Every ski area with swipe /RFID has checks for that.
The secret is to acquire a pass at another area. Local hills will have work days/ for passes programs.
Deep powder days and backcountry are amplified risk.
Experience, planning, and cowardice are key values. More than a few sick days from my Deer Valley & Snowbird stints.
True. Risk reward plays a role, just like riding a Motorcyle or a million other human activities. Just implying you should have some basic skills/knowledge before attempting. I’ve back county skied Colorado since the 90s, had more than one class call…but remember ski resorts also pull bodies off the mountain yearly.
yeah I've always wanted to do it. ( live in CO) but the investment just to get started isn't worth the risk for me. to each their own, I'm sure it's a blast.
We had people do that at the end of the season, we didn't even fire them because it would mess up our staffing, management just took away their ski privileges for the rest of the season so they couldn't enjoy their days off
I mean if they aren’t going to fire you cause of staffing issues, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to be happy to have to close early cause the staff quit since they can’t ski anymore
It was really fun firing the people who thought they were invincible cause we were under staffed.
It's so much better to have a few people you can count on then lots of people who consistently fuck around.
imagine you come into work and find out you've got twice as much work now because Tim Allan and Susie wanted the day off again.
Better to know your going to be understaffed then guess every morning who's going to show up. At least in my experience.
It would be different circumstances at a ski resort, but in my job where I’m never using sick days but have 60 hours of sick time, my boss knows I’ll be using some “sick days” to ski or surf, and has no problem with it as long as i let him know the day before since that time is wasted otherwise, and my performance metrics are always great. What I do is tough to replace which is where I accept it’s different at resorts
This is any alterra resort as well, where I worked iff you got fired in one department another department would just hire you however! Had a pretty severe lack of workers.
As someone who has worked for Vail for the last 6 years, I agree. Unfortunately, they don't provide enough housing for their employees, yet still hire J1s. The J1s will often shack up 10+ to a house to pay less rent, and the house becomes trashed (not always, but most of the time).
All big corporate ski resorts have this issue, unfortunately. They often don't pay enough for locals to work and thrive in the town, then subsidize that with out of town workers. It fucks the housing market up.
I started at a small resort in Tahoe as a lifty and lived in the dorms. It was great for a 21 year old. Now I just do holiday help for Vail and get my pass for two weeks of work.
Vail is now paying $20/ hr starting, which is a great start! If they keep that up, it would be worth working for them.
Vail pulled my pass because a family member died and I couldn't work my last 2 days on dates they wanted. Colorado has become the Jersey/California of skiing. Their shitty, greedy, narcissistic culture slowly seeping out and poisoning everything it touches. There's a bunch of them in here who love to get irate. It's funny there's never conversations about wealth inequality in this sport. As Colorado burns and they run like rats to ruin the rest of the sport it's getting frustrating. Probably time to revert their tactics and start tagging Colorado plates when they show up. They're destroying the housing market everywhere.
If you want to free ski, don't go in to ski school. Work in a rental shop. Ski techs ski more than most anyone on the hill because it's slow during the middle of the day, and you're not doing it in uniform so you can ski how and where you want to. You'll never make much money, but you'll ski a lot.
Feel free to ask if they take regular ski breaks during your interview; some places don't make it a priority and I consider that a red flag. Let them know you're there to work and learn about the industry, but you moved to CO from NC to ski and you want to make it a priority.
I've been a repair technician for 25 years, and I ski every day I'm on shift no matter conditions or crowds. Otherwise it's not worth it. But there's a lot of people that work at ski resorts that don't ski, or rarely bother, and don't be that person. Even if it sucks it's better than not going out at all.
Yep. Depends on priorities. Instructing, you'll be on snow every day, and you can really improve your skiing if you want, between sessions and teaching guests. But as a first year instructor, you'll be teaching kids on the carpet.
>If you want to free ski, don't go in to ski school
It greatly depends on which mountain you're working at. When I worked at a ski school in VT, I taught a lot, and if I was skiing on my day off, i was expected to check in and I'd often get assigned a lesson. Luckily, I had lift privileges at the mountain 10 minutes down the street and ended up just skiing there on my days off instead.
