USSA Center of Excellence

Alpine Racing Drills

Tyler grew up in Boise, ID where he raced for Bogus Basin and Sun Valley, before moving to Durango to attend Fort Lewis College where he raced and coached for the team. After this he coached for a season at Purgatory before becoming a teacher for 5 years, first in high school History/English at Colorado Timberline Academy and next at the Cortez Middle School teaching Agriculture. After teaching Tyler was able to go into market farming full-time and come back to ski coaching with his new-found freetime in the winter. This will be his 9th year coaching for the team and the 2nd year as director. He is Level 200 USSA Coaching certified, as well as an alpine referee and official. This is his 35th year on skis and 31st being a part of ski racing. When he is not on the slopes he can be found hanging around his farm, hopefully near the creek.

Freeride Skiing with Nadine Wallner

Skiing Powder

Brian has been coaching Freeride for over 14 seasons, first with the Alta Freeride Division and now with Four Corners Freeride. He's a former competitor in alpine racing, freestyle moguls, big air, skier-cross and Freeride. Certifications include: PSIA Level 3 ski instructor, IFSA 100 Coaches cert, Avalanche 2, and Wilderness First Responder. In the off season Brian guides mountain bike and river rafting trips and is currently an expedition leader in North Carolina.

Dolphin Turns - Drills for Balance

Moguls - Advanced Lesson

Shane is a lifelong Durango resident and graduated from Fort Lewis College in December 2021 with a bachelor of science in exercise and health promotion. At the age of 8 years old he became a member of the Alpine team and after a few years of racing developed an interest in freestyle skiing disciplines. He competed in slopestyle, aerials, half pipe and moguls as a licensed USSA competitor through his teenage years. In 2008-2009 Shane was awarded Durango Freestyle Ski Team “Rookie of the Year’’ followed by Purgatory Sky Team ‘’MVP” in 2009-2010 and again in 2010-2011, awarded by the Durango Winter Sports Foundation. In the USSA Rocky Mountain Freestyle Devo State Championships in Telluride at age 13, Ellis won the state championship in slopestyle. Shane also earned many starts at Junior Nationals in a variety of freestyle disciplines. As a new director for the 2022-23 season Shane would like to increase the amount of opportunity for youth to participate in freestyle skiing in the Durango area and develop lifelong ski enthusiasts.

Cody has been in the snowboard industry since he was 16. He started teaching snowboarding at Hesperus in 99 and, after graduating in 01, spent a year away from the area.  He started teaching at Purgatory in 2002. In 2010, he started the snowboard team with a fellow instructor and has been coaching ever since.