Certified Ski Instructors…
Many Members of the Slippers -n- Sliders are professional CERTIFIED Ski Instructors with the Professional Ski Instructors of America & American Association of Ski Instructors.
Each has earned great respect in the ski industry and has a great passion to demonstrate their skills on the mountain, while passing on their knowledge and earning your trust.
Having our own Certified Instructors is a major benefit to the members of our club. Ski Lessons can be very pricy and may not give you the personal attention you need to develop and hone your skills. Booking lessons with one of our own instructors can save you money and get you the time and attention you need to better your skillset.
For more information on working with a member instructor please let us know when you plan to attend one of our scheduled skip trips.
Meet Our Instructors
Mark Holland III
Level 3 PSIA Certified Instructor
My skiing career started at Keystone Resort in the spring of 1975. After taking lessons for 3 days I fell in love with the sport. The spring of my second year in 1977 I tried out for the ski school and made the cut. That fall I had to re-test and didn’t make the cut but was encouraged to keep training. In the fall of 1977 I started teaching skiing at Keystone. In 1995 Keystone Resort held a fund-raising event for the Ski for Kids program called “Race For Kids”. The ski for Kids program was started in 1975 enabling inner city kids to experience skiing. This is one of the most influential programs that kept me involved with teaching. I have been a member of SNS since 1978, participating in fund raising events and in teaching inner city kids at Keystone.
In 1984 I received my Level II certification at Copper Mountain Resort.
In 2002 I received my Level III certification at Vail Resort. In the fifteen years since that accomplishment, I have been working with the in-house training department working with new hires and veteran instructors. I have been involved with PSIA for 35 years, completing 40 years of teaching at Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and Vail. Most of my time instructing has been on a part-time basis until the past 6 years when I retired from working in IT and spent a few years working full time teaching.
I also served as Ski Ambassador for Keystone Ski Resorts during the NBS Summit. Current board member of the Ski Hall Of Fame Committee
Rosini Russell
I started teaching skiing in 1984 for the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) at Winter Park Resort (WP), as a volunteer ski instructor.
During this time period, snowboard and telemark skills were acquired and exams were taken for certification through Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) and American Association of Snowboard Instructors (AASI).
I was recruited by the Winter Park Ski and Ride School (WPSRS), and taught at both schools for years, before finally opting for WPSRS.
Rod Williams
I am Rodney Williams, my friends call me Sir. Rod., I am a fully certified level 3 ski instructor with Professional Ski Instructors of America Rocky Mountain Division, PSIARM,.
I was introduced to skiing two years after high school. I started teaching my 2nd year of skiing. I believe I was the first Black American to become a level 3 certified ski instructor in the Rocky Mountain Division in Feb.1995.
This year I celebrate my 45 year anniversary as a member of PSIA.
I starting teaching at Geneva Basin in 1968 and after teaching there, for several years, I relocated to Arapahoe Basin. I have been teaching at Arapahoe Basin and Keystone for the past 36 years on the adult staff. I am also a trainer for our new and seasoned ski instructors helping them to grow in their skills and knowledge of skiing.
One of my most gratifying accomplishments was that of creating a program for under privileged children to introduce them to skiing.
In 1972, after realizing how I was progressing in this new found sport and how my involvement in it had opened my view of the world. I wanted to introduce the sport to children in the core city who would not have the opportunity to to view a world where people actually cared about one another. Furthermore, through their experience would learn that they could accomplish anything in life they put effort into. I organized a group of 48 kids to take lessons at Geneva Basin ski area, where I was teaching at the time. Attempting to procure transportation for the children I Went to several neighborhood churches and found no support. I got Policemen to drive their own cars and transport these kids for 8 weekends to Geneva Basin. The policemen participated in the lessons and cared for the kids like mother hens, bring extra food and clothing.
After that year I introduced the program to a Denver ski club, Slippers & Sliders, and it continues to this day called Ski for Kids.
I was also told by a Ski Magazine reporter that I was the first black to participate in the Annual Alta Ski Jump Competition my second-year teaching at Geneva Basin. He said, “I will give you a write-up if you place in the top three.” I come in seventh place so no write-up.