Christoffer Schelde Winther Nielsen

I grew up in Switzerland, near Zürich, and learned to ski at 2, taught by my parents and ski school. Skiing was always my favourite sport, and the only person I ever competed with was myself, seeing how much I could improve across the whole mountain. My best memory goes back to childhood, trying to keep up with my dad: I looked behind me, saw the snow spraying from my skis, mistook it for smoke, and yelled, “Dad, look, my skis are smoking!” These days, my free time is spent freeriding, ski mountaineering, skiing moguls and carving.

I thought becoming an instructor was impossible-until one of my friends did it. Eleven years later, my favourite things about the job are, obviously, the deep powder days and fresh groomers in the morning, but also watching guests improve and enjoy it.

In the summer, if you don’t find me in Copenhagen, I’ll be on a boat in the Atlantic, driving around the national parks in the States, or getting a sunburn on a beach not too far away. I love music and play the drums, plus the gym, beach volleyball and bouldering-in general, I love all sports.