The rest of the year: When I finish up the guiding season, I am working on video and photo editing and website updates. As owner of a small business, it’s a 12-month production. I wear a lot of hats at Casa so I am in charge of sales, marketing, public relations and accounting in addition to guiding many of the tours we run. I’m based in Bozeman, Montana and regularly ski at Bridger Bowl and Moonlight Basin. I spend my non-ski seasons riding my mountain bike, and I’m trying to learn to surf.  

The best part: Regularly hearing guests tell us they just had the best run of their lives, and thanks for bringing them here! I also get great satisfaction in spreading business around to many small businesses in the snow communities of Chile and Argentina.  Our tours avoid staying and eating at the big resorts and focus on sleeping in smaller lodges and eating at a variety of local restaurants.  It is really rewarding walking into those places and feeling the love.

Favorite spots: In Chile, Nevados de Chillan is a really special place and has been the epicenter for CASA since 1998.  I've had more people tell me they had one of the best days of their lives here than any other resort in the Andes.  It is a very otherworldly place to ride and we've been really fortunate with great snow here. The out of bounds is endless and Las Trancas is a great snow village [and, as Gomez, his clients, and plenty of pro skiers and bums will tell you-probably the bet ski bar in South America, Snow Pub].

In Argentina, La Hoya Ski Center is just a cool, throw back mountain. The town, Esquel, is great and the vibe at La Hoya is like being at A-Basin 30 years ago. There is awesome off-piste terrain, and the crowd is minimal.