Joe Augusten

Age: 32 | Vitals: 5’10,” 155 lbs. | Years Skiing: 30 | Current Residence: Bellingham, WA

Background:

Being raised by a mom who was the snow queen at Gould Academy in 1969 has its advantages.  At the age of 2, I was skiing between the legs of my parents and riding the t-bars at Saddleback, Maine, every Saturday, Sunday, and holiday. My mom taught in the ski school, while my dad and I terrorized the mountain (or so I thought at that age). I’m pretty sure that my dad never learned how to turn his old 200’s, and this is probably why I never really learned how to turn, either. This remains true to this day.

Joe Augusten Alta Ski Area
Joe, sending. (Not turning.)

Around the age of 12, I transferred over to Sugarloaf, since that’s where all of my friends were skiing. I also turned in the two straight planks for one plank with a lot of sidecut and float. I rode for about eight years while watching the ski technology catch up. In 2001, while visiting my sister in Taos, I was forced to strap skis back on and have at it. It was pretty comical for the first few days, but by the end of the week I was loving it. K2 Axis X’s were purchased, and I never looked back.

In the fall of 2002, I moved to Alta to ski. Since then, I have moved between Alta and Taos for the past 10 years. I hold a pass down in LCC and Taos and pretty much just follow the snow. Although Taos has some of my favorite terrain on earth, the Wasatch has more than a little going for it, too. I base out of Sandy, UT and travel down to Taos as soon as it snows.

Joe Augusten, Alta Ski Area.
Joe, in deep.

Somehow along the way, I managed to convince Northeastern University to give me an engineering degree, and Natgun Corporation to give me a job.  I work as an engineer out of my home and ski when I can. I’ve gotten 100+ days of skiing a year since moving out west, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Although my job holds me down to just an hour or two a day (unless it’s really deep), I am able to get out and play daily.

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