We here at SNÖBAHN love our employees and we want to show you why. Every month, we will feature a Q&A with one of our employees so you can get to know more about them. This month, we want to introduce you to Mark Beckwith. Born and raised in Boulder, Mark is an instructor and instructor trainer here at SNÖBAHN.
Get to know Mark and call to book him for your next appointment on our slopes!
How long have you been working with SNÖBAHN?
A little over a year. I started at the beginning of October of last year.
What made you want to work here?
I’ve been a professional ski instructor off and on for 15 years — being seasonal back and forth up in the mountains. I got into a place where that wasn’t sustainable for me anymore. I moved back to Denver, I got married and had a kid, and found out about SNÖBAHN and thought, ‘hey I can kind of have it all.’ I get to do my favorite thing and still be in Denver with my family.
What do you like most about working here?
Beyond the fact that I get to ski for a living, I work with fantastic people. I have the best coworkers.
What are some things to know for those who have never been to SNÖBAHN before?
I think, depending on the student, things to be aware of is the [carpet] is very controlled and very safe. We can make the slope exactly what you need it to be to learn what you need to learn right now. We can make it very easy, very controlled, very safe for that more cautious never-ever. And then we can also make it a challenge for an expert skier. We’re going to make it what you need it to be and when.
Do you have a favorite memory of SNÖBAHN so far?
I have a couple of clients I’ve worked with where there are those little moments of discovery where it clicks. A couple of clients have gone from never-ever skiing all the way up and now they’re making parallel turns. They’re going at full speed.
What’s your favorite mountain to ski?
In Colorado, it’s Copper. It’s where I grew up skiing, it’s where I first taught so I know the mountain really well. I like the terrain there, it’s well separated so you have your beginners together and your advanced skiers together. It’s just a down to earth, friendly and fun mountain.
How does teaching here differ than teaching at a resort?
In many ways, it’s much easier for the instructor [at SNÖBAHN]. I’m not worried about my surroundings as much. There are no other people coming down my slope while I’m teaching a lesson. I get to focus just on my student. Also, because we’re looking in the mirror while on the carpet, I get to see turn after turn, consistently the same or similar angle so it’s easy for me to identify what patterns the skier has. It’s also a lot of fun because we can get so much more done and much more quickly: we practice, I give you feedback, then we practice it again. As opposed to on the mountain, where we have to travel a specific area of the mountain to practice and then travel to another area to practice some more. So it breaks up that learning cycle as opposed to [SNÖBAHN] where we’re constantly in that learning cycle. Practice, correct, practice, correct until the student has it.