Arapahoe Basin Names First Female Patrol Director

“Just shows how much things have changed that we can have women in both those roles in our management.”

Lizzy Schofield said it plainly. She became Arapahoe Basin Ski Area’s first female patrol director on July 16. The role is hers alone, alongside assistant director Lindsay Wiebold. Two women. Two top jobs.

It marks the first time in A-Basin’s history that both leadership positions are held by women.

Schofield started as a patroller in 2013. She was one of two women on a staff of 30 then. Now, she leads them. Wiebold holds the other seat at the table. The dynamic has shifted.

“It definitely has changed the dynamic of the crew to just be more diversified, more balanced,” Schofield said.

She didn’t plan for this. She grew up in southwest Michigan. She learned to ski at age three. Her family traveled west occasionally. They hit A-Basin and other resorts. It was recreational. It wasn’t a career path.

She came out after college in 2010. She worked snowmaking. She stayed. She became a patroller three years later. She planned to return east for a master’s degree. She met her husband, a fellow patroller, in Summit County. He became a firefighter on the Front Range.

In 2018, she cut her hours to part-time. She raised her kids near him. She toyed with nursing. She missed the mountains.

“I couldn’t stand being away from the mountain and from skiing,” she said. “I couldn’t give it up at all.”

She came back full-time in early 2025. She served as a ski patrol supervisor. Now, she is the director.

Her rise wasn’t without friction. She felt the weight of expectation early on. The industry favored a specific mold. You had to fit it.

“In the beginning of my career, there was a feeling that I had to work a little bit harder to get the same recognition,” Schofield said.

She worked harder. She got the recognition. The staff has evolved, too. A fair number of women work there now. They aren’t anomalies anymore.

Schofield’s story mirrors many locals. She came for a season. She never left. Her husband works as a firefighter on the Front Range, but her life is here in Summit County. She balances family and career without leaving the slopes.

The Post Independent reported on the promotion Tuesday. The paper noted that Schofield’s appointment signals a broader shift in ski resort leadership. It is no longer a boys’ club.

This matters to the folks who work at A-Basin daily. It matters to the neighbors watching their property taxes fund local infrastructure. It matters to anyone who skis the West Fork of the Blue River.

Schofield is 32 years old. She has been with A-Basin for over a decade. She understands the mountain’s quirks. She knows the snowmaking systems. She leads the patrol crew.

Her promotion isn’t a token gesture. It is a structural change. The top two jobs are now held by women.

There is no assistant director holding the fort while a man makes the big calls. There are two women making the calls.

Schofield noted that opportunities used to go to those who fit a stereotype. That is changing. The staff reflects that change.

“I feel like for a long time it was this very one stereotypical type of person who would get many of the opportunities,” she said. “It was very hard to not fit a specific mold and still fit in and still be given the same chance as everyone else.”

She fits now. She leads now.

The question for Summit County is whether this shift trickles down to other local resorts. A-Basin sets the pace. If they can diversify their patrol leadership, others likely will follow.

Schofield didn’t set out to break glass ceilings. She just loved skiing. She stayed when she could have left. Now, she runs the show.

Make no mistake: this is a historic moment for Arapahoe Basin. The first female patrol director has arrived. She brings experience, local roots, and a crew that finally looks like the community it serves.