You know them: the employees who go above and beyond, who work diligently to make themselves and everyone around them better, the ones who make your guests want to return again and again. They’re your Double Diamond-level people.
This year, the following outstanding groomers, snowmakers, and terrain park specialists have been nominated for a CSCUSA Double Diamond Award.
This page is updated regularly.
Graham Baxter
Grooming Supervisor
Steamboat Ski Resort
Born in Kansas City and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Graham got his start in the ski industry as a lift operator at June Mountain. That’s where he first laid eyes on a snowcat and, by his own account, fell in love. Six years into his time at Steamboat, that love has turned into mastery. Graham has become a versatile force on the mountain, with experience spanning grooming, terrain park grooming, pipe crew work, construction labor, and heavy equipment operation.
His supervisors describe him as a cornerstone of the operation, the kind of leader who shows up dialed in, fired up, and ready to turn chaos into corduroy. Whether he’s helping open terrain early in the season, recovering after weather throws the mountain sideways, or volunteering to work graveyard shifts, Graham brings creativity, grit, and a team-first mindset to the job. His answer to a new challenge is almost always Sure thing!—and he means it.
A fly fisherman, hunter, and committed outdoorsman off the clock, Graham takes pride in both the product and the people behind it. With integrity, accountability, and top-tier cat skills, he helps shape not just the hill, but the team that keeps it running.
Keaton Cameron
Lead Groomer | Trails Maintenance Operator
Purgatory Ski Resort
To come…
Joe Diponzio
Slope Maintenance Foreperson
Copper Mountain
Originally from Wichita and raised in Georgia, Joe took the scenic route to snow country: after high school, he headed to Sun Valley for a season as a snowcat mechanic, then made his way to Copper Mountain, where he’s spent the last five winters honing his craft. Over those years, Joe has built an uncommon dual skill set, working both on the cats and in them, and rising through the ranks from operator to grooming lead and now slope maintenance foreperson.
Joe’s pride is simple and substantial. Every night, he leaves behind a product that guests, from first-chair cruisers to world-class athletes, get to enjoy the next morning. His Double Diamond Award nominators describe him as calm under pressure, technically sharp, and deeply reliable, with a steady leadership style that keeps crews aligned and operations moving even when weather, terrain, or equipment throw a wrench in the plan.
He mentors newer operators, communicates clearly, and brings the same energy to every assignment, large or small. Add in a love of cooking, guitar, snowboarding, and just about every warm-weather mountain sport, and you’ve got a one-of-a-kind mountain professional whose work helps keep Copper running smooth.
Jason Guiliano-Puzi
Alpine Grooming Lead
Eldora Mountain Resort
Jason got his start grooming at Heavenly in South Lake Tahoe, where a skier who grew up riding Tahoe found the job that clicked immediately. Since then, he has built his experience across three standout mountains—Heavenly, Alpine Meadows, and now Eldora—gaining confidence, expanding his skill set, and earning his leadership role through consistency, pride in the product, and a clear commitment to doing the job well. At Eldora, where he is now alpine grooming lead on grave shift, he brings that same steady drive to every night on the hill.
This season, Jason stepped up in a big way. His managers credit him with mentoring newer operators, reinforcing safe habits, learning new equipment including the winch cat, and taking on larger dozing projects, trail construction, and trail maintenance. They describe him as adaptable, dependable, detail-oriented, and deeply invested in trail quality, someone who treats the mountain, the machines, and the guest experience as matters of personal responsibility. Jason says he loves leaving behind the best and safest product possible each day, and that ethos comes through in the mountain he helps shape: safe, fun, welcoming, and ready to ski.
Alex Ranz
Groomer III
Arapahoe Basin
Alex came to Arapahoe Basin with nearly a decade of grooming experience at Copper, several seasons at Cardrona in New Zealand, and the kind of broad mountain perspective that only comes from seeing a lot of snow in a lot of places. Originally from Cincinnati, where he grew up skiing and working at a small local hill, Alex moved to Colorado in 2015 to drive snowcats and has been building his craft ever since. He takes particular pride in his New Zealand seasons, where he sharpened his understanding of snow preservation and grooming in warm conditions, a skill set that proved especially useful this year.