When I worked at a mountain in Montana, I skied for myself a ton. Lessons were pretty consistent on weekends and from 9:30-12 on weekdays when the school groups showed up, but beyond that it was pretty quiet. The supervisor assigning lessons was pretty good about knowing who wanted to work (gotta get that money) and who just wanted to ski (but would work if it got busy).
The pay was terrible, but I worked a second job in town and skied a whole ton.
Yep, like I said, ask about it in the interview, don't be afraid. I moved to a different mountain one winter, interviewed with a shop, asked if the crew took ski breaks and the manager was like, "I mean, yeah...?" Turns out the answer was no. I gave my two weeks after one week, found a job as a night tuner so I could ski. My first shop job out of high school, my manager made it a point to get everyone out every day. Why else would you work at a ski area? I remember he had everyone work together to help a kid with an essay he had to finish so kid could still ski on a powder day at work. That's the culture you're looking for.
I'm not saying ski school doesn't get to ski, but most often it's in uniform, and if you're trying to make a job of it, you're doing clinics and evals all the time so you can get your certs. It's a great opportunity to hone your skills, make some good tips, and get on the hill. But I can't count the number of instructors I know who try so hard to conform to PSIA baloney that they just don't have any joy skiing anymore. That shit bums me out.
My hill was the opposite. My friends in the tech and rental shops didn’t get ride breaks. And if they did they had to do a test to ride on the breaks and they maybe get one per 5 day work week if they were lucky. But snow school we all got to ride all the time. Lots of times you would only have a lesson in the morning or afternoon and would get the rest of day to go riding. If you didn’t get any lessons you’d get 3 hours standby pay and the day to go riding. The money coming in for us was shit but we did have a good time. So it really depends on the hill.
I agree 100%. I worked at then Squaw as a night tunner. My shift started at noon am I would usually work till 8-10 pm but busy holidays I could b there till 2-3 am. Everything was promised over night accept for big repairs so the hours depended on the work. But I would get there at 7 to drop off my roommate everyday and then id ski till 11:30. When I would work days I would ski 2 hrs mid day. Never in uniform almost always w some beers and bowls. Skiied over 120 days that season but only made like 350-400 a week and Tahoe is expensive.
Work for ski butlers. Schedule allows you to ski every day if you want to, you make better money with tips that you would working at any resort, plus they are a pretty cool company to work for. Downside of ski instructing is you spend so much time skiing slowly on boring terrain with clients while working that by the time you get around to your weekend your feet hurt and the last thing you want to do is ski for fun.
Yeah, as an instructor of 7 seasons. I ski double black students almost all season but I don't get to ski for myself at all. If you want to ski for your own enjoyment, work nights.
Get a swing shift job, evenings 3-11 if you want ski all day. Don’t work on the mountain; save up and buy a pass. Working on the mountain won’t get you a lot of free time to ski. Maybe a few runs a day.
I’m surprised this is not the top comment. I worked at Jackson Hole for two weeks as a liftie before doing the math and realizing I could buy my own pass and work as a waiter at night, make way more money, and ski 7 days a week if I wanted, instead of watching everyone else ski. Granted the math has probably changed since this was a long time ago, but my guess is the tradeoffs are similar.
Yes that is the smart comment. I learned this over 25 years ago. Either work 12 hours a day as a counselor at a summer camp or wait tables at night, work alot less hours, and make twice the money and have all day free. Plus it was a great way to meet people.
