The Testers

…honorary Canadian, college racer, two-time personal therapist to Greg Stump, regular contributor to at least ten different ski magazines, and his guise as Pontiff of Powder, married Paul Hochman and Carrie Sheinberg in all ways but legally. He currently serves as a bootfitter at Bobo’s in Reno, Nevada, when not providing all editorial services for Realskiers.com, including his weekly Revelation from the Pontiff of Powder. In addition to the 126 Recommended ski reviews on Realskiers.com, Hogen also provided 48 original reviews for the Masterfit Real Skiers 2018 Buyers Guide and another 99 for OnTheSnow.com, making him the world’s most widely read ski analyst.

Skiing with peers and race coaching provided the remainder of his technical foundation. He has been in the ski business his whole working career. He met Sven Coomer, boot designer and a founder of Superfeet and Footloose Sports in Mammoth Lakes, California, and became a boot-fitter there in 1980. He has pursued that career since then. “Anything to keep me in my habits … skiing the primary one,” he says.

All things mountain related and specifically skiing consumed the next 25 years of my life. This led to a series of ski area jobs and eventually a career as a professional skier, finishing 9th in the world on the 1995 Freeskiing World Tour. Traveling around the world competing and creating beautiful images taught me more than any college experience and introduced me to the interesting world of marketing. After settling down in the true alpine environment of the Mammoth Area I have enjoyed a long successful career at Footloose Sports. My current position is Marketing/Information Manager.  As an avid surfer and mountain biker I have always maintained an enthusiastic relationship with my closest beaches and riding areas in Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona. I look forward to servicing all my accounts in every one of these great areas.

Larry went on join the fire service for almost 27 years and retired as a Fire Captain. Larry also served as a ski patroller and ski instructor for mammoth mountain for nearly 10 years. Larry has been a loyal employee to Footloose sports for 10 years and manages our rental tech department. Larry still spends his winters here in mammoth and enjoys his summers in long beach surfing and cycling.

His mastery of both machine and hand tuning techniques makes Lee the rare technician skiers ask for by name. He also maintains his Level 200 slalom coaching certification and remains active in junior racer development. Rounding out his technical qualifications, Lee is a Masterfit University instructor and world-class bootfitter. He currently plies his trade at Bobo’s in Reno, NV.

Zach became one of the youngest certified instructors at fifteen, teaching at Hood though high school, and then moving to Kirkwood where he met Silver Chesak. At Kirkwood he got his first chance to ski more technical terrain, and with heroes of the time like Glen Plake and Darren Johnson. Eventually Zach discovered Mammoth mountain. 30 years later the hard work has paid off and he is now co-owner of Footloose Sports.

Zach is known to customers as the tall quiet guy in the ski repair room, and to local racers as the tall quiet source of sophisticated race tunes, Zach Yates started out in the rental shop at Footloose in 1995.

Larry went on join the fire service for almost 27 years and retired as a Fire Captain. Larry also served as a ski patroller and ski instructor for mammoth mountain for nearly 10 years. Larry has been a loyal employee to Footloose sports for 10 years and manages our rental tech department. Larry still spends his winters here in mammoth and enjoys his summers in long beach surfing and cycling.

Thys Morgan, AKA Racer eX, is a two-time Olympian, recovering downhill racer, freelance writer, and frequent contributor to Ski Racing and Skiing History Magazines. The reverse commuter grew up in Squaw Valley and now lives in NH with her family.

…Brooke began dividing her time between pulling the kids up backcountry roads on her skis helping her 5 year old learn to cruise down moguls at their home mountain in Colorado, and sneaking away for the occasional “mom ski trip” with friends. Brooke loves working with Nordica to helping other mom’s find a love for skiing (learn more about her family and story here). In the off season, Brooke loves to take her kids camping, biking, hiking, climbing, and doing anything to keep her quads and glutes strong. https://www.nordica.com/usa/momstoke/

Most recently, Kim was named by Skiing Magazine as one of the “Most Influential Skiers of All Time.” Sharing the sport she loves the most brings out the best in Kim. She is vivacious, fun-loving, detail-oriented and professional. When she is not traveling to resorts around the world, Kim is based out of Aspen, Colorado and Baja, Mexico.

