Rick was born and raised in a small, rural town called Berthoud, located near the foothills of the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. He began skiing at 3 years young; his father's love for the mountains led him to be a regular on the weekends, joining Team Breckenridge Ski Club at age 8. When Rick was 10 years old, he started racing competitively and quickly cultivated an intense passion/drive to succeed in ski racing. At 14, with some success under his belt and dedication to the sport, he switched from being a weekend warrior to racing full time. He raced 5 days a week for Team Breckenridge and eventually for Team Eldora when he turned 16.
Rick pursued FIS racing all the way through his post-grad season, finishing out his racing career at age 19. Having felt like skiing was the single most important thing in his life and not feeling ready to go to college, he decided to pursue skiing full-time yet another year, this time with a season as a ski bum Lift Operator job at Copper Mountain. At the end of the season, he felt like he had found a new found love for big mountain and backcountry skiing in retirement, yet fhe was uncertain as to whether he wanted to pursue skiing any further, as his progression felt limited where he was. That summer, after Rick started climbing mountains, reaching the summits of over forty 14,000 foot-tall peaks around Colorado, he felt a renewed excitement for the mountains and a longing to go somewhere new, and he decided that at some point, he wanted to move to Jackson Hole. A few Google searches later, he found a job with employee housing in Jackson, making the move not shortly after!
Rick moved to Jackson in 2015 and immediately fell in love with the area. Working and living in Teton Village, he quickly became savvy and dedicated his life towards being the best skier/mountaineer/outdoors person he could be. He has been skiing as much as he can every season and works toward his life goals as a skier and mountaineer in Jackson Hole, Alaska, and beyond. Reconnecting with a ski club is something he had wanted to do for a long time, as his experiences with his own teams shaped Rick's entire life. He is excited to share his passion for skiing with the next generation and see what skiing can do for others!
Sport-specific Experience
FIS/Nor-Am, Junior Olympian
Personal Philosophy
Success is measured by the size of your stoke!
