Chelsea Gardner

After earning an associates degree in Ski and Snowboard Business and a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science, Chelsea Gardner moved to the small mountain town of Silverton, Colorado where she began her paramedic career in 2011. Within her first year, she was the Assistant Director of Silverton Ambulance and an officer on San Juan County Search & Rescue where she learned a great deal about avalanche rescue and safety. For the next five years, she was challenged with managing critical patients in a mountainous environment far from definitive medical care. Chelsea then practiced with multiple agencies in Silverton and worked as a firefighter/paramedic in Durango, Colorado until 2021 when she ventured back to the mountains and accepted a full-time position at Telluride Fire as a Lieutenant Firefighter and Paramedic. She teaches wilderness first responder courses with WMA International and Wilderness Medic. On any typical day, you can find Chelsea and her four-legged friend adventuring in the San Juan Mountains or soaking up the sun fishing the Animas River.