but I can control how calm I am, the information that I share, and the message that I spread, so that I can provide the best experience for our employees and be the best resource that I can be.

Tell me something you learned during the pandemic and how you can apply it in the future.

One lesson that I’ve learned is that no one thrives alone in a time like this. Whether that means gathering the team to help make a decision or gathering the team to have those vulnerable check-ins, the biggest thing I’ve learned is that you should not be an island in times of distress. Working as a team is the best thing you can do for yourself. And not being afraid to admit when you don’t know something.

You’re the captain of your local chapter of the Vail Resorts POWDER program, which supports women in leadership roles. What’s your advice to aspiring women leaders in the industry?

I’ve often felt too young, too small, too sensitive, too insert-demeaning-adjective-here. And I think there is sometimes this implication that to be a female leader you need to squelch those things. My advice to other women who want to be leaders is to feel, and to use your compassion to grow. I’ve been most inspired by female trailblazers who remind me that I don’t need to fit into a cookie-cutter box.

What field would you be in if you didn’t work in snowsports?

I would either be an epidemiologist, or I would teach middle schoolers geography, because I love it. I would teach kids to care about this world we live in.

 

jul20 11 under 30 pecoreRory Pecore

Title: Outdoor Operations Manager, Laurentian Ski Hill, Ontario

Age: 23

For Rory Pecore, the snowsports industry is a family business. His parents were both ski instructors when he was young, and now his mother runs Pecore Ski Solutions, a contracting firm specializing in ski area maintenance. Rory grew up in North Bay, a city in Northeastern Ontario, near the foot of Laurentian Ski Hill. He started volunteering at the mountain, doing odd jobs before he became an official employee at 14. Since then, he’s been a lift operator, a terrain park supervisor, a groomer, a snowmaker, and a lift mechanic. Two years ago, he took on the larger role of outdoor operations manager. He loves the challenge and variety of his job and the ability to give back to the community. “I can’t imagine working in an office,” says Rory.

Describe a challenge you’ve encountered and how you overcame it.

Being a small hill with limited staff, it can be challenging to manage my time effectively. Snowmaking is a 24-hour operation, and to do all the maintenance and repairs on the groomers and the lifts that we have can lead to busy and chaotic days. So I like to make a list and just start with one thing. I work a lot of hours. And I use a lot of contacts within the industry and around town to get advice and support.

What leadership traits do you admire?

I admire hard work, dedication, and passion for the industry. I try to lead a lot by example. If you are training snowmakers or lifties, a lot of them are hands-on learners. I find it is better to get out there with them than stay in a classroom. I try to take time to answer questions and show the young staff about the trade industry.

Best professional advice you've gotten?

Never stop learning. The more you know about anything, the more valuable you are. At one point, my main focus was the terrain park, but my work as a lift operator and lift mechanic was all still valuable. And, if the rental shop gets slammed, I can jump in and put boots and helmets away.

Worst professional advice you've gotten?

In high school, I was pushed to go to university because I had good marks and was good at school. It was only in the last semester of grade 12, when I had a really good shop teacher, that I realized that maybe university wasn’t the be-all, end-all. Just because it’s an option, doesn’t mean it’s the best option. It’s okay to have a job where you use your hands.

What long-term changes do you see for the industry with COVID-19?

With borders shut down and international travel halted, I think bigger hills that rely on international tourism will be hit especially hard. I could see adjusting our policies a bit to make sure people are safe. This year we talked about selling tickets online, using ticket windows, and stuff like that to minimize face-to-face contact. The bigger hills are already doing that, but for a small hill like ours, we hadn’t been. So, we’ll see where we are in four or five months.

 

 

jul20 11 under 30 royCharles “Charlie” Roy

Title: Training Manager, Cannon Mountain, N.H.

Age: 29

Charlie Roy switched from ski racing to snowsports instruction while attending the University of New Hampshire. “I got kind of addicted to it,” says Charlie of his time coaching at Cannon. By the time he finished his degree, he’d decided an office job wasn’t for him. Charlie moved to Burlington, Vt., and became the ski school manager at Bolton Valley. Two seasons later, he joined Stowe, Vt., as a ski school supervisor. Then, in 2018, things came full-circle; Charlie moved back to Cannon to become the training manager. All the while, he pursued PSIA certification. A rising star in PSIA’s Eastern Division, Charlie is a member of the Development Team and earned a coveted spot on the Eastern Team, which will take him to National Team tryouts next spring.

