Leadville native Kristen Wells misses her hometown and the Rocky Mountains. The Lake County High School graduate and former CMC student is now pursuing her Ph.D. in genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine. Though she yearns for views of the Collegiate Range, the allure of being on the cutting edge of medical research is more compelling.

“The coolest thing about Stanford is that all the top research is happening right here,” Kristen said. “We’re the first to implement many of the latest innovations in the science world, then a year later everyone hears about it and is talking about it in the public sector. It’s really fun to be a part of that.” For example, Kristen is using CRISPR, the revolutionary new gene editing technology, in her daily work. Her thesis, in layman’s terms, is about looking at gene expression that’s involved in preventing autoimmune disorders. Using CRISPR “really speeds up the research because we can manipulate an individual gene and see what it does,” she explained. The research may eventually lead to improved treatments for devastating autoimmune diseases like MS and lupus.

Wells credits her experience at Colorado Mountain College Leadville with setting her up for success in college. By the time she was a high school junior, she had maxed out on all the science and English courses available at her school. A counselor suggested that she take some college-level courses “up the hill” at CMC. So she did, taking Spanish with former Professor Mary Ebuna, and English with Associate Professor Jeff Runyon. “CMC was an incredible experience for me, especially Mr. Runyon who made English really fun. He pushed me, and made English exciting.” She learned early the rigors of college-level study, including increased homework and higher expectations from her instructors. “It made the transition to college much easier for me.”

Upon graduation from high school, Wells won a Boettcher scholarship and a full ride to Colorado College where she earned her bachelor’s in biology. She then was accepted into the doctoral program at Stanford where her education is completely paid for by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. “I use the writing skills I learned at CMC in my work now”, she said. “There’s a lot more creativity in science than you would expect, as writing and communication are a big part of the process. We write and publish papers, and orally present our work to our peers.”

For now, Kristen’s return to her home state will have to wait. She estimates it will take 4 more years of study to complete her doctorate. After that, she would like to continue advancing the study of genetics, wherever that pursuit takes her.

Like most mountain folks, Mark Mueller fell in love with snow culture at a young age. But after a few years of working as a cook and in the rental/ repair shops, he recognized he needed knowledge and skills to grow his passion for powder into a rewarding career.

It was in the early 1970’s when Mark learned about Colorado Mountain College’s Ski Area Technology program (now Ski Area Operations), and he knew education was the missing link.

“I loved the atmosphere, like-minded friends, and culture around the ski area,” says Mark, who is originally from San Carlos, CA. “I knew I wanted to do something ski area related. I read about Colorado Mountain College in Ski magazine and it sounded cool!”

Mark attended Colorado Mountain College Leadville from 1974 – 1976 and immersed himself in all things ski industry. His instructors, CK Lukow and Ken Host, taught him about lift maintenance, equipment operations, welding, and avalanche safety.

After Mark graduated from Colorado Mountain College he spent 15 winters at California’s Squaw Valley, including 12 years as Ski Patrol Director from 1980-1992. Then in 1992, he made the familiar migration back to the Colorado Rockies to pursue a career with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC).

Mark spent his first winter back in Colorado patrolling for Wolf Creek Ski Area, and started with CAIC in the fall of 1993 working on a new highway avalanche forecasting program with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). In 2015, he was promoted to Lead Avalanche Forecaster at the Pagosa Springs Office.

“I love my job! Each winter is unique and the learning never ends,” says Mark, who has been with the CAIC for 24 years. “I work with great people at CAIC and in CDOT and I get to spend a lot of time on skis out in the snow.”

Although professional upward mobility in the ski industry can be challenging terrain to navigate, it is possible to achieve your dreams. With the help of Colorado Mountain College’s Ski Area Operations program, Mark turned his passion for powder chasing from a part-time job to fulfilling career.

“My advice to students or anyone who wants to work in the ski industry,” says Mark, “Is to dream your life and live your dream. Make it happen.”

South Korea is over 6,000 miles away from Colorado, but when it comes to the ski industry, it’s surprisingly close.

Nobody knows that better than Allison Kohn Marriner and her husband, Geoff “Salty” Marriner, both alumni of Colorado Mountain College Leadville’s ski area operations program.

The couple was hired to join an international team of seasoned professionals producing the XXIII Winter Olympics and the XII Paralympic Winter Games at Jeongseon Alpine Centre in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Geoff, who’s the mountain operations manager at Jeongseon, has been in South Korea full time since 2015, and Allison has shuttled back and forth between Korea and their Colorado home.

