The soul of skiing takes countless forms. You find it in the lifelong blue-square cruiser. The four-year-old tyke making her first turns. The human-powered adventurer who traded season passes for an adventure dog and a pair of skins. The gate-crashing prodigy headed for Olympic gold. The grizzled sage who’s skied 100 days each winter for the past 40 years. The powder chaser. The freestyle punk. The mogul ripper. The rad dad. The badass mom. The weekend warrior. The mountain-town local. The gear nerd. The sporty endurance athlete. The lifty. The resort exec. The shop employee.
The soul of skiing beats inside all of them. Sliding on snow is addictive. You might see it as a commodity. Or, it’s a way of life. Skiing offers freedom, therapy, adrenaline, reassurance, consistency, adventure, purpose, identity, belonging, healing. The skier’s journey is predictable yet unique. Idyllic yet consuming. Trivial yet vital. And for some, inevitable. Whether you build your life around it or just a weekend each year, you have a key. You’ve unlocked the world of winter in the mountains. You know the secret and you carry the torch.
As skiers, we know that having the right equipment can make all the difference in your experience on the mountain. We also know that each skier has their own preferences and style, and we love matching each individual to the skis and gear perfect for them. At Powder7, your experience level and budget don’t matter, our vast selection of gear offers something for every skier. We are skiing, and nothing but skiing, everyday of the year.
Owners / Founders
Since: 2012
Since: 2013
Since: 2015
Since: 2016
Since: 2017
Since: 2018
Since: 2019
Since: 2020
Since: 2021
Together, Amy and Jordan own Powder7. When they aren't at work, they enjoy spending time outside with their two young sons, Alistair and Jurgen.
Amy enjoys trail running in the foothills and seeks hike-to terrain on the ski mountain. A born and bred east coaster, Amy has high standards for pizza and subs (not hoagies). A distance runner, mountain biker, nothing makes Amy happier than getting outside with the ones she loves.
Jordan enjoyed a successful side career as a professional triathlete, best known for winning the New York City Triathlon in both 2012 and 2013. A competitive athlete, self-taught coder, and a vintage car lover, Jordan is perhaps the only former pro triathlete to huck the Knife Ridge stairs at Wolf Creek.
Click here to read Amy's posts on the Powder7 Blog
Click here to read Jordan's posts on the Powder7 Blog
Hometown: Cherry Hill, NJ
First Ski Memory: Pizza turns at Big Boulder in PA, 1992!
Favorite Mountain: Tie between Steamboat and Aspen Snowmass
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Anything with two wheels
Spirit Animal: Water Llama
First Concert: Dave Matthews Band 1998
Favorite Place to Apres: Outer Range in Frisco!
Click here to read Zack's posts on the Powder7 Blog
Hometown: Burlington, VT
First Ski Memory: Riding homemade ski blades (real skis whimsically sawed in half) down the densely forested ravine in my parent's backyard. The snow was deep, the skis were non-functional, and it went about as well as expected.
Favorite Mountain: Jackson Hole
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Running medium hard for long distances, pointlessly
Spirit Animal: Shug Monkey, the furry demon of Cambridgeshire
First Concert: As an adult: Santana in Montreal. As a youth: Rosenshontz in a school gymnasium.
How many Facebook friends do you have? 14, which is the correct number for anyone to have. If you have more than 14, it's time to start making some hard decisions about who's getting cut.
Click here to read Justin's posts on the Powder7 Blog
Hometown: New Canaan, CT
Favorite Ski Memory: Skiing the T-Bar at Shawnee Peak unsupervised all day.
Favorite Mountain: Beaver Creek
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Mountain biking
First Concert: Phish
Click here to read Blake's posts on the Powder7 Blog
Hometown: Indianapolis (Naptown)
Favorite Ski Memory: Getting my son Graeme on skis for the first time at the age of 3. He is now entering his 6th season and will surely be outskiing me within a few more years!
Favorite Mountain: Steamboat
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Cycling, both road and mountain bike
Spirit Animal: The Bear
First Concert: Jack Johnson
Favorite Vacation Spot The Big Island, Hawaii. I met my wife there at the Ironman World Championships. We have lots of great memories there, not to mention there are so many beautiful things to see there.
