Rosser, Brian

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Brian Rosser, professor of Ski Area Operations at CMC Leadville

Brian Rosser, J.D.

Associate Professor of Ski Area Operations
719-486-4228 | Berosser@coloradomtn.edu

2019-20 Leadville & Salida Faculty of the Year

Education

  • Associate of Arts and Sciences (A.A.S.), Ski Area Operations, Colorado Mountain College

  • Bachelor of Science (B.S.), East Tennessee State University
  • Doctor of Law (J.D.), Regent University

Awards & Certifications

  • Basic Life Support for Healthcare Provider Instructor, American Heart Association
  • ASNT Central Certification Program Level II - Magnetic Particle Testing (ACCP-MT)
  • Licensed to Practice Law
  • Licensed Insurance Adjuster
  • NREMT, National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians
  • Outdoor Emergency Technician and Instructor, National Ski Patrol

About

Brian started his career in the ski industry in 1995 and has a diverse background in ski area operations and management. He is an experienced leader with progressive experience in resort development, operations and management.

Over the years he has performed lift maintenance, made snow, patrolled and has worked directly with or for all phases of Mountain Operations with a proven record of success. He has established relationships within the ski industry as well as with the insurance business and other allied industries.

Rosser, who is an attorney, was previously the Risk Manager and Human Resources Director at Loveland Ski Area. Prior to working at Loveland he was employed as a professional ski patroller at Copper Mountain and Ski Cooper. Additionally, while working in the ski industry he has worked as an adjunct professor at Colorado Mountain College in the school’s Ski Area Operations (SAO) program, served as the Chair of the Advisory committee for the SAO program, and is also a graduate of that program.

Before coming home to Colorado Mountain College, Brian served the MountainGuard team as Director of Risk Management and Education. Rosser was responsible for the continued development, coordination and execution of enhanced loss control service plans to provide proactive pre-loss risk management expertise to benefit MountainGuard's valued clients.

Brian has been with Colorado Mountain College for two years and is responsible for a joint venture with the National Ski Areas Association providing Ropeway education to its member ski areas from Maine to Alaska.

Brian is a state of Colorado EMT and NREMT, is a voting member of ANSI B77.1, on the NSAA Risk management committee, and is a member of the National Ski Patrol.

 

'Snowboarding forever' with the Ski Area Ops program

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Colin Whitaker Ski Area Ops graduate launches career at Killington Resort

Photo provided by Colin Whitaker

Ski Area Ops graduate lands full-time position at Killington Ski Resort

Colin Whitaker has been snowboarding for more than twenty years. According to him, it’s his life passion. At a young age, he knew he wanted to make a career in the ski industry. In 2013, he began working as a ski patroller at Wintergreen Resort in Nellysford, VA - just under an hour from his hometown of Fairfield, VA. After four seasons of patrolling at Wintergreen, where the elevation tops out at 3,900’, he was ready to pursue his passion for powder and explore opportunities at bigger mountains.

In 2017, Colin moved to Leadville, CO to study Ski Area Operations at Colorado Mountain College and learn from experts in the industry. He was ready to add a degree to his resume and open up new professional opportunities.

On Mountains & In Classrooms

Colin Whitaker Ski Area Ops graduate launches mountain operations career at Killington Resort

Photo provided by Colin Whitaker

We learned from the best,” says Colin, “Bear (retired SAO instructor Paul ‘Bear’ Raushke), Goose (SAO instructor Jason ‘Goose’ Gusaas), and Brian Rosser (SAO alumnus turned instructor) are incredible people to learn from. Collectively they have more than 50 years of experience in the ski industry.”

Small classes with peers who shared his passion for getting first chair - or last, depending on class schedule - combined with hands-on learning were instrumental to Colin’s success at CMC. Unique opportunities like climbing lift towers, and grooming trails, offered first-hand experience with mountain operations.

“We were able to put valuable time to use in a non-classroom setting, like Grooming Lab at Ski Cooper,” says Colin, “CMC was the right choice for me because we had more hands-on learning than book learning. That’s my preferred learning style.”