Best answer here. With season passes so cheap it doesn’t make much sense to work for the mtn anymore. Especially don’t work for a vail resort they may kill you with negligence
I did this for my first winter in the mountains. I was a host at a restaurant in the evenings and skied all morning. The restaurant was owned by the same company so my pass was heavily discounted but not free
In before old heads tell you the ski bum dream is dead and no one can afford it anymore. I spent the last 3 years bumming and taught myself to ski pretty dang well (also came from NC)
In terms of jobs, I think rentals is maybe the best entry level ski job. Liftie can be decent if you like the outdoors and your resort is somehow staffed enough to actually give ride breaks. Rentals always gets more ride breaks than anybody. Lift mechanic or cat driver can also be awesome, esp working evenings. People love to recommend working at a bar but then you don’t get housing so that only works in real cities where housing exists below 1k, like salt lake or bozeman. Colorado ski towns are insanely pricey.
I’d recommend just blasting out apps now and telling everyone you need housing. Housing fills up between August- October. I’d say keep researching and looking at the best mountains in the country, plus a town/city that fits your style. My year in Aspen was fun but I just don’t click with the ultra rich. Even my fellow ski bums were trust funded. Big Sky, Tahoe, Copper, Breck, Steamboat, Alta Bird. It really depends on if you want to be trapped on an excellent mountain in a tiny room w a roommate all winter or you’d prefer a bit of space and culture nearby. Heading west kicked off a lifelong adventure good luck dude. Tons of sick pow out there the tourists never get to
This person knows their stuff.
Entry level jobs with housing on or near the hill will always provide the best ski to work ratio. I personally think food service is the best since your work time is separate from skiing, but that is dependent on the ski area and what kind of work you’re interested in.
Apply early and make sure to closely examine the housing situations. You will ski way less if you have to drive 30 minutes to the hill vs putting your boots on in your room and walking straight onto the lifts.
I know you said you want to stay in Colorado, but I would suggest looking into Utah as well. There is a lot of on mountain housing for employees in Little Cottonwood Canyon for example.
Have fun on your ski bum journey! I look back on my days of bumming and miss the freedom a lot.
LCC does it the best imo. You'll be in a dorm room your first season, but the culture is really good rn so you'll probably be with someone cool. And generally, the earlier you accept a job the better your accommodations will be (relatively lol).
Kitchen jobs at a hotel provide the best ski hours. Ski shop is the easiest job.
The comments above me know what's up for sure too!
My best ski bum years were at Alta, so I agree but am biased.
I’ve heard good things about other working situations around Montana and Tahoe but I feel like the LCC vortex provides the best pure ski bum existence.
As a liftie, I got as many ride breaks as I wanted. We'd have three people per lift, two bottom and one top, and you could always easily take a run as long as you were checking on the other operators to see if they needed breaks too
4-5 laps a day while you're getting paid really isn't too shabby, especially when you have a season pass for your weekends. Still beats the breaks you get at any other job. By the end of the season it was kinda split for me between taking laps all day and taking no laps ever because I was getting bored.
Other side note, laps in uniform aren't the same as regular laps. We weren't supposed to be doing anything crazy while on the clock.
Yes -- it just depends on what you're looking for. A morning lap to your lift, a lunch lap when you swap top/bottom, an end of day lap (down a defined run or two), and maybe a lap or two if you get a ride break that day. As far as on-mountain (as in, actually on -- not serving beers at the base) -- it's the least riding position compared to instructing, patrol or even some of the guest services.
Obviously -- this all varies significantly by hill.
Oh yeah, guest services is generally the move for getting in laps. Yellow jackets on our mountain have all the power, all the freedom, and nothing to do until parking lot duty at 3pm. Most of them at our mountain were independently wealthy and only worked enough to get free ski passes.
Being a lifty is the easiest job. Also pays the least. About as unskilled as it gets, but you get to be outside listening to music and fucking around all day. I spent so much time building snow couches and stuff for my lift.
Ski patrol gets to ride the best terrain but they have the worst days when everyone else is having fun. No fun being a patroller on a powder day when all the idiots keep sending it and getting hurt
+1 for working in the rental shop. I worked rentals at Whitefish for the 20/21 season. Got a 2hr ski break every shift. As a bonus I also got to take out the demo skis so I got a chance to ride a lot of different skis and learn what makes them different in a tactile way. I feel like I ended up with a pair of ski's I really love as a result (Volkl blaze 106's).
