Ski Maxx gets the Springs ready for the slopes

At this point in the season, it seems like every week another ski resort opens. Now, Colorado Springs has an indoor slope that promises to get you ready before you hit the hills.

From the outside, it's a simple storefront. Inside, Ski Maxx is an alpine course. 

"I love everything about [skiing] because I like my body to be warm and my face to be cold," said owner and operator Susie Cole.

Cole has been teaching for 40 years. She's advanced and has skied all over the world. Cole says even the pros can learn from this machine.

"I usually get beginner and intermediate [skiers], but I have a lot of guys who are really good skiers. They come in to exercise," said Cole.

The system is simple: a rolling carpet and plenty of patience.

Janine Myers was 32-years old before she ever strapped on a snowboard.

"My now husband was a snowboarder so I figured I gotta figure this out," she said. "It's helped my confidence because I couldn't even get to get off the bunny hill the first time I went. By the time I came here a couple times I was going down blues."

Cole's love of skiing isn't limited to her business. She also runs a non-profit called Ski Maxx Lift to help raise money for Special Olympians and military vets. Cole says she's taught kids as young as one-year-old and adults as old as 99.

She insists that after a few weeks on the carpet it's all downhill from there.