Ivan was born in central Slovakia, in a small town surrounded by mountains. After graduating from college, he spent the next twenty years writing software for banks and biotech companies in Prague, Czech Republic, Auckland, New Zealand, and finally, San Diego, California, where he lived for fifteen years. There, of all places, not standing on skis since high school, he decided to get serious about skiing and started making weekend trips to California, Colorado, and Utah resorts. Along the way, he discovered amazing mountains and parks, where he kept returning even after the snow melted.
In 2013, quite possibly a direct result of watching Warren Miller movies, he swapped an office desk with monitors, for 2000+ acres of open office at Deer Valley and made Utah his home. He started working for the resort the following summer as a driver and applied for a job as a ski instructor the next winter. When not at the resort, he enjoys winter days ski touring or snowshoeing in the Uinta Mountains. Once the winter season is over, he usually spends spring and early summer somewhere in Bella Italia, practicing the art of slow travel, learning the language, and proving that a man can exist happily on pasta, vino, and gelato alone. When back in Utah, he enjoys paddle boarding and hiking until the snow falls again, while never getting tired of the natural beauty this state has to offer.