Board Members

David Davenport

Chairman

Before moving to Utah, David spent his business career as an international executive specializing in corporate finance, working with companies in Europe, Asia and the United States. Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, he started skiing as a kid in the Japanese Alps with his family. His interest in skiing has taken him to ski resorts all over the United States, in Europe and Japan. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Alf Engen Ski Museum Foundation at the Joe Quinney Winter Sports Center in the Utah Olympic Park, Park City, Utah. He is a serious powder hound and lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Neal Sorensen

Treasurer

Neal’s connection to Alta and skiing spans six decades. A Utah native and University of Utah graduate, he served a full career, 30 years, in the United States Air Force as an aviator and Colonel. After retiring from the Air Force, Neal returned to civilian life in Salt Lake City, where he worked for several years as a consultant in the aerospace defense industry.

A lifelong skier, Neal has been connected to Alta for more than six decades and has been a ski instructor for 20 years. He is PSIA-certified and currently teaches at Alta’s Alf Engen Ski School. Neal also serves as Treasurer of the Alta Historical Society, continuing his long-standing connection to and appreciation for Alta’s rich history and skiing tradition.

Chris Cawley

Chris grew up in Concord, New Hampshire and learned to ski at Pats Peak. His fate of one day being in Alta was sealed when, as a young child, Chris frequently rented and watched the B movie “Ski Patrol,” parts of which were filmed in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Chris’ first winter in Alta was 2005-2006, when he lived and worked at the Rustler Lodge. In the meantime, Chris worked for other local businesses in Alta and was a ski patroller at Alta Ski Area between 2008 and 2023. Chris served as Friends of Alta Bill Levitt Fellow in 2013 before becoming Alta’s assistant town administrator in 2014. Chris has been Alta’s town manager since 2023.

Robyn Christiansen

I came to Alta from Australia during the winter of 1965–66 with a simple goal: to ski Utah’s legendary powder. Making beds as a housemaid at the Alta Peruvian Lodge was certainly not part of my long-term career plan, but that first season turned out to be life-changing.

At the time, two remarkable Alta pioneers, Alf Engen and Max Lundberg, were residents of Peruvian. As I became acquainted with them, I found myself inspired by their expertise, passion, and deep connection to skiing. They were people to admire and learn from, and they motivated me to become a better skier.

When I was offered a position as a ski instructor for the following season, I recalled something Alf once told me: “Robyn, always hire nice people, because you can always teach them how to ski.” I have often thought of that comment as a kind of backhanded compliment when I was hired. Nevertheless, working under one of skiing’s grand masters was a privilege for which I will always be grateful.

Alf was a legend in his own lifetime—a walking history book and a teacher from whom you learned without even realizing you were being taught. Along with Junior Bounous, he was one of the most positive human beings I have ever known.

From 1966 through 1986, I worked as a class and private lesson instructor at Alta. During those years, I honed my teaching skills and developed wonderful relationships with clients from a wide range of professions and backgrounds. It was an exciting time to be part of the ski industry. Skiing was becoming increasingly mainstream, and we witnessed significant advances in both ski equipment and teaching methods.

My family in Australia was somewhat disappointed that I had turned away from a career in science. However, in the late 1980s I returned to academia and earned a Master’s degree in Health Promotion and Education. That experience helped prepare me for the next chapter of my career in the ski industry.

I always enjoyed teaching children to ski, especially my own two children. When the opportunity arose to develop a children’s ski school program at Alta, I eagerly embraced the challenge. From 1986 until 2012, I helped develop and supervise Alta’s Children’s Ski Adventure programs. These programs provided an important service for young children and their families, a vibrant and growing segment of our ski community. I witnessed how skiing is truly a cross generational sport. At the time of this writing 2026, Junior Bounous at the age of 100 skied many days of 2025/26, his inner child still brimming with exuberance

Today, I still love skiing powder on bluebird days, especially when sharing those experiences with friends. I firmly believe there is no better way to rejuvenate the soul.

Jonathan Morgan

Jonathan Morgan currently works as the Avalanche Office Director for Alta Ski Area. In this role he oversees avalanche forecasting and mitigation on the mountain. For the past 23 years he has been employed at Alta. Learning the history of Alta has always been an enjoyment, especially the early efforts of those who pioneered avalanche control efforts in the 1940’s and 50’s. Jonathan lives in the canyon with his wife Elise and their young daughter Ella.

Jim Nichol

Born and raised in Holladay, Utah, Jim has skied at Alta since 1949. Like many members of the Nichol family, he was an instructor for the Alf Engen Ski School. Jim and his wife, Joan, have been in the childcare industry for 30 years. He is fondly known as “Mister Jim” by hundreds of children, teens and adults.

Jim is a childcare activist, serving on the Board of Directors of the National Child Care Association and the Utah Private Child Care Association. Jim and Joan are the owners and operators of Alta Children’s Center, Alta’s ski season Child Care Facility.

L.M. "Nic" Nichol

An Alta skier since 1949, Nic is a 40-year veteran of Alta’s Alf Engen Ski School and currently a ski school supervisor. His ties to the ski school are part of Nichol family history. In the 1970’s, 13 of Nic’s relatives were instructors for the Alf Engen Ski School. Alf determined to make Nic “the prettiest skier in the ski school” and he taught Nic everything about skiing on Alta’s Crooked Mile ski run. Nic is known for being one of the most beautiful skiers in Alta and for his charming impersonations of Alf. Nic’s stories about Alf are featured at Fireside Chats sponsored by the Alta Historical Society. Nic and his wife, Carmen, along with their children and grandchildren, continue the Nichol legacy in Alta.

Ed Pond

Ed was a member of the Alf Engen Ski School, where he and his wife, Bonnie, were much admired as expert skiers and instructors in the ski industry. Ed became President of the Intermountain Ski Instructors Association. Being a ski professional is not the most lucrative of pursuits, so Ed chose to pursue a career in law, graduating from the University of Utah before entering the general practice of law. He later became General Counsel to a real estate development company, Consolidated Capital Corporation, and subsequently became Manager of Legal Services for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its real estate division. He retired as Director of this division in 2002.

Ed continued to use his legal talents in the preparation of documents for public and private offerings of Limited Partnership interests, the filing of reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the drafting of real estate contracts and related documents. He also advised on and reviewed opinions regarding real estate securities and corporate questions. Ed and Bonnie are proud parents and grandparents. His knowledge of past events in Alta’s colorful history has made him much appreciated as a board member of the Alta Historical Society.

Robert "Dobber" Price

Dobber, at twenty years of age, came to Alta from Minnesota in the fall of 1973 planning to work and ski for one year. He worked at the Peruvian Lodge as a waiter his first year, and then ran the rental and repair shop for six years. After that, he worked at the Rustler Lodge for seven years; first, as the bartender and later as the dining room manager. Next, he started Alta Photo and Video which later became Peak Photo. He owned and operated this business for thirty-two years providing thousands of guests with photos of their memories made at Alta. He also contributed photos and videos to Alta Ski Lifts for their brochures and website.

Dobber met his wife, Brenda, at Alta and they had two sons, Hayden and Bennett. Both boys grew up enjoying the slopes of Alta becoming expert skiers at a young age. Dobber now shares his retirement with his wife, Lisa, a former ski instructor of the Alf Engen Ski School. His one year at Alta, turned into 53 years… and counting.