Classroom time was invaluable as well. In fact, Colin’s favorite class was Ski Area Planning, where students designed their own ski area on paper. The course focuses on computing skiing capacity while balancing facilities, lifts, trails and other various environmental constraints.

Mountain Ops & Patrol

Colin Whitaker ski area ops graduate at colorado mountain college Leadville launches mountain ops and ski patrol career at Killington Resort

Photo provided by Colin Whitaker

Colin graduated in spring 2019, and accepted a full-time position with Killington Ski Resort, owned by Powdr Corporation. During summer resort operations, he facilitates medical needs for the mountain bike park, while conducting basic mountain operations with other departments. When the snow starts falling, his efforts will shift to a traditional ski patrol role—providing medical, rescue, and hazard prevention services—while working with different departments to aid mountain operations.

“I’m super excited to have a full time position with a great corporate ski resort. Here I can help the company grow by working with a number of departments including patrol. Thanks to my education at CMC, I understand mountain operations and the workings of a ski area. Everything I see and do in this role is something I’m familiar with because of the Ski Area Ops program.”

10 Steps Ahead

At twenty-seven years old, Colin’s resume is impressive; Four years of ski patrol, a degree in Ski Area Operations with a certificate in Slope and Trail Maintenance, and exposure to all aspects of mountain operations at various resorts around Colorado.

“If you’re considering the Ski Area Operations program at Colorado Mountain College, just commit,” reflects Colin, “You’ll be 10 steps ahead of everyone else trying to get a job in the industry. I wanted to snowboard forever, and CMCs SAO program is helping me live my dream.”

Colin Whitaker, Ski Area Ops graduate at COlorado Mountain College Leadville, operating a snowcat during a Colorado sunset. He landed a full-time job at Killington Resort this past spring.

Photo provided by Colin Whitaker

Ski Ops Grad Lands Job at Hometown Mountain

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Ski Area Ops graduate Dallas Zamora in the CMC leadville backyard terrain park

Ski Ops Grad Lands Job at Hometown Mountain

Returning to His Roots: Ski Ops Grad Lands Job at Hometown Mountain

DallasZamora SAO graduiate cmc leadville ski area operations professors

Retired Ski Area Operations Professor Paul “Bear” Rauschke (left), CMC graduate Dallas Zamora, and Professor Jason Gusaas at the Colorado Mountain College Leadville graduation ceremony

Dallas Zamora is returning to the mountains he grew up on, and bringing his career with him.  Thanks to his degree in Ski Area Operations and three years of professional experience on his resume, Dallas landed a job as a Terrain Park Cat Operator at Powder Mountain in Eden, Utah—just 40 minutes from his hometown.

In 2019, Dallas graduated from Colorado Mountain College Leadville with his Associates Degree in Ski Area Operations and two certificates in Slope and Trail Maintenance. Thanks to the curriculum requirements and hands-on nature of the Ski Area Ops program, Dallas had accrued three years of work experience in Colorado before graduating.

"While I was living in Colorado and going to school, I worked park crew for Vail Resorts," says Dallas, originally from Layton, UT, "I was hand crew so basically I was putting the finishing touches on all the features."

While in school, Ski Area Ops students are required to get a job in their field for at least a full semester. The real-world experience jump starts their ski industry career - boosting their resume with relevant experience while getting paid and earning college credit. Dallas worked for Vail Resorts for more than three years, before deciding to take his passion back home to the mountains he grew up on.

As a natural hands-on learner, it's no surprise that Terrain Parks and Snow Vehicle Maintenance were two of Dallas' favorite classes. Small class sizes and close connections with instructors also contributed to his success at CMC. Professors became friends, extending their professional network and opening new opportunities at resorts around the world.

"I took advantage of every resource and networking opportunity while going to school at CMC," says Dallas, "I asked if my instructors had any connections to Powder Mountain and they helped me get my foot in the door. Thanks to those connections, this winter I will be setting features and building terrain parks at Powder Mountain."