At A-Basin, Alex made an impression right away, helping tackle bold, creative projects from day one and quickly earning trust in some of the mountain’s trickiest terrain. His manager credits him not only with technical skill and big-picture thinking, but with helping carry forward the excellence of A-Basin’s grooming program in a more modern way. Alex’s versatility showed again this season when he signed on for snowmaking before grooming, emerging as a night-crew leader and giving the operation a valuable crossover perspective on where snow needed to be and how to set the mountain up for success. Motivated, creative, and quietly influential, Alex is the kind of operator who makes the whole mountain better.
Wayne Sites
Groomer II
Winter Park
Wayne Sites came to the mountains by way of Florida, first falling for skiing on a 2008 trip to Telluride, then spending years coming back west before making the move to Colorado in 2023. At Winter Park, he found his place in slope maintenance, where, by his own account, he loves building out runs and moving massive amounts of snow. Three years in, Wayne has already built a reputation as a fast learner with a high standard, a strong engine, and a real feel for the craft. Off the clock, he keeps it outdoors, skiing and snowmobiling in winter and riding motorcycles in summer.
At Winter Park, Wayne has worked as a snowcat operator, equipment operator, and trail crew specialist, with training in winch cat and heavy equipment operations. This season, he spearheaded the build and maintenance of the resort’s competition and racing venues, a major responsibility that speaks to both his skill and the trust he has earned. His supervisors praise his attention to detail, enthusiasm for training less-experienced teammates, and commitment to a quality grooming product that has been recognized by coworkers, partner departments, and guests alike. Wayne says communication is key and that he contributes by giving maximum effort at all times. Judging by the mountain he helps shape, he means it.
Steve Willson
Slope Maintenance Foreperson
Loveland Ski Area
Colorado-born and Front Range-raised, Steve quite literally worked his way up to the job he wanted. He started on Winter Park’s facilities night crew, cleaning kitchens and bathrooms while eyeing the snowcats outside the window, then moved into snowmaking, grabbed every chance he could to get seat time in a cat, and never looked back. Since then, he has built an impressive international résumé, operating in Colorado, Australia, and New Zealand, building terrain parks at various resorts and grooming race courses for the U.S. Ski Team and other national programs. Today, six years into his time at Loveland, he is one of the area’s most experienced cat operators and the architect of its race course.
Steve’s nominators praise his patience, precision, and safety-first mindset. He leads Loveland’s race venue work from fall camps through spring training, coordinating with the race club, lift operations, ski patrol, and snowmaking to produce a world-class surface. He is equally meticulous on beginner terrain, where small details matter just as much.
A trainer, trail builder, and lifelong learner with certifications ranging from forklift operation to Colorado Fire Camp, Steve brings skill, pride, and real mountain sense to every shift. He shapes the product, and the product shows it.
Christopher Gabrielsen
Snowmaking Lead
Winter Park
From Long Island to the University of Maine to the mountains of Colorado, Christopher has followed skiing where it led and found his calling in snowmaking. After getting his start at Beaver Creek, Chris arrived at Winter Park two years ago with experience already under his belt and quickly made himself indispensable. He learned the ins and outs of Winter Park’s system, spent a season in grooming to deepen his understanding of nighttime mountain operations, then earned a full-time, year-round role as Snowmaking Tech III and, soon after, a crew lead position.
Chris is, by all accounts, a leader on the rise. His supervisors describe him as compassionate, courageous, and highly ambitious, someone who motivates his team not just with words, but with the bravery and conviction to chase snowmaking’s boldest goals. He has embraced every training opportunity that has come his way and built a reputation for being deeply committed to the craft and the department.
For his part, Chris says he loves that no two shifts are ever the same, and that the work is tangible, satisfying, and outdoors. Adaptable, enthusiastic, and all-in on resort life, he helps create the kind of team culture where people learn, grow, and get stoked to come back the next night.
