Craig

When I was eighteen and living in Australia, I visited my family in Sweden and they took me on a ski holiday to Salen; I was given about an hour’s worth of “instruction” and then set loose to figure out the rest by myself.  Seeing as how I had never so much as buckled up a ski boot before that day, you can imagine that I wasn’t exactly winning any awards with my technique (in fact, I remember skiing over a young girl’s skis and getting yelled at by her instructor). I spent that vacation learning the hard way everything NOT to do on the mountain.

By the end, I was totally hooked. I loved the feeling of freedom in exploring unknown areas, the crispness of the air, and the adrenaline rushes of successfully skiing down the mountain in relative control. I even liked learning how (and again, how not to) fall. I had discovered my passion, and I was determined to make it my life.

In the ensuing years, I took whatever free time I could find and spent it teaching myself how to ski, and eventually I decided to try to make it my career too. I also realized that ski instruction is a hard industry to break into, and that I would have to work hard to prove myself.  In 2005 I got my first ski-related job working as a ski host and driver for a British hotel in the French alpine village of Megeve, and spent my second winter season working as a host at the Austrian resort of Mayrhofen. It was then that I felt I had spent enough time in and around the resorts, and I wanted to try my hand at instructing.

I emailed Nigel Mills, the director at Mount Hotham Ski School, and arranged to participate in the hiring clinic in June 2007. I worked hard, and despite my lack of any real training, I somehow came out of the hiring clinic with a job! (At the time I was almost surprised to receive an offer - but I’ve found when you are determined to make something happen, it almost inevitably does). That first season at Mount Hotham was incredibly busy; between work, training, skiing, and instructor exams. I was overwhelmed, but happy. Every day was chock-full of new and exciting experiences, and since then I’ve never looked back. I’ve been working at Mount Hotham since 2007, during which time I’ve completed all four levels of certification with the Australian Professional Snowsport Instructors.  In 2012, I took on additional responsibilities when I began to assist with hiring new staff.

End of season '07 with Bradden and Tom

Ski seasons are only a few months long, which means I am in a continuous pursuit of winter.  In the southern hemisphere (like Australia, where I’m from) the ski season is typically June-September; in the northern hemisphere, the ski season is usually November-April. My job has afforded me the opportunity to teach all over the world, and I consider myself a better instructor because of it – I even speak three languages! The following is just a summary of where I have instructed when I’m not at Mount Hotham. Check out my "Places to Ski" page for more details on where I've skied.

·         2007-08 SkiSchule 3000 in Mayrhofen, Austria

·         2008-09 Vail in Colorado, United States

·         2009-10 Adrenaline Ecole de ski in Verbier, Switzerland

·         2010-11 Deer Valley in Park City, Utah

·         2011-12 National Ability Center in Park City, Utah (Volunteer)

·         2012-13 Vail in Colorado, United States

I love teaching in Vail, and hope to be there for the foreseeable future. As is fairly obvious from this post, I have dedicated my life not only to the art of skiing and ski instruction, but to helping people learn to love it as much as I do.