Your instructor at Snowbird
Meet Ross Murray — teaching skiing since 1982
I have been instructing since 1982. I started out at Bear Mountain in Southern California, where I did most of my training, and I took my certification exams at Mammoth Mountain. Skiing has been my life ever since, and teaching it is the part I love most.Nothing gives me a greater joy than watching someone excel at the sport I love. Skiing is a real physical workout, but it is also one of the most satisfying things you can do. That rush of pulling off something for the first time — no matter how steep — is always rewarding, and getting to share that moment with my students never gets old.
Where I teach now
Today I teach at Snowbird — one of the best mountains in the country to learn on and to push yourself. All of my lessons are booked through the Snowbird Mountain School, no exceptions, so you get the full backing of the resort while still working with a pro who is entirely focused on you.Taking a private lesson with me is like working with a personal trainer, minus the grunting and yelling. Whether we are building a first-ever beginner lesson or sorting out the trouble spots in your style, the whole day is tailored around you and where you want your skiing to go. Private lessons are about the individual, not the average of a group — it is all about you.
How I think about lessons
I will be honest with you about something most ski schools won’t say: real change takes time. In my experience it takes at least three focused days — usually a full week — to turn new movements into solid skiing habits. Skiing is a habit, and as Mark Twain put it, a habit cannot be thrown out the window; it must be coaxed downstairs, one step at a time.That is why a single lesson is only a starting point. The most cost-effective thing you can do is commit to several days in a row with the same pro — on your own, or splitting a week of private lessons with a few friends who ski about the way you do. Give yourself that time and you can change your skiing for good. Life is too short not to become the skier you know is in there.