Though Dallas will be returning to Utah, he shares fond memories of his time at Colorado Mountain College Leadville.

"I loved living on campus," says Dallas, "It was so much fun having your brand new friends all in the same building. Getting to ride in the backyard park, hit the climbing wall or play pool whenever you wanted. It was definitely a really fun experience."

Ski Area Ops graduate Dallas Zamora in the Leadville backyard terrain park

 

 

Ski area operations education launched emergency medical career

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Photo:Reed Clawson, a CMC ski area ops, ski patrol and EMT grad, is a flight paramedic with Classic Air Medical based at Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, caring for critically ill and injured patients throughout the region.

Reed Clawson, a CMC ski area ops, ski patrol and EMT grad, is a flight paramedic with Classic Air Medical based at Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, caring for critically ill and injured patients throughout the region. Photo Ed Kosmicki

Ski Area Operations Education Launched Emergency Medical Career

By Heather McGregor

Reed Clawson had his mind set on being a professional ski patroller. He never expected to be working as a flight paramedic with a helicopter team.

“I wanted to make ski patrolling as viable a career as I could. But all these doors opened because of the training and schooling, and led me in the direction I went,” said Clawson, 34, of New Castle, a 2012 graduate of Colorado Mountain College.

Since April 2016, Clawson has served aboard Classic Air Medical’s Bell 407 helicopter, based at Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs. In 17 months, he has worked more than 150 medical flights.

“I like taking care of people. I also love that it’s not normal, not mundane. Every day, every flight is different,” he said.

The flight team includes a pilot, a nurse and a paramedic. Classic Air’s Glenwood Springs crew members – four pilots, four nurses and three paramedics – work rotating shifts.

“Our primary job is to care for and transport critically sick or injured patients,” Clawson said. Some flights transfer patients to or from Valley View Hospital; others are backcountry rescues where the flight team is often the first responder.

“Our goal is to get the person to definitive care as fast as possible,” he said. “You can really see the benefit of the helicopter. We can get to Denver in one hour, or to Grand Junction in about 35 minutes.”

The Glenwood Springs team also supports Classic Air’s helicopter and airplane teams in Steamboat Springs, Craig and Moab. The company serves Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming and Idaho.

Learning new skills leads to career change

Clawson arrived at this vital position, responsible for people’s lives and futures every day, after making a pivot as a CMC student. He was wrapping up his associate degree in ski area operations at CMC Leadville, which included emergency medical technician (EMT) training, and had started an internship on the Copper Mountain ski patrol.

“Reed was spurred on by the role of emergency medical provider. That lit a fire in him,”
said Roger Coit, one of Clawson’s CMC Leadville instructors.

After graduation, Clawson took an accelerated paramedic training program at Denver Health.

The training led him to paramedic work in Grand County, along with ski patrolling at Powderhorn and Aspen Mountain, until the Classic Air opportunity arrived.

When Clawson started his ski area ops studies at CMC in 2010, he had just returned to Colorado, out of money, after living abroad. “I was very determined to get into the workforce,” he recalled.

“I definitely got a return on my investment,” he said, citing CMC’s affordability and the high quality of instruction. “I was impressed with the knowledge and skill sets of my instructors. They set me up to be a professional in both of those fields. I was prepped to succeed either way.”

Woodward Copper's Newest Terrain Park Builder

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Steve Nicosia in a CMC Leadville SnowCat. Steve is the newest Terrain Park Builder at Woodward Copper

Steve Nicosia in a CMC Leadville SnowCat. Steve is the newest Terrain Park Builder at Woodward Copper. Steve Nicosia photo.

Woodward Copper's Newest Terrain Park Builder

The Ski Area Operations curriculum blends technical and hands-on training, and is recognized by local resorts for its comprehensive approach in preparing students for lifelong on-mountain careers. Steve Nicosia, a 25 year-old student from East Aurora, NY has been enrolled since fall 2017. One year into the two-year program, and he's landed a position as a Snowcat Operator and Terrain Park Builder for Woodward Copper.