Hometown: Peoria, IL
First Ski Memory: About 3 years ago at Winter Park. First time on skis and I realized that the green run is not going to be the best way to learn. Throw me in the deep(er) end! I ended up learning how to turn and kinda carve on Cranmer.
Favorite Mountain: Where the snow is the most and the crowds are the least. I tend to gravitate to Mary Jane or Arapahoe Basin as my go to locations.
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Cycling
Spirit Animal: T-Rex
First Concert: Sounds like a security question... are you trying to open a credit card in my name?
What would the title of your autobiography be? Terol Does Stuff
Hometown: Marlborough, MA
First Ski Memory: Straight-lining down the green run at Wachusett Mountain because I didn't know how to turn
Favorite Mountain: Arapahoe Basin
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Drinking boozy water and playing Settlers of Catan with friends "
Spirit Animal: Lynx
First Concert: Coheed and Cambria
Something you can't live without: A hot cup of craft brew coffee in the morning
Hometown: Fort Collins, CO
First Ski Memory: Learning to ski as a wee four-year-old at Lost Trail, Montana. No poles in the early days, so I'd come to a halt on every flat spot and wait anxiously for my dad to catch up and swoop me up between his legs to ferry me the rest of the way to the lift. It was a mix of scary and exhilarating.
Favorite Mountain: Can't pick just one. Silverton, CO in the West and Jay Peak out East.
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Exploring new places
Spirit Animal: Bald Eagle
First Concert: A mess of punk/alt shows in high school. Let's call Chiodos the first and admit to rocking slim jeans and a Hot Topic tee to it.
What if I were left in a vegetative state, you ask? Geez, you're morbid. Anyway...I would want my buddies to lash me to a pair of skis, kind of like a grotesque sendy scarecrow, and slide me off the highest snow-covered cliff they could find.
Hometown: Colrain, MA
First Ski Memory: Skiing backwards into a fence during my first ski lesson
Favorite Mountain: Smuggler's Notch VT
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Hiking/Biking with the Wife and Dog
Spirit Animal: Ronald Ulysses Swanson
First Concert: Grateful Dead members + Hot Tuna
What is your favorite piece of gear? Voile Strap, aka the most useful thing ever
Hometown: Mercer Island, WA
First Ski Memory: Skiing for the first time as a 20 year old living in Austria. My good friend lost one of his rental skis in powder on our last run, never to be seen again. He then had to pay the rental shop the full retail price for the setup. Lesson learned, always buy rental insurance.
Favorite Mountain: Mt. Hood Meadows
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Bowling
Spirit Animal: Sea Otter
First Concert: Tech N9ne
Guilty pleasure? Watching MTV's "Are You The One"
Hometown: Davenport, IA
First Ski Memory: My first day skiing I ended up straight lining through the moguls at SnowStar Hill in Illinois. Let's just say it didnt end well for me but I'm still shredding the gnar.
Favorite Mountain: Snowbird
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Baking with a side of mountain biking
Spirit Animal: Elephant
First Concert: Alan Jackson
What are your thoughts on Ice cream? I have some pretty strong thoughts after working in one (Whitey's Ice Cream) for close to 5 years. I would also choose to eat ice cream everyday if I had to choose one food item to eat for life.
Hometown: Centennial, CO
First Ski Memory: My ski instructors getting mad at me when I was 5 for going straight down the mountain instead of doing turns
Favorite Mountain: Vail or Jackson Hole
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Ping pong or going to a brewery with some buds
Spirit Animal: Monkey
First Concert: Mumford and Sons at Red Rocks
Favorite lawn game: Cornhole
Hometown: Rocky Mount, NC (aka 4th most dangerous small city in America)
First Ski Memory: My first snowboard lesson the guy taught us how to ride down the mountain backwards (aka toeside facing up). He made it sound way cooler than it is so I did that all the time, thinking I was hot stuff.