Mallory Hawks
Snowmaker Level 3
Copper Mountain
Mallory came to Copper Mountain from Hudsonville, Michigan, by way of Ferris State University, where she earned both an associate degree in architectural technology and a bachelor’s degree in business. After deciding the corporate world could wait, she moved west in 2023, found her way into snowmaking, and quickly discovered she had landed in exactly the right place. Mallory says the job does not feel like work so much as a chance to do new and cool things on the mountain, and that sense of curiosity and joy comes through loud and clear.
In just two seasons, Mallory has made a major impression. This past winter, she logged more hours than any other snowmaker at Copper, working six- and seven-day weeks, including an 18-day stretch, and staying with it deep into late January. Her supervisors describe her as ambitious, humble, hardworking, and relentlessly positive, with an electric attitude that lifts the entire crew. Just as important, when she does not know something, she digs in, figures it out, and makes herself part of the solution.
A skier, snowboarder, camper, rafter, biker, golfer, reader, and maker of wood art in her spare time, Mallory brings grit, warmth, and a real pride in doing the job well. She is, in every sense, a standout.
Marc “Shaggy” Howard
Lead Snowmaker / Pumphouse Operator
Purgatory Ski Resort
Born in Manassas, Virginia, and raised all over the country in a Marine family, Marc “Shaggy” Howard came to the mountains from Charlotte in search of snowboarding, a different pace, and a life that didn’t involve interstate traffic. He started behind the bar, found his way into snowmaking through a friend, and discovered he loved the rowdiness of it all, along with the challenge, the problem-solving, and the sheer satisfaction of getting a system back online when things go sideways.
Twenty-three years later, Shaggy is a fixture at Purgatory: a lead snowmaker, pumphouse operator, former groomer, and all-around mountain mechanic with a gift for solving hard problems in real time. His nominators describe him as deeply reliable, mechanically gifted, and the kind of leader who steps up when the job gets difficult. When a critical snowmaking line rupture threatened operations, it was Shaggy’s improvised alignment tool that helped get the system reassembled and snowmaking restored.
A self-described gearhead with a love of motorcycles, fast cars, tools, fabrication, pow days, surfing, sailing, rafting, and biking, Shaggy thrives in chaos and takes real pride in doing what needs to be done. He is, by every account, the kind of mountain man every operation hopes to have.
Damon Jensen
Snowmaking Supervisor
Eldora Mountain Resort
Colorado’s Western Slope raised Damon right: Delta-born, All-State in both football and baseball, and, for one memorable season, the state’s leading high school rusher. He went on to play baseball in Nebraska and Arizona, earned an associate degree in fire science, and built a career in wildland fire before a friend pointed him toward snowmaking, a field with the same grit, teamwork, and command of water systems that first drew him to fire. Eldora got him in the winter of 2022–23, and snowmaking got him for good.
Now in his fourth season, Damon has quickly become a leader whose calm, positive presence carries real weight. After three years on nights, he moved into a day shift supervisor role this season and helped keep Eldora efficient, focused, and ready during a year of record-low snowpack and high temperatures. His nominator credits him with motivating and training a crew that stayed capable, safe, and ready to capitalize on every weather window.
Damon leads from the front, communicates clearly, and holds himself to the same high standard he asks of others. He loves the people, the mountains, the hard work, and the chance to give riders something great to ride, and that pride shows in every handoff, every shift, and every acre of snow.
Ryan Kelley
Snowmaking Lead
Steamboat Ski Resort
Ryan is Steamboat through and through. A hometown skier who grew up on the mountain, he started at the resort as a lift operator before a stint helping snowmaking hooked him for good. Twelve years later, with an associate degree in Outdoor Education, a summer spent helping run a rafting company, and a long list of camping, gardening, and self-described “nerdy stuff” to keep him busy off the clock, Ryan has become one of the most respected people on the hill. He loves the simple, specific magic of the job: a good plume, snow piling up on his sleeve, headlamp-and-radio work in the dark, and the teamwork it takes to squeeze the most out of every weather window.
This season, when the crew needed leadership and natural snow was nowhere to be found, Ryan stepped into a foreman role without hesitation and kept the operation safe, organized, and moving forward. His managers describe him as one of the kindest and hardest-working guys on the mountain, a steady, positive presence who thrives in the details, trains rookies with patience, and makes the whole crew better. Ryan says his biggest contribution is helping his team perform at its best and connecting that team to the broader mountain operation. By all accounts, that is exactly what he does.
