Steve Martin is the associate superintendent of elementary schools in Frederick County and a former principal at Orchard Grove and Thurmont elementary schools, which normally wouldn't make him a very cool guy in the eyes of students.

Except, he's got a totally awesome part-time job: Martin, 52, directs the ski and snowboarding school at Ski Liberty. For 27 years he’s been instructing the young and old alike in how to maneuver down the slopes.

"I usually head to the mountain right after work," Martin says. "I try to leave by 4:15 p.m. and we have our 'line-up' at 5:15. Yeah, especially when I was a principal, assistant principal and teacher the kids in school thought it was pretty neat. Often I had students in my ski classes. Later, I had former students become instructors alongside me."

Winter sports like downhill skiing, hiking, cross country skiing, skating, sledding and now, snow tubing, often prove, like they have for Martin, to be lifetime activities. Like riding a bicycle, he says, the skills may rust, but they return with a little practice, bringing the same fun and joy.

"Even though it's a few years away, I'm starting to look forward to retirement," says Martin. "When I can travel and ski more."

It's also never too late to pick up a new sport.

"I've been snowboarding for a few years," he adds. "I want to get better. I'm an expert skier and an intermediate snowboarder. I'd like to be expert at both."

Growing up in Middletown, like many people, Martin's first skiing trip was "a lark" with high school buddies in the early's 70s -- to Ski Liberty, of course. After that initial adventure, he didn't go again until he was a sophomore at the University of Maryland. That five-day trip to Killington, Vt., changed his life.

"I was absolutely hooked," Martin says. "It wasn't just the exhilaration of the skiing, which I loved, it was also the social aspect of the sport that I picked up on for the first time."

He came home looking to improve his skiing and took every opportunity to strap on the boots. Later, as a teacher with time and disposable income in limited supplies, he applied for a ski instructor position at Liberty to earn extra cash and, equally important, free access to the snow and lifts.