COMMuNITY
Joel reIChenBerGer
Best Ski Instructor: Nancy Gray
no Gray area about it: nancy Gray loves her job.
Sure, skiing every day is nice, says Nancy Gray, voted the town’s best ski instructor. That’s the most obvious perk that comes with being an instructor on Mount Werner. She skis so many days each season that she doesn’t bother to count — Alpine while teaching five days a week and Telemark with her husband on the weekends. The best perk, though, is the relationships. Teaching on the mountain for 40 years has helped Gray establish a truly world-wide network of friends. For some families, she’s on her third generation of instruction, having guided everyone from grandparents to their grandchildren. She’s gone on vacation with clients, attended their weddings and had them at her family’s weddings. “It’s the best,” she says. “My best friends are the people I get to ski with.” Gray, 59, is as close to Steamboat royalty as they come. Born and raised here, she grew up skiing Howelsen Hill in the first Little Toots classes, taking lessons from former 10th Mountain Division members. Her brother, Moose Barrows, is one of Steamboat’s most beloved Olympic legends. After skiing on a scholarship at University of Colorado, she returned home to teach, and she says waking up for work rarely has been hard. As for her favorite runs, she says she has a few. “Hot Cakes, it just makes me giggle,” she says. “I also really like Vertigo and Swinger, though it was better when it had trees.” No matter where she is on the mountain, she’s happy as long as she’s teaching and skiing with clients. “People from all over the world have given my family opportunities that I never could just because they care,” she says. “I’ve learned so much from them.” Just like others have learned from her.
Helping local families save money so they can live better.
124 | STEAmbOAT living | Spring 2012