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He's skiing toward success photo by Andy Atkinson Peterson, a member of the resort's ski patrol, is also a student, ski instructor and summertime river adventurer. Eric Peterson also rafts, runs a business, goes to school ... does he rest? BY ALEX BREITLER To find Eric Peterson, you needn't look any further than Mount Ashland. Or Southern Oregon University. Or the Rogue River. Come to think of it, you may be best off paging him. The 29-year-old Central Point resident works 40 hours a week at the Mount Ashland ski area and takes eight credits at SOU. To top it off, he's president of Siskiyou Adventures, a company offering rafting trips and other outdoor activities during the summer. It's a full load, to say the least. "It's kind of tricky in the spring," Peterson says. "But you just kind of juggle your schedule and get people to cover for you." Peterson is part of the youngest ski patrol hired at the resort in decades. One member is 19; two others are also students. But like most on the mountain, Peterson is busy outdoors all year long. Fall serves as his summer break, at least until Mount Ashland opens; rafting winds down in October, skiing hasn't started and Peterson's schedule is -- well, average. But now that the mountain is open, the juggling resumes. Peterson and other members of the ski patrol, a group of seven paid employees and a few volunteers, canvass the slopes watching for injuries and safety problems. In January he'll be teaching a ski class in addition to the full-time hours he spends on ski patrol. Peterson studies hotel, restaurant and resort management when he's not on the slopes. It's a field he says is becoming more pertinent as the Rogue Valley gains in recreational opportunities. "Just growing up around here, it's a natural field because there's so much (recreation) going on," he says. "I definitely believe in keeping my doors open, and these classes really go along with what I'm doing right now." A future in the snow hasn't been in doubt since Peterson moved to the valley at the age of 3. Peterson grew up on the slopes of Mount Ashland and, not surprisingly, started work there as a ski instructor in 1990. He's been a regular sight on the mountain ever since. Ski patrol isn't just about injuries, Peterson says. "One day I may go up with avalanche control and work with explosives," he says. "The next day I might be taking care of two or three hurt people." He also spends a lot of time taking care of odds and ends that pop up. "There's a lot of maintenance that people don't see," Peterson says. In the end, he said, his job is about preventing injuries more than treating them. His busy schedule suits him just fine, he says, and the mountain is where he wants to be. "I hope to be with Mount Ashland," he says. "I don't want to limit myself to one area, but I'd love to make a career out of it -- this is the mountain that taught me to ski." Rafting didn't make as quick an entrance to Peterson's life as skiing did. At 18 he got a hold of a raft, and for the last three years he's headed up his own rafting company, guiding trips over Class 5 whitewater rapids as well as teaching swift-water rescue classes. "That's pretty much what I do all summer," Peterson says. "The heart of the season is June, July and August and I usually don't have any days off. "But it's fun," he adds. Skiing is Peterson's ultimate passion, however. "To me, it's the ultimate feeling of freedom; you're in control of where you're going," he says. But don't ask Peterson to make a choice or prioritize among all that he does -- not when he can still find a way to juggle it all. "It'd be really hard to choose from one or the other," he says. "I'm just glad I can do both." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA