Altra Dave

I've been skiing since I was three years old. My self-taught father, who learned by teaching others in college as part of his PE major, first taught me while skiing backwards down the easiest green, called "Pay Day," at 49°, bent-over holding my ski-tips together. After many subsequent years (in what I can only assume was wedge-) skiing with him on blues, I transitioned towards the eventual goal of racing (often on blacks) in grade school and then proceeded to compete in nearly every class of downhill racing event (from Slalom to Super-G) through High School at the local alpine club.

In complement to this formative learning experience, my current approach to teaching favors a more concentrated format: involving multi-day (but preferably season-long) lessons that capitalize on trust and familiarity--with the same instructor and lifts--while digesting the radically new material required for comfortably transitioning from greens to blues to blacks (yet short enough to avoid lasting bad habits). I enjoy getting technical about how we move our body to make our skis move most efficiently in order to glide, slip, skid, and carve across the slopes. But I also love being outside in the snow and the freedom that comes along with gliding along the winter surface of the great forests of the north American west.

I became proficient in skiing bumps after a full season shredding the Jane at Winter Park in colorado, where I passed my Alpine Level 2 ski exam (for teaching intermediates). I then was fortunate enough to be afforded the opportunity to shred epic powder at Alta the year they recieved 1000 inches of snowfall in a single season. I had another amazing season at the unusual (green-black-green peaked) Beaver Creek resort, passing my level 2 Alpine Teaching exam at nearby Aspen Highlands. I also thereafter skiied with the stars (including meeting Olympic Alpine Medalists) at the upscale Deer Valley for a year. Most recently I have had the chance of teaching and skiing on the extreme terrain at Jackson Hole Resort in Wyoming where I braved the many rock features and chutes including Corbet's Couloir.

My main gig is currently as a ski coach with nearly a decade of full time instructional experience. I am certified by the PSIA in alpine (downhill) skiing as well as for working with children and coaching basic freestyle maneuvers. I love good jokes, riddles, and games and can entertain just about any conversational subject you might want to have at just about any intersection of personality, background, or education. Please contact me if you'd like to set up a lesson in the Rockies, Sierras, or Cascade mountain ranges (I've skiied at over 100 of the areas therein)!