Who's Who

Your experience both leading up to and during your time in Canada will be hugely influenced by the people involved in your course. We are proud to have developed a team of individuals who share our philosophy for creating a relaxed, close-knit atmosphere and a professional, yet personal, service.

The NONSTOP Ski Coaches

Operations Director

Dave Richards

Canadian Operations Director

What Dave doesn't know about NONSTOP isn't worth knowing!

A lynch pin in the NONSTOP operation, Dave has been instrumental in shaping the character and structure of our programmes from the very beginning. He started skiing almost three decades ago and has made a career out of the ski industry, skiing and working in various resorts throughout Europe and North America. He finally settled in Fernie because of the great community, the breathtaking scenery, and in his opinion some of the best skiing in the world!

As an ex-ski instructor and ex-heli ski guide Dave's knowledge of our resorts, particularly Fernie, is second to none. He's also taught countless wilderness first-aid courses, avalanche safety courses and guided numerous backcountry ski trips. During the summer Dave is runs our mountain bike courses and plans for the next winter season. All in all he's a pretty busy guy but he always has a ready smile (he's not called smiley Dave for nothing) and happily shares his vast knowledge of the mountains.

Technical Directors

Jens Mende

Technical Director

Jens is the Technical Director for all NONSTOP Ski's programmes in Fernie and has been responsible for shaping the culture and content of our courses since 2002. Jens has been instructing for 25 years, is a CSIA level 4 instructor, a level 2 race coach and has been a CSIA examiner for 19 years! He has been director of various ski schools in Western Canada and coached ski racing in New Zealand and Fernie. Fernie is Jens' home town where he spends his summers running a custom home building business. Jen's specialises in matching equipment requirements to skiers' needs and if you're buying new skis or boots you will be sure to benefit from his experience.

Mark Impey

Technical Director

Mark is one of the most experienced ski instructors in Canada and we are proud to be working with him to offer the Red Mountain course. Mark is a Level 4 examiner (as high as they come!) and is a member of the CSIA national demonstration team representing Canadian ski instructors at an international level. He is also the former CSIA Western Programme Director overseeing all CSIA instructor training and examinations. Having instructed at numerous resorts in Canada and spent the last 10 years instructing in Australia Mark and his wife Dawn have made Rossland and Red Mountain their home.

UK Office

Rupert Taylor

Founding Director

Rupert is responsible for coordinating with our course directors in Canada and New Zealand and overseeing the running of the company. His focus is on ensuring that we offer the best ski coaching and travel experience available and for those that are interested, the strongest entry into the world of snowsports instructing. He spends the majority of the winter season in Canada and looks forward to meeting you and hopefully sharing a few powder days.

Rupert has been snowboarding since he was 16 and during his gap year spent a season in Quebec attending a similar instructors programme, before going onto study at University where he rode fortnightly at Tamworth Snowdome with the Snowsports Club. After graduating Rupert returned to Canada, this time to Fernie to work as an instructor before deciding to establish NONSTOP. Since 2002, with the help of colleagues, family and our participants, NONSTOP has grown into one of the world's best established ski coaching companies and provids exceptional tuition, fantastic accommodation, and a great enviroment to meet likeminded people. We hope you can join us.

Georgie Bushe

Course advisor & Operations

Georgie has skied all her life but after falling in love with surfing and wakeboarding she decided to try her hand at snowboarding during her season in Fernie in 2003 and hasn’t looked back since! As a previous NONSTOPper what better experience could you have? In 2007 she joined NONSTOP HQ in London in order to share her enthusiasm and passion for the ‘greatest 11 weeks of her life’ making her the best person to talk to about our courses.

She is also lucky enough to have spent a lot of time in all the Canadian resorts we run our programs in as well as many more and is always happy to talk to you for hours about what you are looking for and which resort would suit you best.

Feel free to give her a call or email to talk about anything skiing, snowboarding and snow related!

Adam Hillier

Course Advisor

Adam had his first experience of skiing at the age of fifteen on a school trip and he was instantly hooked. At the age of 21 after spending time travelling the world, Adam completed our 11-week ski instructor course in Fernie. After passing the level 2 CSIA exams with flying colours, Adam went on to teach the following three winter seasons at Sun Peaks resort in the British Columbian interior, where he became a valued and highly respected instructor.

Adam’s passion for instructing and all things snow sports related motivated him to take the Level 3 CSIA Instructor course as well as add both Snowboard Instructor (CASI) and Ski Race Coaching (CSCF) certifications to his list of credentials, giving him a wealth of experience to draw from. Adam is always happiest when talking about life in the mountains and after years of instructing is an excellent resource of information and tips on making sure your adventure is a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience.

Give Adam a call or drop him an e-mail for any advice or assistance or just to chat about the joys of life in the mountains and the wonderful world of ski instructing.

Peter Rees

Marketing Director

Pete lives, breaths and thinks about snow 24 hours a day. After taking a “snowboard in a day” course at Milton Keynes at the age of 25, he put every penny he could into the sport and dedicated all holiday allowance to time in the mountains. In little over a year he scored an amazing opportunity and became the Marketing Manager of Whitelines snowboard magazine, where he helped to raise the magazine to the undisputed leader in the UK market. He also wrote several articles for Whitelines, including “Zero to Hero” where he reported on his three weeks at NONSTOP's snowboard instructor course in Fernie.

The three weeks with NONSTOP fed Pete’s desire to spend more time in the mountains, and at the age of 32 he made the difficult decision to break away from his career and spend a year and a half in Chamonix, France. There his love affair with the mountains reached new heights, as he got more fresh powder turns in than he ever thought possible in the winter, and spent the summer hiking and biking the Mont Blanc Massif.

Pete is putting his marketing skills to use once again at NONSTOP, but the love of mountains is still pumping through his veins. If you want to talk to anyone about career breaks or the decision to spend time in the mountains, Pete will be happy to give you some firsthand information. Drop him an email here.