Favorite Mountain: Breckenridge
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Camping with Harker (and friends)
Spirit Animal: Penguin
First Concert: Aaron Carter and I loved it. His childhood photos looked like my childhood photos so I thought we were friends
Fun fact: My mom’s sister in law (my aunt) is related to Colonel Sanders. I’m not, but I would get super nervous in college classes when the professors would ask everyone to say a fun fact about yourself. I told all my classes all 4 years that I am personally related to Colonel Sanders.
Hometown: Hot Springs, Arkansas
First Ski Memory: Church ski trips out to Colorado as a kid
Favorite Mountain: Aspen Highlands or Winter Park
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Backpacking
Spirit Animal: Guy Fieri
First Concert: Van Halen
If you could live anywhere other than Colorado where would it be? New York City. I like the idea of being surrounded by so much energy and activity all the time. Plus it would be fun to see if I could make it there.
Hometown: Long Beach, California
First Ski Memory: Trying to not crush the child exiting the magic carpet in front of me (last year).
Favorite Mountain: A-Basin.
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Browsing grocery stores like they're museums.
Spirit Animal: Bear, according to the two online quizzes I just took.
First Concert: Britney Spears (red jumpsuit-frosty eyeshadow phase)
What superpower do you wish you had? Ability to learn and understand every language.
Hometown: Anderson, South Carolina
First Ski Memory: When my good friend and now co-worker Matt took me down my first black diamond after only skiing for a couple days. Let's just say Matt was lucky that it was a nice day out and he didn't have to wait that long in a blizzard.
Favorite Mountain: Loveland
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Whitewater Kayaking
Spirit Animal: Rainbow Wolf
First Concert:Creed in Clemson, SC when I was in middle school.
If you could only listen to one musical artist/band for the rest of your life who would it be? The Band
Hometown: Salem, Oregon
First Ski Memory: Like so many others, learning to ski between my dads legs was my first memory. A few laps on the bunny chair followed by hot chocolate in the lodge with mom.
Favorite Mountain: Nostalgia is directing me to those awesome days as a kid at Hoodoo OR, but it is impossible to beat some of the all-time days at Winter Park.
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Watching basketball. GO BLAZERS!!
Spirit Animal: Dolphin
First Concert: Either Bowling for Soup or Reliant K.... I don't remember which one, but they are equally as bad
Is cereal a soup? What constitutes a soup? Is it the viscosity? Is it the heat? Is it both? Is it neither? I say yes! A cereal is a soup, but I am just glad to bring the hard hitting questions to the table.
Hometown: Boonville, NY
First Ski Memory: Skiing after school on Thursday nights in the 3rd grade- My older brother started skipping out on lessons so I did the same. I never learned how to turn but had a lot of fun bombing the 500' vert at Snow Ridge in Turin, NY.
Favorite Mountain: Alta, Utah
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Mountain Biking
Spirit Animal: An online quiz told me it's a wild horse, I'm into it.
First Concert: Britney Spears
Which Hogwarts house are you? Hufflepuff- just out here trying to be patient, y'all.
Hometown: Seattle, WA
First Ski Memory: Ripping the magic carpet at Sun Peaks, British Columbia, and pushing my hands behind me to try to go faster. Pre-pole me was a menace on the mountain.
Favorite Mountain: Anywhere in Interior B.C.
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Watching sports, lifting, hiking, a veritable smorgasbord of sports-related interests and activities. I also have a strong passion for the sun and tanning.
Spirit Animal: Sloth.
First Concert: First legit concert: DragonForce. For real. It featured Killswitch Engage playing as well. It was quite the tour in 2008.
How close have you been to achieving eternal fame and glory? I had a character with Tier 6 armor in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, and raided The Sunwell. So you could say I'm pretty dang cool.
Hometown: Maury, NC
First Ski Memory: Night "skiing" at Beech Mountain in North Carolina as an 8-year-old. I spent most of the night being dragged (literally) by the T-bar on the bunny slope, hating every minute of it, with way more time spent with my butt on the ground than my skis. My parents finally let me on the chairlift for a "real" run, and then I loved it (mostly because I would stop doing the pizza and my parents would have to try to catch me before I crashed, which was an exhilarating game of chase).
