DANNER PICKERING

FREERIDE COACH

I enjoy all things outdoors from skiing to fly fishing, and when it's not winter time you can find me working on Whitefish Lake as a water sport instructor. As of recent years I have taken up cider making as a hobby and hope to make a full-time career from it. Currently I do part time work at a local cidery called Big Mountain Ciderworks and hope to one day have my own cider house in the Valley. I have spent the majority of my life in Whitefish where outdoor recreation has allowed me to excel both professionally and personally. The ski industry, more specifically, has played a large roll in my life. I first skied on Mt. Hood with my father, and soon joined the race program in Spokane, WA on Mt. Spokane. My family moved to Whitefish in 2001 where i continued ski racing on Big Mountain and soon transitioned into competitive freestyle skiing. I had originally started my coaching career with The Whitefish Mountain Freestyle team in 07/08 before moving to Lake Tahoe where I continued competing in freestyle skiing as well as coaching with Squaw Valley's big mountain and competitive free ride teams. Shortly after my time in Tahoe, I moved home to Whitefish and continued coaching with the Whitefish Mountain Freestyle team followed by some independent work traveling as an IFSA coach within Montana in the surrounding Canadian resorts.