A retired newspaperman, Rick Karlin was most recently the acting business editor for the Albany, NY, Times Union. He has also covered state government, the environment and energy development as well as the ski industry. He previously worked in Maine and in Vail and Glenwood Springs, Colorado, where he covered the tourism and mining industries among other topics. In addition to freelance writing, he is a certified ski instructor at the Windham Mountain Club in the Catskills and earlier in his life worked as an instructor at Keystone, Colorado. He has also served as a volunteer with the Vail Mountain Rescue Group.