Steve Hindman Mt. Shuksan, WA.  Steve Hindman


   I learned to downhill ski in Western PA, where the Colorado Rockies were a mythical place that I had to visit. As soon as I stashed enough cash after graduation to feed myself and buy 70 cents a gallon for my Chevy Vega, I headed west to be a ski bum. As fate would have it, I arrived in Telluride just in time to catch the last snowstorm of '76.

   For the rest of the season, the sun shone every day and the lifts never opened. That early snow, though, remained in the higher passes. So I learned to free my heel and to find that snow. Since then I've had lots of fun on lots of different types of free-heeled skis and found lots of good snow. I've also found joy, friends, and adventure on skis.

   I began teaching cross-country skiing in 1980 and was a member of the Professional Ski Instructors of America National Nordic Demo Team from 1992-2004. Over the years I've had the chance to write instruction and travel articles for various magazines, contributed to ski instruction manuals, and have been the instructional editor at Cross-Country Skier magazine since 2002.

   I started into the ski business with a cross-country ski rental shop in Glacier, WA on the way to Mt. Baker in 1981. That led to the creation of a cross-country ski area just up the road and eventually an outdoor retail store in Bellingham, WA. Along the way I ran a backcountry ski guide service and taught touring and telemark skiing as well as sea kayaking through the shop and for other organizations. After liquidating the retail business, I spent several summers guiding road bike tours.

   I currently serve as the Executive Director of a local nonprofit in Bellingham, WA that offers experiential courses that help folks define what they want and how to achieve it. For more information, visit the Excellence Northwest  website.

   In addition, I continue to teach throughout the Northwest at various cross-country and telemark ski camps and clinics, and offers alpine, telemark, and cross-country instruction through the Stevens Pass Ski School in the central Cascades of Washington. To arrange a lesson, please contact me at info@nordicskitips.com.

   When the snow melts, I ride my road and mountain bikes and paddle kayaks in and around Bellingham, WA where I live with my wife Sue.




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