Skier carves a career out of the slopes

He's living the dream, his dream, a career he seemed destined to have. Thirty-eight-year-old Todd Kelly was born and still lives in Truckee - the center of seemingly endless opportunities for summer and winter outdoor activities. In the wintertime Kelly is the program director for the Auburn Ski Club, and in the summer he owns a ski and watercraft company, teaches water-skiing lessons, and rents boats and jet skis in Tahoe City for recreational use on Lake Tahoe.As program director for the Auburn Ski Club, Kelly oversees the competitive skiing and snowboarding teams' instruction and training at Boreal Resort near the Donner Summit. "What we try to do is put programs out there that attract people to winter sports, from skiing and snowboarding beginners all the way through to competing internationally," Kelly said. His job also includes heading up the ski club's varsity program for Placer High School and Colfax High School. Those schools are accommodated in a training program at Boreal Resort. "We basically have a turnkey program where the teams come in and we supply the coaching, the gates and equipment needed," Kelly said. Kelly started skiing when he was 3 years old. His dad skied and was a contractor, jack-of-all-trades. The elder Kelly was also a ski coach and in the '70s coached the Canadian and United States women's ski teams and in the early '80s coached Phil and Steve Mahre, twin brothers some would say are the best American skiers to ever race internationally. Competing in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Mahre brothers won medals in the slalom, Phil winning the gold medal and Steve the silver medal. "At 12 I was this little kid he'd bring on trips and I would be skiing and training with these guys in Colorado or Europe. It was unbelievable," Kelly said. Kelly went on to have a great skiing career on the slopes. He raced on the U.S. National Downhill team from 1986-1994. He also raced professionally in World Cup for three years, the top level of competitive skiing in the world and proving ground for the Olympics. He missed going to the Olympics in 1992, however, because of one bad race in Europe. "I raced all over the world, I've been to Europe probably 30 times, South America several times, New Zealand and Norway. In Europe World Cup skiing is like professional football here, it's really big," Kelly said. "Running the legendary ski courses of Europe was a fantastic experience." A downhill course consists of long-spaced gates and is about 2 ½ miles long with average speeds by skiers reaching over 60 miles per hour. Kelly raced with some of the best U.S. skiers of his generation including Tommy Moe, AJ Kitt, Kyle Rasmussen and Bill Johnson. Kelly tried other jobs along the way, including becoming a blacksmith for a while, making ornamental iron projects like gates, railings and fireplace doors. He was also a wedding planner for a year at Squaw Valley. Now he is very happy and content at his current occupation as a ski coach with the Auburn Ski Club teaching people of all ages the fine points of competitive skiing.Kelly lives in Truckee with Alex, his wife of eight years, and their three young children. He still finds time to ski with his family and his favorite hobby, pond hockey. "The best part is watching my kids ski, it's really fun," he said.