Favorite Mountain: Winter Park, CO (Mary Jane, especially) for the combination of the vibe and the skiing. But there's an argument for every mountain I've ever skied. Favorites are hard.
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Ultimate Frisbee
Spirit Animal: Rafiki
First Concert: Some small, early 2000s punk/emo band (think: Anberlin, but not actually) at the Luna Bean in Wilson, NC.
Office Superlative: Most likely to be playing music no one else wants to listen to.
Hometown: Williston, SC
First Ski Memory: Skiing at Wolf Ridge in NC on a $10 student night. I was completely unprepared but was hooked after the first run.
Favorite Mountain: Crested Butte
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Climbing
Spirit Animal: Squirrel
First Concert: Lynard Skynard and Zac Brown Band
What is your favorite type of candy? Anything sour apple flavored.
Hometown: Richfield, Ohio
First Ski Memory: My ski memories from when I was little blur together. I have a picture of me just under 2 years old being dragged around on skis with a hula hoop. I also have several memories of clinging to the tow rope for dear life, knocked on my side, snow filling my coat, refusing to let go.
Favorite Mountain: Vail
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Hiking, games with friends, sipping a cold beverage on a patio.
Spirit Animal: Sasquatch
First Concert: Britney Spears during the *NSYNC era
Which horse race of the Triple Crown is your favorite? While I love the hats and bourbon of the Kentucky Derby, I think the Preakness steals my heart with their tradition of leaping across porta potties and dodging beer cans.
Hometown: Farmville, Wisconsin
First Ski Memory: Ah, yes. Must've been around 10-years-old. I recall "pizza"-ing down the bunny slope at Afton Alps with a death grip on my mom's arm.
Favorite Mountain: As a newbie skier with only one season under my belt, I'll say Copper Mountain.
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Running trails, slowly, for a very long time.
Spirit Animal: I have many, but the Great Horned Owl and Red Fox are my two faves.
First Concert: Bon Jovi circa 2007
What is the first thing people notice about you when they meet you: Probably all my sick ink [insert skull emoji here]
Hometown: Lemont, IL
First Ski Memory: Ski-in/ski-out condo at Indianhead Mountain in the UP
Favorite Mountain: A-Basin
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: mountain biking
Spirit Animal: Chimpanzee
First Concert: Aerosmith/Kid Rock/Run DMC and they all got on stage for a finale of Walk This Way
Favorite piece of gear? Bamboo poles!
Hometown: Darnestown, MD
First Ski Memory: I vaguely remember little Chase throwing a pizza all the way down Squaw Valley Lake Tahoe, and then chasing the pizza down on skis.
Favorite Mountain: Alta, UT
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: You probably thought I was gonna say running huh? Well jokes on you cause my answer is actually...running.
Spirit Animal: I was going to say Dingo but Buzzfeed told me I'm the Geico Camel so I think we're gonna have to go with that.
First Concert: 30 Seconds to Mars at American University. I did the mosh pit.
If you had your own podcast, what would it be about? I have a podcast and it's about America's greatest reality TV show, the Bachelor.
Hometown: Aspen
First Ski Memory: lessons with Frog and Toad.
Favorite Mountain: Highlands or Steamboat
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Being in water
First Concert: Willie Nelson
Who's the man? Yup, thats me
Hometown: Edwardsburg, MI
First Ski Memory: Ripping my gloves to shreds on Midwestern rope tows
Favorite Mountain: Big Sky
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Bass fishing
Spirit animal: Patrick Swayze
First Concert: Def Leppard
Who won the 2001 Daytona 500? Michael Waltrip
Hometown: Sammamish, WA
First Ski Memory: Waking my ski instructor up from his nap on the chairlift before we had to get off (I think he had a long night)
Favorite Mountain: Eldora!!
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Climbing rocks and tending to my poor vegetable garden
Spirit animal: moose
First Concert: Taylor Swift on the Fearless tour
What do you want to be when you grow up? A weatherwoman. That way, I will always be able to find the POW!
Hometown: Avon, Ohio
First Ski Memory: Dad carrying me up the hill in the backyard. Skis didn't come off. I guess that was my first chairlift ride.
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Hanging out by/on water with no other plans.
