Marielle Russack – Women’s History Month Spotlight

Department: Ski Patrol and Reveg

Years at Palisades Tahoe: 18

Jobs Held: Ski Patrol Supervisor and Ski Patrol Training Supervisor (Winter) | Trail Crew and Reveg Foreman (Summer)

How did you first come to Palisades Tahoe?

I grew up in Pennsylvania and had just graduated from Penn State when I decided to do a cross-country road trip. My dad actually encouraged me to be a ski bum up in Tahoe, and I was able to stay with my dad’s friend while I searched for a job. This was in 2007. We ended up discovering Alpine Meadows Road, taking a drive up to check out the job fair that was going on and I walked away with a new job as a lift operator. I worked a season ski patrolling at Northstar to gain some experience in 2009, then had my first patrolling season at Alpine in the winter of 2010-2011. In 2015, I started helping with fall projects to prepare the mountain for winter, like brush cutting and installation of permanent terrain signs. By 2018, I was offered a full-time position in the summer and was working in both the Ski Patrol and Trail Crew departments.

What is your favorite part of your job?

I love Alpine so much! It’s such an incredibly special place. When you work at one of your favorite places in the world, it makes the work feel easier. My favorite parts of the job change all the time, and that is one of the things I enjoy the most. There are always new challenges and opportunities to succeed.

Being outside every day, in all elements, is really rewarding. In the winter, it’s so much fun with the snow and energy of Mother Nature, while the summer is so beautiful with all the wildflowers and water runoff. The projects and learning that I’m doing in the summer and the winter have been above and beyond anything I have ever expected to be doing in my adult working life.

I’ve learned to fall trees and skid them over the snow with steel cables and grooming machines. With Alpine being on Forest Service land, we have a great relationship with the US Forest Service, and we want to help them with their goal of removing 80% of our tree waste. I have also learned how to drive and operate heavy machinery and equipment to be able to help facilitate projects in any season for all departments in the ski area.

Most challenging parts of the job?

Lack of sleep in the winter. Our teams work incredibly hard, often putting in 12-13 hour days, and then coming back the next day to do it all again.

What are you most proud of?

I’m really proud of what we accomplished in the summer of 2019 with the Treeline Cirque lift project. It was a huge challenge. We managed to clearcut 250 trees, which was a significant logging operation for us at the time. We also built a large gabion wall at the bottom of the lift terminal, which was a major part of the project. As a team, we created really solid bonds and had each other’s backs when facing many challenges. We’ve done some truly impressive work!

Liberty Utilities and the inspector assigned to us have been impressed with the quality of work that we have been doing. This includes installing underground conduits for power, which they used images of our installation in their training manual as an example of the kind of work they expect to see. That was a pretty proud moment for the team.

What’s a key lesson you’ve learned through these projects?

Don’t take shortcuts! Cutting corners will only create more work for our future team. We have built a reputation for doing things the right way, which I’m really proud of.

What is a typical day in the life?

It varies so much. All of the seasons require me to show up prepared to be here for the day, whether that be 10 or 12 hours. I always bring lots of food, clothing, and anything else I think I might need to get by in various weather conditions. In the summer, I arrive a little before 7 and usually have a general idea of what the workload is going to be for the day. In winter, the show-up times can vary between 5 am and 8 am, and the duties for the day typically change based on the weather and our guests.

Favorite ski runs?

I love anything off of the Scott backside. I also love the Alpine Bowl Chair. You get a great ride seeing all this awesome terrain and then get to go down and ski it.

Outside of work, what activities do you enjoy?

I enjoy mountain biking, hiking, learning to fly fish, and hanging out with dogs and cats. Healthy, quality food is important to me. I used to work at farmer’s markets, and I spend a lot of time doing food prep to have nice dinners and lunches throughout the week.

What advice do you have for women in the ski industry?

Keep your head up! We are all capable of doing the same job. We may just have to approach things differently. I always try to figure out the best way to approach something. I try at first to figure out things on my own, but I don’t shy away from asking for help if it is needed.

I also always look at my own weaknesses and then try to rebuild around them and have them not be a weakness. I believe you can always improve yourself physically and mentally. Whoever you are, do the job the best you can.

I wouldn’t be able to do both my summer and winter jobs without the constant support and education from my managers and co-workers. There is always growth and development happening around me and it’s very exciting to be a part of it with my closest friends and counterparts.