Age: 22 | Vitals: 6’5”, 180 lbs. | Years skiing: 19 | Current Residence: Salt Lake City, Utah
I was born and raised in Connecticut, a state that generally doesn’t get much recognition for its skiing. That being said, my parents got me on skis when I was three and I haven’t looked back. When I graduated from high school, I moved to Salt Lake City to attend Westminster College and see what skiing in the West was all about.
I grew up skiing at Berkshire East in Charlemont, MA, a 1000-vertical foot hill in the beautiful Deerfield River Valley. The local culture there was very racing-centered, and as a result, I raced from the age of eight until I graduated from high school. I loved racing, but saw it more as an opportunity to enjoy skiing with friends than something that I wanted to be very competitive about. That mentality led me to skip practice on those rare Southern New England powder days in order to shred the surprisingly good tree skiing with some of my best friends.
My racing background has significantly shaped who I am as a skier, but so have the past three seasons that I have spent skiing the terrain in Little Cottonwood Canyon. I still prefer to make fast, quality turns to just straight-lining something. But I’m also learning to appreciate the merits of breaking my tails free and smearing more playful turns rather than constantly railing turns across the fall line.
I also love skiing as a means of exploring the mountains, whether that is inbounds at a resort or in the backcountry. I have spent the past few years skiing every corner of Alta and Snowbird, and trying to do the same in the Wasatch backcountry. I have fallen in love with backcountry skiing, and have spent the last couple seasons splitting my ski days about 50-50 between resort and backcountry.
I have my Level II Avalanche and Wilderness First Responder certifications, and happily admit to having become a snow science nerd.
I enjoy skiing any type of terrain, and while of course I prefer powder, I will just as happily spend the day skiing sketchier conditions (probably a result of my East Coast roots).
In short, if there’s snow, I’ll ski it.
Life Changing Skis:
2012 Line Influence 105
2015 Line Supernatural 108
Other Skis I’ve Liked:
2015 Rossignol Experience 100
2015 Line Supernatural 100