Ski-Away has earned the distinction of Gold Merit Snowsports School with their all-female staff certified by the Professional Ski Instructors of America / American Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI). With years of collective experience teaching both locally and at

national resorts, their instructors live up to a reputation as some of the very best ski, snowboard, and race teachers in the Twin Cities.

Ski-Away’s current owner/director; Lezlie Pinske, has been skiing as long as she has been walking, and thanks to her work with Ski-Away, Inc., women across Minnesota may also be inspired to enjoy the sport that she loves so much.

Pinske was a member of the National Ski Patrol by age 14 and was active on the Trollhaugen Ski Patrol until 1992. After college, she was introduced to ski teaching and became a certified alpine ski instructor in 1991. She holds her Alpine Level 2 certification and Children’s Specialist accreditation through PSIA-AASI and has been involved in teaching women’s ski programs in the Twin Cities and around the country ever since.

Pinske’s early career began in advertising. She moved into the specialty sporting goods industry where she ultimately became a National Sales Manager for The North Face and a team design input lead for the women’s snowsports line. Working on this side on the business allowed for an

influence into the design, production, and marketing of products that better-reflected women’s needs and aesthetics. Her life evolved through marriage, motherhood and raising children, into the entrepreneurial ownership of two women-staffed businesses: Ski-Away, Inc., and Fleur - a high-end landscape design and gardening business. With 30 years in the snow sports and outdoor industry, Pinske is a female business owner who uses her skills to pull women together and push them higher while encouraging them to have fun and build their confidence. 

Pinske’s reputation for building teams has attracted businesses and corporations to request to partner with her, resulting in highly successful sales and marketing relationships throughout the snow sports industry of the Midwest. She currently serves on the PSIA-AASI Nancy Oakes Hall Scholarship national selection committee which was created to help women instructors access opportunities for meaningful learning, mentorship, and inspiration in the snowsports industry. “Goodness into Action” is her life motto, and Pinske, through Ski-Away, works to share that goodness with everyone.