Aidan DeFelice
Terrain Park Supervisor
Eldora Mountain Resort
Aidan grew up around the ski industry, first in New Hampshire and then in upstate New York, where his father taught snowboarding at Gore Mountain. Spending weekends at the resort gave him an early appreciation for the passionate, hardworking people behind the scenes, and that respect has clearly stayed with him. Now four years into his time at Eldora, where he has risen from Terrain Park Attendant to Lead to Supervisor, Aidan brings that same energy to the work every day. He is especially proud of hosting the Capita Pro snowboard team at Woodward Eldora for a four-day end-of-season shoot, a project that showcased his team’s work to a global audience and captured exactly what a great terrain park can do.
Aidan’s managers praise his professionalism, organization, empathy, and team-first leadership. This season, he helped streamline staffing, payroll, parking, meetings, project tracking, maintenance systems, safety records, onboarding, and tool management, all while supporting smoother operations and stronger morale across the department. Aidan says good leadership starts with work ethic, communication, and organization, and his results bear that out. He understands that terrain parks are both a creative product and a business driver, and his steady, thoughtful leadership helps keep Eldora’s parks safe, sharp, and worth showing off.
Steven Richards
Head Park Builder
Purgatory Ski Resort
Steven has worn more than a few hats at Purgatory over the last 15 years: lift operator, bellman, front desk agent, night auditor, valet supervisor, snowmaker, groomer, terrain park groomer and builder, and now head park builder. A Denver native who moved to Durango in 2009, Steven found his way from snowmaking into snowcat operations and quickly into terrain park work, where his steady growth, thoughtful approach, and adaptability have made him a leader in the program.
This past season, his first as lead builder, came during one of Purgatory’s toughest winters, with mild temperatures and limited snow. Even so, Steven built and maintained the resort’s primary jump line and park features in a way that kept guests engaged and the feedback overwhelmingly positive. His supervisors praise his dependability, teamwork, and eye for the broader operation; Steven takes care to coordinate with the main grooming fleet, leave clean lines behind him, and contribute wherever needed, from terrain parks to pipeline work and access-road construction. For his part, Steven says he loves building features that bring joy to riders and keep that community thriving. In a lean year, that kind of work matters all the more, and Steven delivered.
Zach Schell
Terrain Park Groomer / Heavy Equipment Operator
Steamboat Ski Resort
Hailing from Idaho Springs, Zach grew up on the snowy slopes of Loveland and never really left the mountains. After college, where he competed in Freeride World Qualifiers and earned a degree in ecosystem science and sustainability, Zach headed to Steamboat, joined the park crew in 2021, and has been building terrain with the parks team from a snowcat ever since. He brings the rare combination of a big-mountain skier’s eye, a park builder’s creativity, and a heavy equipment operator’s precision.
Zach’s fingerprints are all over some of Steamboat’s biggest recent projects, including the Taylor Gold Home Break builds, two Olympic qualifying big airs, the Visa Big Air World Cup jump, The North Face Mountain Mix Rail Jam, and USASA Slopestyle. In a season marked by record-low snowpack, his creativity, grit, and all-in attitude helped turn daunting challenges into polished, pro-level products.
His bosses say that when Zach is on a project, you know it will be dialed in. Steady, skilled, and relentlessly positive, he brings That’s awesome! energy to every shift, and he makes the mountain better, more fun, and more skiable for everyone.
The CSCUSA Snow Committee’s award, Snow Professional of the Year, honors an individual whose impact reaches beyond any single shift or season, helping elevate both snow operations and the guest experience across the industry. We are proud to recognize Lexi Kagan, this year’s standout contributor, whose work reflects the ingenuity, leadership, and dedication that keep mountain operations moving forward.
Lexi Kagan
Operations Administrator
Eldora Mountain Resort
Lexi Kagan is the operations administrator at Eldora Mountain Resort, where she works across departments to improve organization and alignment, keeping teams connected and operations running smoothly. Her work focuses on solving complex problems, building efficient systems, and supporting the people behind the snow.