And even though the Olympics are a year away, the experience of landing in a foreign country and working towards one of the world’s biggest international sports events has been invaluable in their career and personal development.

“I’ve definitely been taken completely out of my comfort zone in all aspects of life, home and work,” Geoff wrote from Jeongseon. “So just for that this has already been a worthwhile experience.”

Since studying ski area operations at Colorado Mountain College, the Marriners have made steady progress toward their current responsibilities in South Korea. While working at Vail Resorts they gained experience with on-mountain operations and World Cup ski racing production that helped them to learn the ropes within the international ski racing community.

Both have developed solid reputations in the ski business: Allison as a Beaver Creek snowcat operator and lift maintenance assistant, and Geoff as a Vail equipment operator, as well as a Beaver Creek grooming manager and supervisor.

While Geoff works full time at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre, Allison travels back and forth between Colorado and South Korea. She works part time as a snowcat operator in South Korea, and returns to operate cats at Beaver Creek and do lift maintenance during the summers.

Although Allison said she is widely accepted in the U.S. as a female snowcat operator, in South Korea, the reactions can be different.

“One day while grooming through the finish area, there was a group of Korean women,” she said. “Every time I came by I got a thumbs-up and smiles and cheers.”

In the early 1980s a lifelong bond was formed among the students and instructors of the Colorado Mountain College Ski Area Operations program. They called themselves the Powder Guild. It was their desire to turn a passion for skiing into a career that brought them together in Leadville, but it was their never-ending quest for powder, camaraderie, and playful antics that have kept the Powder Guild in touch to this day.

“Back in the day, our motto was ‘We’re young, good looking and do what we want’,” says Powder Guild member John ‘Staatzy’ Staats, who currently lives in Tucson, Arizona, “Now it’s ‘old, out of shape and do what our wives tell us’… just kidding, we’ll never grow up!”

The twelve members of the infamous Powder Guild came from all over the U.S., Canada, and Japan, ranging in age from 18 – 32. After graduating from the Ski Area Operations program, many Powder Guild members went on to enjoy successful careers in the ski industry at resorts around the world.

Over the past few decades, members have coordinated trips to Jackson Hole, Hawaii, Colorado, and even Japan to appease Japanese member Yoichi Amano, who has traveled to numerous state-side Powder Guild gatherings. In 2015, Yoichi hosted members, Jim Oberriter and John Staats, showing them around Tokyo on separate trips.

“I meet with the Powder Guild whenever I can find an opportunity to do so,” says Yoichi, “We exchange emails and find every opportunity to get together. Even 30 years after graduation, we are still united.”

Inevitably, celebratory milestones like weddings and births have been replaced by funerals for fallen brothers. Founding member, Kent ‘Kento’ Bridges and Phil Sande, have since passed. Their spirits are celebrated with every Powder Guild gathering and through many cherished memories.

Though it has been decades since their college years, the fun-loving, carefree attitude of the Powder Guild is still very much intact. However, the group is more than the chronicles of college students and ski resort shenanigans – though the anecdotes are undoubtedly entertaining. It’s about exploring a passion while discovering genuine friendships, and investing in those connections for life.

“It was a chance gathering of guys from all over the globe that loved to ski and be free,” says Staats, “We bonded as no other group of people that I’ve ever met or heard of.”

In 1967, Gil Cisneros was newly married and feeling the pressure to get started on a career.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I couldn’t see myself working underground for the rest of my life”, says Cisneros, who was working as a miner at Climax Molybdenum Mine in Leadville.

He started taking classes at the newly opened Colorado Mountain College – East Campus, where he was able to study in between his shift work at the mine.

“My experience at CMC Leadville was exceptional”, Cisneros recalls, 50 years later.

He knocked out several core courses in science and foreign language, transferred to Adams State College and completed his bachelor’s degree in three years. Since that time, he has had an illustrious career, culminating with the founding of the Chamber of the Americas in Denver in 2001.

The Chamber fosters trade and investment relationships primarily between South American countries and U.S. business interests. His work has been lauded by numerous professional organizations, including Hispanic Magazine which in 2002 recognized Gil with the U.S.-Latin American Friendship Award at the Hispanic Achievement Awards. Prior to that, the Mexican government honored him as Businessman of the Year for the Rocky Mountain Region, 2000, and in 2007, the Institute of International Education presented Gil with the “Global Colorado Award.”

“I’ve been very, very lucky”, he says of the opportunities that have been available to him. “I was in the right place at the right time, several times in my life and it started with attending CMC”.