McKenna has almost two decades of backcountry skiing experience with extensive trips around the world. She has worked with world renowned mountain photographers and has been a part of multiple film projects including Warren Miller, Matchstick Productions, Pretty Faces and numerous adventure documentaries. McKenna has been a K2 athlete and Alliance test team member since 2012.

In addition to being a ski tester for Nordica, she has worked in the industry as a professional athlete, ski model and professional guide. Her ski career recently led her to teach certified AIARE Avalanche Education Courses. She lives in Aspen and recently started her own company Aspen Art Curation.

Barnes is a self-confessed skiing addict, getting in “only” 275 days a year, so she sees every kind of snow imaginable.  “I love ripping it up in a GS course,” she says with her characteristic enthusiasm, “frolicking in the bumps, or tracking up fresh snow.”

In twelve years of skiing professionally I’ve had the good fortune to travel around the world and visit lots of places, and I’ve learned that I enjoy connecting and sharing stories with other people who also love mountains and mountain activities. I like regular, normal food that’s fun and delicious, and usually the kind where I can make it last minute.
I live in Central Washington with my husband, Jim, our daughter, Betty, and our rascally miniature Australian Shepherd, Buddy.

After ten years of racing internationally and competing in the Torino and Vancouver Olympics, she retired from competing on the World Cup. “I wanted to explore the mountains without gates and courses dictating where and when I could turn,” she said. She began to discover the beauty and adventure of backcountry skiing. Now a reincarnated big-mountain skier, she travels to some of the most staggering corners of the world as a professional ski tester.

Today, she is equally at home dissecting the finer points of counter movement in technical skiing or finding the smooth line through the steeps and chutes of Squaw|Alpine.  Her favorite non-skiing activity is mountain biking, both cross-country and downhill. When not skiing secret stashes or pucker lines at Squaw|Alpine, you can find El on her downhill bike, going bigger than when she’s skiing (but of course, wearing a lot more protective gear). Currently, El is the Managing Director of Ski & Snowboard Schools for Squaw Valley|Alpine Meadows, her home resort for the past 30 years and an active examiner & clinician with PSIA-W.

…The Honda Ski Tour, and The North Face Masters of Snowboarding with Mountain Sports International, a Utah-based sports marketing company. Since moving back to Canada, Cara has been working as the Editor-In-Chief of Escarpment Magazine, and is the Southern Ontario Division Head Coach at Georgian Peaks Ski Club—Alpine Canada’s 2020 “Club of the Year.”

Emma is a member of the K2 Alliance and works with K2 to develop the women’s ski line. She resides is Snowmass, Colorado with her husband, Stephen, and daughter, Merritt, who will be on skis shortly after taking her first steps.

Typically, she skis 75-125 days a season depending on the year & travel. Meghan is a PSIA-AASI Level 3 certified ski instructor & USSA Level 200 Ski & Snowboard Coach. Meghan is on snow, mostly full-time, at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe in Nevada. Despite her permanent residence out west, she never forgets her small Pennsylvania and mid-Atlantic roots. Meghan also spends a lot of time coaching athletes at a Reno-based functional fitness and weightlifting gym where she is a CF-L2 Trainer, a USAW Level 1 Coach, and a Certified Adaptive & Inclusive Trainer (ATA). Meghan fervently believes in the power of physical activity to not only promote health within the body but also develop crucial life and coping skills that can be used in nearly any environment at any age.  Meghan knows that Skiing is Believing which is why she started an organization of that same name in 2018. Her life truly revolves around snow and movement which is why she is happy to be a part of the Realskiers test team.