Active Garbiel to take over as Carson ski coach

Don't blink or you'll miss Adrienne Garbiel, who's always on the move. She could be skydiving one day, hitting the slopes the next.

So is there any sport that Garbiel won't try. "I don't like golf," said the 31-year-old Garbiel. "Too slow paced.

"Maybe when I'm old and I can't walk anymore. I prefer a little bit more adrenaline sports."

Garbiel has slowed down long enough to serve as Jack Reinhardt's assistant coach for the Carson High boys and girls ski teams for the past two years. After a long and successful run over the last 28 years as the Senators' coach, Reinhardt has stepped down and Garbiel will take over for him, beginning next season.

"It's going to be hard to fill his shoes," Garbiel said. "There's certainly a lot of expectations I know I have to fill."

Garbiel will be filling Reinhardt's shoes in more way than one. Garbiel, who earned her degree in health, ecology and biology at the University of Nevada, teaches science and biology at Carson. She will also take over Reinhardt's oceanography class next year.

She's also taught skiing since she was a teenager as she's taught the sport for 16 years. She periodically stays active in teaching the sport of skiing, conducting a women's clinic at Kirkwood this past weekend.

Before letting Reinhardt step down, Garbiel talked him in to going skydiving with her. "I took Jack skydiving," she said. "Jack was loving it."

And how often does Garbiel plan to skydive. "I'm in the process of going every year since I started it," said Garbiel, who has gone twice.

Garbiel moved to Northern Nevada in 1997 from Michigan where she grew up. "We skied every day until 9 at night," she said. "That's what I did growing up."

After reading an ad in a ski magazine stating that the Tahoe area had the most ski areas and most ski lifts in North America, Garbiel moved here where she eventually finished her education.

"I finished my 10-year plan out here," she said. "It took me a lot longer than normal."

She now lives with her husband, Greg, between Gardnerville and Topaz Lodge. So why does she live out there. "Because there's great dirt biking," Garbiel said.

Garbiel is a level three ski instructor, the highest level for an instructor with the United States Professional Ski Instructors.

"You can teach anywhere in the world basically," Garbiel said. "But they can't afford to pay you."

"There's a lot of classes that you have to take to earn it," said Garbiel about her teaching level. "It took six years to be able to get that. Lots of studying, lots of skiing."

In addition, Garbiel does demonstrations for the Saloman Ski Company. She also enjoys snowmobiling and would like to try kite surfing - windsurfing with a huge kite.

In the past, she's competed in snowboarding bordercross. "Mostly trying to make enough money at one race to get to another," said Garbiel about her experience. "Just enough to support your habit."

During the summers she competes in downhill mountain bike racing. "I hit all the mountain bike races," Garbiel said. "I want to get my pro status by next year."

Garbiel has had to overcome serious knee injuries in recent years. "My doctor said I wasn't going to ski again," she said. "I keep blowing it out. It hasn't had a chance to heal."

But Garbiel can't stay away from the slopes even if she's just taking it easy. Her goal is to ski full speed once again.

"I'm trying to prove everybody wrong that I will ski again," said Garbiel about skiing full speed. "I'll be skiing again this year. It's my livelihood. I cannot stop. That would be just awful."

Her husband is one of the top competitive extreme skiers in the world. "He'll be able to occassionally help me out, too," said Garbiel about Greg assisting her with the CHS ski program.