 

What was the defining moment in your snowsports career?

Getting that first full-time manager job at Bolton Valley. That was when I decided I wanted to work in the ski industry full time. That first year, the director and I were both new to the mountain. So, it was pretty fun and challenging going in and taking over a whole ski school, putting our twist on what was already there.

How and why did you become involved with PSIA-AASI Eastern?

I started as a snowboard instructor at Cannon, and I would go to training in the mornings before I taught. I’ve always liked learning and having goals. PSIA-AASI gave me a framework. When I went to my snowboard level I, watching the examiner rip around and the way they worked in front of the group, I thought, I want to do that but with skiing. I started knocking out certifications. It was a lot of work. After my alpine level III, Development Team seemed like the next step. That tryout was super fun.

Worst professional advice you've gotten?

I’ve heard many times that you can’t make a living in the ski industry. I find that to be terrible advice. We have a junior instructor program at Cannon. We get a lot of young instructors coming out of that program. They love skiing, but they don’t see the potential of what they could do. None of us are getting rich in the ski industry, but how sweet is it that we get to go skiing every day? And there is opportunity. You have to pursue it.

What long-term changes do you see for the industry with COVID-19?

A lot of season passes aren’t being purchased. I think next season, day tickets will be king. We’ve seen a swing in the past few years toward mega season passes, so this may change the demographic. From a ski school perspective, the indoor pieces of it tend to be in comparatively small areas. So, I see more private lessons, more lessons meeting out on the snow instead of inside. It will be dynamic and will definitely depend on the guidelines.

How are you staying flexible to meet the changes arising from the pandemic?

Physically? I have transferred to the mountain bike. I actually got a new bike this year, so I’ve really been having fun. Mostly, I’m just trying to look ahead to next year. It might be different, but we’ll still be able to slide on snow.

 

jul20 11 under 30 seleskiKatherine Seleski

Title: Manager, Pass Powderkeg Ski Area, Alberta

Age: 27

Katherine Seleski still remembers the moment she realized running a resort was a job. “I was 8 or so, and I was like, ‘You get paid for this?’” she laughs. She grew up skiing at Castle Mountain, on the border between B.C. and Alberta, and studied ski area operations and management at Selkirk College. After graduating, Katherine taught skiing, earned her CSIA level III, worked in property management, and even started a catering business. When a Pass Powderkeg management role came up, she knew she’d found the right job. The area had just tripled skier visits and was looking for an operations manager. She got the gig and was later promoted to manager of the entire resort.

What leadership traits do you admire?

I really treasure openness with leaders I work with. I love asking questions, and when people are open to answering them, that’s what I really appreciate. I’m trying to do that with my staff, because the things your staff and guests say are sometimes the best ideas—and sometimes the worst, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have merit.

Tell me something you learned during the pandemic and how you can apply it in the future.

We had staff that were scared and nervous. No one had enough information. We’ve had early shutdowns before, and we knew how to respond compassionately in those situations. But with every problem comes opportunity. I keep looking for opportunities for us to be a compassionate community resource. There is going to be a lot of trauma among youth, and we can help. Skiing was a big part of people’s lives, and we want to give that back to them.

Community and youth outreach is important to you. Why?

I think it comes down to the fact that skiing and snowsports have given me just about everything I have in my life. It has given me my passion and a career. I want to make sure we give that back to youth. Our lift ends on a municipal street. We want to have that community up to the mountain in a way that promotes healthy living. One of my big projects was the Cubs (kids) program and the (Lion’s Den) yurt.

Tell me about the yurt.

My first year here we didn’t have any family programs for kids under 6. We weren’t providing that service to our community. I wanted something natural and welcoming that supported early childhood development. We ended up sourcing a yurt that comes from Mongolia by way of Ontario. We run our Little Cubs program out of it, ages 3-6. We got the yurt up a month before we opened this season. We picked it up with my other half’s F250 in 40-degree weather in the middle of a thunderstorm. We brought it back on this trailer on the most stressful drive. It’s huge. They told us you could fit it in a Subaru.

What was the defining moment in your snowsports career?

It’s been a really crazy journey. Every time I think I’ve hit the biggest thing I’ve done in my career, something new comes along.