Since Tuesday, February 2nd (Groundhog Day) Will Mauney has been handling the morning duties of posting the snow report and daily FirsTrax update.
Will is a snow loving member of our marketing staff and a natural pick to give me a much needed "assist" with the website. Will is taking over the reins of writing the posts for SkiSoutheast.com for a bit. He’s is a 30 year old, snow loving friend who hails from Kings Mountain, North Carolina. Will joined our staff this past summer and he also works weekends as ski instructor and supervisor at Sugar Mountain Resort. Will has been on the snow this season more than anyone else I know personally and we think he’ll do a great job of providing another take on the ski industry of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic.
He assumed the duties of posting all of the snow reports and snow totals via our online Snow Report as of Tuesday morning and from your emails you guys didn’t even notice – which is a good thing!
I’m devoting a bit more time to my "real job" and I will be working behind the scenes to get the SkiNC and SkiSoutheast SUMMIT promotions going full blast.
So join me in welcoming Will to the website. Here’s a bit more info about him – in his own words.
Will Mauney
At age two I started skiing at Sugar Mtn. My family frequented the mountain each year and often stayed at Sugar Ski and Country Club in a condo my parents purchased before I was born. My grandparents had a summer home in Blowing Rock so went spent a lot of time visiting them. I spent my youth climbing, hiking, swimming, biking and sailing in Kings Mountain, NC and helped with the family textile business during its glory days.
I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel west each year and visit other mountain communities as well. Deciding on where to go for college was a no-brainer and being in the mountains was first and foremost. I started Appalachian State University in the fall of 1997 and started working at Sugar Mtn. as an instructor that winter. Skiing and teaching skiing/snowboarding has been a huge part of my life since that first season. I became a full-time instructor/supervisor/coach and clinician as the years progressed, have completed multiple certifications through the Professional Ski Instructors of America(PSIA) and continue to educate myself and others on all aspects of the snow sports industry. In 1999, I taught at Keystone Resort in CO during one of their Spring Employment Programs.
This year I will complete my PSIA Level II and get a little closer to the final Level III certification. I also started coaching for the Sugar Mountain Junior Race Team that competes in the High Country Junior Race Series at Beech, Sugar, and App ski mountains. So my schedule this season is as busy as it’s ever been. 7:30am till 4pm at Appnet then 4:30pm till 8:30pm at Sugar during the week. Sat. and Sun. coaching, teaching and supervising from 8am till 8:30pm at Sugar unless we have a race at another mountain. I guess they’ll be time to rest when the snow melts.
But of course when the snow melts it’s time to go boating. I started kayaking around 6 years ago and quickly became a big fan of some of the amazing whitewater North Carolina has to offer. When the rivers are a too low to kayak and the wind is blowing I’m always trying to take my Hobie Cat out to Watauga Lake to do a little sailing. If there’s no wind and no high water in the rivers it’s time to mountain bike or climb. Living in Banner Elk affords me the opportunity to take advantage of all of these “free” and “green” activities. When it’s time to relax I usually do that by playing a little piano or guitar.
I finished my undergraduate at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in business in 2003. I will one day return to a graduate school and obtain a doctorate in psychology. For the time being I’m content skiing everyday, watching and waiting for the snow or rain to fall (depending on the season) and spending time with my fiancé and two dogs.
You can email Will directly at: [email protected]
Mike can be reached at: [email protected]