Spirit animal: wolf
First Concert: Darius Rucker
How many cups of coffee per day? Too many.
Hometown: Colorado Springs
First Ski Memory: Learning to ski in Leadville with my brother (former Powder7 superstar, Matt H.)
Favorite Mountain: Park City
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Playing other sports like volleyball, golf, lacrosse, etc.
Spirit animal: grizzly bear
First Concert: Santana at Red Rocks
If you were forced to never be able to use one kitchen appliance again, what would it be? Dishwasher. Come on...you can wash them by hand.
Hometown: Lake Placid, NY
First Ski Memory: Hanging out in a backpack while my parents skied
Favorite Mountain: Whiteface (aka Iceface)
Favorite Non-Ski Activity: Hiking or anything outside
Spirit animal: Labs- Always down for an adventure or a nap
First Concert: Demi Lovato
Perfect day? Get up for a sunrise hike, go out for a big breakfast, take a nap, paddleboard and hang out at a lake for the rest of the day
Whether you’re a seasoned expert or it’s your first time on snow, we believe in curating a shopper experience that will deliver on the customer’s specific needs. Before we recommend a product, we assess the customer’s experience level, budget, and tastes. We welcome feedback, believing that the customer is key to ensuring our business remains leading-edge. Our team doesn’t work on commission and customers can interact with any employee and receive superior customer service. Everyone on our team is a skier, and has expert knowledge of the gear we sell.
We hire staff who share in our beliefs and have a genuine desire to spread their love of skiing with customers. We empower teamwork and collaboration which creates an environment of mutual respect and loyalty. Our owners are involved in our day to day operations and believe in the importance of open communication between staff at all levels, valuing feedback from all employees.
We have the privilege to be a part of several communities, including the local community of Golden, Colorado, as well as the local and global ski communities. We contribute time and resources to each of these so that others may learn from us, and to support causes that benefit each of these communities. We are dedicated to supporting public schools within the Golden community and environmental efforts throughout the state of Colorado.
We want future generations to enjoy skiing just as much as we do, which is why we take seriously our role in preserving the environment. We work closely with Conservation Colorado and Protect Our Winters on sustainability efforts.
Jordan and Amy met at Boston University, where they both competed on the track team. Jordan, a senior who had earned spending money throughout college selling gear on eBay. Amy, a freshman who built Geocities websites in her spare time. Despite Jordan attempting to charge Amy $5 admission to a party, sparks flew, emotions ran high, and they have been inseparable ever since.
Jordan moved to Colorado after graduating and balanced life as a Denver Police Officer and professional triathlete. A dedicated skier as well, he saw the opportunity for a web focused Colorado ski shop that could serve local skiers while shipping every business day to serve skiers nationally. It was a tough decision, but Jordan left a career with the police behind to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams. The same week that Jordan left the police, Amy graduated from BU and headed west to Colorado, joining Jordan.
By October of 2007, Powder7 had moved from their garage into a proper, albeit a bit rough-around-the-edges, warehouse. Jordan and Amy taught themselves the basics of writing computer code to drive the ecommerce capabilities of the new site so they could wean their business off of eBay. Joining Jordan and Amy was their friend, Ofer, and a newly adopted terrier, Gulliver. For the first several months, they would load the boxed orders into their station wagon each afternoon, racing to the post office before closing time. As months went by, shipping, among many other aspects of the business, went from how-do-we-do-this controlled chaos to a streamlined and efficient system. Amy and Jordan steadily put their college microeconomics classes to use in figuring out how to build a business. More importantly, they applied their life values to building a business that makes customers happy, has a motivated and highly valued staff, respects our environment, and grows organically.
In 2009 they moved Powder7 a few miles down the road to Golden, where they've been ever since. Long ago Powder7 grew too big for a team of two and is proud to employ some of the best and brightest staff in the ski industry.
Today, we believe that we have the best ski shop in the Denver area as well as the best ecommerce ski shop in North America. We are open year round and continue to dedicate ourselves to skiing. We love biking, running, and everything else you can do on mountains but we like to try to be the best at something and that thing is helping skiers get the gear they need.
