aussieskier.com is Richard Ross and Tim Gale

Richard loves to ski. He skied regularly as a child at Mt Buller and competed with the Mt Buller Race Club as a teen. After studying Science at the University of Melbourne he was hired as a Ski Instructor at the Buller Ski School where he taught for 10 years. During this time he achieved the highest certification possible, the APSI Level IV, as well as becoming and APSI Trainer, Examiner and member of the Technical Committee – where he was a contributor the Alpine Teaching Manual. As well as regular lessons Richard was a stalwart on the Team Extreme and Zero Gravity seasonal programs, with a passion for turning kids into lifelong skiers. In the off-seasons he travelled to Colorado and Utah to teach at the Vail, Canyons and Deer Valley Ski Schools

Ski travel has been a massive part of Richard’s skiing career with trips to over 60 resorts in NZ, Canada, USA, France, Italy, Switzerland, Japan and Turkey, As a result of this travel he wrote an eBook in December 2011 called The Powder Bible – which emphasises the importance of research and flexilibity to ensure good snow conditions on your holiday.

Since leaving the Mt Buller Ski School Richard has turned his eye to the backcountry, enjoying many ski touring and ski mountaineering exploits in Europe, Japan and our own Australian Alps.

He also spent 4 years in his family’s manufacturing business heading Sales and Business Development. His entire professional career has been at the front line of customer service and is determined to swim against the tide of Australia’s ailing retail sector by listening to customers and delivering on their needs – combining this with his technical skiing knowledge means that he is eminently qualified to assess a skier’s needs and recommend the perfect gear.

His dirty little secret is that he’s a massive geek. But that’s a good thing for an owner of an e-commerce focused ski store – he has built the site himself from the ground up, and is constantly researching on how to be at the forefront of online retail, marketing and social media. He particularly loves the disruptive nature of the Internet but promises to use his skills for good, not evil.

When he’s not skiing, which is rare, he enjoys golf, good coffee or watching the Bombers or the Aussies at the MCG with his wife Nicole.

Tim caught the skiing bug early, when he learnt to ski on a family trip to Switzerland at age 4. Up until the age of 14 he was a week a year skier with his family. That all changed after his first Victorian Interschool’s in 2000, in 2001 he joined the full-time race program with the Mt Buller Race Club and later that year was selected train in Europe with the Bluearth Squad.

When Tim finished school he switched from Racing to Freestyle/Freeskiing traveling to Canada to train during the northern hemisphere winters (2003/04 to 2005/06). In 2004 he joined the Mt Buller Ski School as an instructor, funnily enough hired by Richard. During this time he progressed through the ranks joining the Team X and Full Attack programs whilst becoming an Instructor Trainer and obtaining several qualifications:

· APSI Level IV
· SSA Freestyle Coaching Level 1
· CSCF Race Coaching Level 1
· CSIA Park & Pipe Certification

Tim has also travelled to North America and instructed at Whistler Blackcomb and Deer Valley.

In 2009 he joined Team Buller Riders (TBR) as the Head Coach of the Grom Program (9-12yrs). Whilst with TBR he focussed on developing Grom athletes base technical skills in all mountain skiing, mogul skiing and freeride skiing. He also travelled to Park City, Utah to coach the TBR: Park City camps. During this time he also spent time coaching the OWIA/VIS National Development Aerial Ski Team at their northern winter training base, Snowbasin, Utah.

Since 2011 Tim has been working full-time in a Sales and Business Development role in the retail industry. During the winter he has continued to coach part-time with TBR, taking on a mentoring role with the programs younger coaches.

Tim’s extensive knowledge and experience in skiing means he is able to help you select the perfect gear so you get the most out of your skiing.