Now, at the age of 73 and a grandfather of two high school students, he encourages young people to look beyond the traditional college path and consider the advantages of community college. He tells his grandchildren about his time at CMC and how the flexibility of the faculty and class structure enabled him to find his path to a rewarding and fulfilling career.

“CMC was a wonderful, wonderful experience for me.”

Leadville local Lorene Martinez was unsure about college. But she took one class at Colorado Mountain College. Then another. With encouragement from faculty, this single mom realized she could succeed. And she did, all the way to a PhD in microbiology from Colorado State University.

“CMC is one of the best choices I ever made,” she says.

Now Martinez researches new ways to detect tuberculosis. She helped to develop genetic fingerprinting protocols to aid in tracking the disease in cattle and wildlife.

Making an outdoor hobby into a career is a dream shared by all Outdoor Recreation Leadership (ORL) students. Hundreds of aspiring mountaineers, raft guides, and rock climbers have joined the ranks of Colorado Mountain College Leadville students, looking to gain the skills necessary to turn that dream into a reality.

Don Nguyen, a 29-year-old ORL alumnus from Oklahoma City, is currently living in Washington state, working as a climbing instructor and mountain guide on Mount Rainier and Mount Shasta. He credits the Colorado Mountain College Leadville outdoor program and faculty for bridging the gap between hobby and career.

“CMC’s program and its experienced instructors gave me the technical skills, certifications and direction to work the dream job I have now,” says Don. “I learned about the types of leaders, and how various leadership styles relate to the many fields of outdoor guiding and instructing.”

Though he is currently content exploring the Pacific Northwest, Leadville will always hold a special place for Don. “I miss that beautiful mountain town charm of Leadville.” said Nguyen, “Seeing Elbert and Massive out my window framed by conifers was a pleasure I will never forget.”

Truly a life-long learner, Don has found various opportunities to continue honing his outdoor skills, both on and off camera. He was recently featured on the Discovery channel survival series, Naked and Afraid.

“I was dropped into Namibia with a person the TV network chose to be incompatible personality-wise with me.” says Don, “I used every single teamwork building and conflict resolution exercise I had learned from CMC. I felt that having these techniques and strategies helped reduce conflict with my partner on the show, built teamwork, and gave a good frame work on running the camp and staying on mission to finish the 21-day challenge.”

Don’s advice for future ORL students is clear: Colorado Mountain College is a place where students that are dedicated and invested in their education will have all the tools necessary to succeed.

“CMC is a school where you get a return proportionate to what you put in.” said Nguyen, “If you study hard, practice, and in your spare time get out and build on your skills, those skills become yours.”

Since graduating in 2014 with a degree in Outdoor Recreation Leadership, Brett Menter has led heli-ski trips in Alaska, guided ice climbing trips on glaciers, coordinated outdoor activities for disabled children and more recently, taught outdoor orientation classes at Colorado Mountain College Leadville.

A natural born leader, Brett saw that he would need to learn skills to excel in the outdoor industry. The ORL program at Colorado Mountain College Leadville was the perfect match. Brett learned both technical and “soft” interpersonal skills to build on his innate abilities.

“Of course, I learned the whole spectrum of technical skills necessary to be a mountain guide.” says Brett, “But most importantly, I learned communication and human development skills. Being able to communicate with people, keep people safe and talk people through fear and risk is crucial for an outdoor leader.“

These soft skills were a primary tool for Brett while working with disabled children during his time at the summer camp in British Columbia.

“We worked with children that were vision impaired, hearing impaired… children on the autism spectrum, children with physical aggression.” says Brett, “I talked these children through fear and risk, often using non-verbal communication like hand gestures and hugs.

“The most important skill is being able to adapt those communication abilities to whoever you are working with,” says Brett, “whether it is a high-end heli-ski client paying $10,000 or a five year-old from foster care who can’t speak at all.”

Motivation, dedication and a healthy dose of humility are crucial elements to a successful outdoor career, but it takes a strong role model to put those in perspective. The Outdoor Recreation Leadership program in Leadville is fortunate to have leaders with this ethos teaching tomorrow’s mountaineers and raft guides.

“I’m motivated to become a leader because it is a place I feel comfortable,” says Brett, “I’ve embraced it, while maintaining a humble attitude. I look to people like Kent Clement and Cooper Mallozzi, who are incredibly humble and immensely talented. They’re great mentors.”

Now Brett is giving back as a role model and field instructor.

“I love being a resource for current and future students and giving back to the Colorado Mountain College community,” he says. “I think a lot of students see what I have done and know it’s possible for them to get out there and find a job doing what they love, too.”