"I definitely believe that CMC helped me get this position," says Steve, who is expected to graduate next spring, "Before coming to school, I had no snowcat operating experience with minimal heavy equipment practice. Going to CMC gave me experience in a dozer, back-hoe, and a snowcat."

Steve began working on the terrain park hand crew at Woodward Copper last winter, and hoped to move up to a snowcat operator in his second season. This past spring, he demonstrated his capabilities while building the summer camp terrain park at Woodward.

Steve Nicosia is Woodward Copper's Newest Terrain Park Builder"I am looking forward to riding the features that I install," says Steve, "and building a terrain park that is very well known. Some people come to vacation at Copper, specifically for their top of the line terrain parks. Many years, it is rated in the top 10 terrain parks across the U.S. by NewSchoolers, and I want to be a part of that."

Colorado ski couple work the hill, South Korean style

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With Allison Marriner, right, in the driver’s seat, she and her husband Geoff "Salty" Marriner take a cruise at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

CMC Leadville ski area ops alums prep new Jeongseon Alpine Centre for 2018 Winter Olympics

By Carrie Click

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 15 months ago to join an international team of seasoned professionals producing the 2018 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 November 2015, and Allison has shuttled back and forth between Korea and their Colorado home. The

A photo of the finish area at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre in South Korea.

The Jeongseon Alpine Centre in South Korea, where CMC alumnus Geoff Marriner is the mountain operations manager, is a brand new ski area that was created for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Here, the finish area is where the speed events – the downhill and super-G courses – will end and Olympic medal winners will be announced.

Olympics will be held Feb. 9-25, 2018.

After Allison landed in Seoul to meet Geoff last year, they drove together to the new ski area with about a half-dozen Olympic workers who had just arrived in the country.

Two of the workers Allison knew from other events at Beaver Creek. “Another lives in South Africa and had worked at Keystone, and another from New Zealand had not only worked in Vail but shared several mutual friends with me,” she said. “It just goes to prove how small the ski industry really is.”

New language, new culture

Planning and pulling off Olympic Alpine ski racing events takes a

spectacular amount of preparation, which is why they have been working on the project for over a year.

Neither Geoff nor Allison had ever been off the North American continent before arriving in South Korea, so it took some adjusting.

“The first time I went to the store made me realize how immigrants new to the U.S. must feel if they don’t know the language,” Geoff wrote in an email from South Korea. “I have a whole new respect and sense of empathy for people from different

Geoff “Salty” and Allison Marriner in South Korea, where they're preparing for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

countries who are immigrating or even just visiting our country.”

Geoff wrote that he’s learned to be a creative communicator at work. Although there are a few translators available, at times other tactics need to be used.

“Everyone in my department – pre-games operations – is Korean, so we communicate using pictures and drawing pictures,” he wrote. “‘Google translate’ comes in pretty handy at times, and just going out on the mountain and pointing at things works when all else fails.”

Allison has been surprised at how men and women treat one another at times

“It’s funny to me how some of the older gentlemen here don’t want to shake my hand,” she said. “It’s not meant to be an insult; it’s just a difference in culture.”

Home away from home

The Marriners have found that Jeongseon doesn’t have much in common with Eagle, their home base stateside. Because Jeongseon was built specifically for the 2018 Winter Olympics, it doesn’t yet have much of a community feel. It’s so new in fact that although the race course was finished, the area’s infrastructure was still incomplete by the time Geoff and his crew were hosting their first test events last season – the men’s International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup downhill and super-G. This March, the area will host the women’s FIS World Cup downhill and super-G as well as the International Paralympic Committee World Cup finals. 

The route to South Korea was not easy, but the Marriners have made sure and steady progress since they studied ski area operations at Colorado Mountain College. The on-mountain and World Cup ski racing production experience that they’ve gained working at Vail Resorts has 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.”

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, so far, been invaluable.

“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.”