Women of Winter: Chloe Merry

For Chloe Merry, skiing was never just about the mountain. It was about the people who shaped her journey and, increasingly, the ones she's determined to shape in return.

A ski instructor, coach and trainer, Chloe has spent her career helping everyone from first-time skiers to elite athletes find their footing on snow. But ask her what she's most proud of, and the conversation doesn't stay on the slopes for long. It turns, instead, to a seat at the table she actively sought out  and why it mattered so much to claim it.

Chloe’s path onto the Australian Professional Snowsport Instructors (APSI) Board didn't begin with an ambition for governance. It began, like so much of her career, with a simple desire to keep learning and to give back to an organisation that had shaped her as a young instructor.

Her entry point was the Advancing Women in Snowsports (AWS) Committee. It was there, working to support other women in the industry, that she was encouraged to put her hand up for the APSI Board itself.

"I was initially interested in contributing through the Advancing Women in Snowsports Committee, and during that process I was encouraged to apply for a position on the APSI Board," Chloe said.

It's a distinction worth sitting with. Chloe didn't stumble into a leadership role - she sought it out, specifically through a committee built to advance women in the sport. For her, the two are inseparable: a genuine love of the industry, and a deliberate commitment to making sure women's voices are shaping its future, not just participating in it.

"Serving on the Board gave me the opportunity to give back to an organisation that had played such an important role in my own development," she said. "I was motivated by the chance to support our members, contribute to instructor education and help create opportunities for the next generation of snowsports professionals."

Chloe’s resume reads like proof that the industry rewards those who follow curiosity over convention. Alongside her coaching work, including with the Australian Aerial Development Team, she is a Registered Nurse specialising in Anaesthetics, Recovery and Intensive Care, a parallel career she describes as "deeply rewarding" in its own right.

But it's skiing that has been the connecting thread through every chapter of her life, from clipping into her first pair of skis as a kid in Falls Creek to training and coaching across Australia, North America and Europe.

"The technical side of skiing is important, but I believe the real skills are communication, empathy and the ability to inspire confidence," she said. "Every person arrives with a different goal, learning style and life experience. My job is to meet them where they are."

That same philosophy underpins Chloe’s view of where women can and should be showing up across the industry. She's quick to point out that the opportunities extend well beyond the chairlift.

"The snow industry needs women in coaching, instructor training, adaptive snowsports, race programs, ski school leadership, mountain operations, patrol, events, resort management, education, marketing and governance," Chloe said.

Governance, notably, is where Chloe has chosen to invest her own energy. A deliberate move to ensure women aren't just represented in the industry's day-to-day, but in the rooms where its direction is decided.

Her advice to women starting out echoes the same conviction that carried her to the Board table in the first place: don't wait until you feel ready to put yourself forward.

"Believe that you belong," she says. "Growth happens when we step outside our comfort zone, and confidence is built through experience, not before it. Your perspective matters. The snow industry is stronger when it includes diverse voices, different experiences and people who genuinely want to help others succeed."

"You never know who is watching your journey," she said, "and thinking, 'If she can do it, maybe I can too.'"