Wendy is a Deer Valley Mountain Host, two-time cancer survivor, speaker and athlete for the Livestrong Foundation. She summited Kilimanjaro with the Livestrong Survivor Summit, this past February.

JF: What did you do before joining Deer Valley Resort?

Wendy: I was in television news; for twenty years. I was a newscaster in Orlando, Florida, and I decided this was no longer what I wanted to do, it wasn’t fulfilling my passion anymore. So I moved to Park City to work at my friend’s bicycle shop. I first did some coaching for indoor cycling, some triathlon training and then three years ago I was lucky enough to get the job of Mountain Host at Deer Valley Resort.

JF: What attracted you to that job and what were you expecting from it?

Wendy: Let me first say that Mountain Host is a very hard job to get. When I interviewed for it, I was told that it was the best job in Park City but also the most difficult to land because no one ever leaves it! I took it because it was putting two of my passions together; meeting and communicating with people as well as skiing.

JF: Were your expectations met?

Wendy: I expected to be able to meet a lot of really fun, really cool people, as guests and colleagues, and my expectations have been far surpassed! I work with some of the most creative, funny, smart people that I’ve ever met, and I’ve met really great guests on the mountain as well.

JF: What have you learned from that position?

Wendy: I’m a shotgun thinker; I think kind of all over the map at the same time, but in this job, you have to be logical and sequential in giving tours, in helping in emergencies or even in telling people how to get to the Trail’s End Lodge when you’re standing in front of a map. This experience has taught me to be much more efficient and streamlined in my thinking. Yes, it has added a lot to my life skills!

JF: Was the learning curve challenging?

Wendy: Even though I had skied Deer Valley for years, I didn’t know all the names of the runs and lifts. This, alone, is very intimidating; so the first thing I did was try to memorize where everything was. It was a crash course in directions and everybody who knows me, is aware that I have a very limited sense of directions, so this actually is another great take-away that I received from Deer Valley!

JF: Were there any staff members that helped you along the way to build your skills and knowledge as a Mountain Host?

Wendy: All my supervisors were incredibly helpful and accessible all the time, always answering my phone calls and texts whenever I needed help. The Ski Patrol folks were also incredibly wonderful, friendly and always happy to help. I have actually never ran into a single person that wasn’t happy and ready to help in Deer Valley!

JF: What would you say to someone looking for a position at Deer Valley; what would it take to be a happy employee?

Wendy: I think you have to passionate about the job; you must really love people and love skiing, you have to be energetic, outgoing, just love the outdoors and above all, be authentic. You cannot fake it and work here!

JF: In your own words, how would you describe the “Deer Valley Difference?”

Wendy: To me the Deer Valley Difference is being authentic; the people who work here make a huge difference for the guests because they love it and want them to love it too. Because I think the carrot cake at Deer Valley is the best one on the planet I want everybody to try it. So the Deer Valley Difference is being authentic and it’s so easy to communicate that passion when you love the resort as much as we all do.