ZAC Howard considers himself one of the lucky ones, calling Falls Creek home.

The Falls Creek Snowsport School snowboard instructor has been working on–mountain since 2011, and in 2017 he and partner Andge Maiuto, who works for the lift company, made the decision to make Falls Creek their home all year round.

Now with their two year old son Ollie, the family couldn’t be happier with the move.

“We just love everything about the mountain life,” said Zac.

“We love the community and we love being outdoors.

“There are probably around 70 people who live all year round in the village, but during the ski season, with the influx of thousands of people, you barely see one another because winter is so busy.”

This season, despite some interruptions, Zac said it had been a full–on start.

And he hopes it continues for the remainder of the season.

“It’s really enjoyable being an instructor,” he said.

“I get to teach people of all abilities, and hopefully there will be some race coaching also.

“Being able to show people a good time and improve their skills provides a lot of satisfaction.

“You want people to share in a good experience.”

Zac reckons Falls is perfect for snowboarding, and while he enjoys the terrain park, his favourite past time is getting into untouched snow among the trees.

“People may be surprised at how good some of tree skiing/snowboarding is, particularly up off the Eagle Chair,” he said.

“Being able to get out early after fresh falls is the best.”

One of Zac’s greatest joys is teaching Ollie to snowboard.

He had his first experience on a board last season, and this year the two year old is up and running.

“He is very good at straight gliding, but we want to get him onto his heels by the end of the season, and then turning next season,” said Zac.

Outside of winter, you’re likely to see Zac and family on their mountain bikes and walking the trails, making the most of their environment.

“I work at Howman’s Gap during the summer so that keeps me outdoors,” he said.

“We also started up Mountain Ventures some years ago, doing trips into Vietnam and Nepal, although that was scaled back to just tours to Japan.

“We managed to get a tour in at the start of last year but not this year,” he said.