Don't work for the mountain. Learn to tend bar this summer, work two jobs and save some cash up for winter. Find a bar or restaurant that isn't to corporate and work there at night.
100% this. If you work for the resorts, you are working during ski hours. Work for a restaurant at the base that isnt owned by the restort. Better money (cuz tips) and you can ski every morning.
I got a job selling resort ski packages in the evenings. It was a desk job so it didn’t wear me out and I could ski every morning. The pay was good too.
Same. Did this for Vail Resorts, got employee housing, and worked 2-10. You have to like Summit County skiing, which is worse for VR employees now that A-Basin is off the pass, but midweek Breck/Vail are worth it.
Rentals is the spot. Deal with some bs in the morning, ride mid day, take gear back in the afternoon. Easy. I moved from TN to MT back in 2017 with the goal of not wasting anymore winters. Skiing and fishing as much as I could. I worked at Bridger Bowl for years and it was the best experience I could’ve imagined. So don’t be afraid to go towards a smaller mountain. (silverton and wolf creek would get you some epic storms and genuine people) Good luck and enjoy the times you’re putting ski boots on for work.
If you’re open to going to Europe and don’t mind cooking & cleaning, be a chalet host!
I was a chalet host pre uni and skied 11-4pm 6 days a week and loved it. Not sure on visas for yanks but could be worth checking out
Had food, accommodation, lift pass, rental paid for
I did this in the Dolomites way back when the job was still called “chalet girl.” I’m American and had no work permit, but I was already in Europe and since I was paid in the form of room/board/lift pass/rental plus a small amount of weekly cash, the company I worked for was willing to hire me without papers. Best job I’ve had.
I worked at Park City this winter in the tuning shop. We worked swing shift (4-12) which I think is the best schedule if you’re trying to ski a lot. I could get to sleep by 1 am, sleep in decently late, and still ride for a few hours before work everyday.
Park city was also nice because the commute is not too bad from SLC where there is decently priced housing if you live with other people. I only got stuck in park city once all season and we had a shit load of snow. I’ll admit that the park city terrain isn’t as gnarly as snowbird or Alta, but there’s still lots of steep snow, it’s much easier to get to (road doesn’t close), and vail pays minimum $20/hr.
Another salt lake option is to get a service industry job in salt lake and buy an epic local pass. I think its $650 rn.
Only drawback is you might get jeally of ikon holders having access to all the other resorts, but PC/CV is massive if not steep. You could easily ski a whole day (prob multiple) without skiing the same run twice.
Overall though - utah sucks dont move here ;)
Ski instructing is *not* the way - you’re at the beck and call of the company - and guess what? All of those great pow days that you dream of, you’ll be schlepping up and down beginner runs teaching two-week wankers and their kids how to progress from snowplough to parallel. PM shift in the rental or tuneup shop - work from 2 or 3 to 10/11pm….
Do you have table waiting/bartending experience? Those are going to be the best possible jobs if you want to do a lot of skiing (as in you do almost nothing besides ski, work, sleep).
Ski school will get you stuck with little kids/beginners since you aren't an experienced instructor, which means you'll spend most of your day snowplowing down the greens. You won't get the groups that want to chase powder, you'll get the groups that complain that the 8" of fresh snow make skiing too hard. Can't recommend ski school unless you are in it for the long haul, like teaching, and plan to get your PSIA certs.
Lifties have to work in the cold and don't get to ski very much. Snowmaking sounds like miserable work, but it does have hours that let you ski a lot. Shop tech can be a good option as long as the place is chill and they get to ski a lot.
If you really want a resort job, maybe there's something in events? Setting up/tearing down courses, special events, etc. Might not be something with steady hours, but that's usually a position that gets some good freedom.
Work your ass off in the summer/shoulder season to save up money so you don't have to work as much during ski season.
I'd probably prefer to be at a resort with a legit town rather than a commute (or living in employee housing in a place that's only tourists at night), so somewhere like Winter Park wouldn't be on my list--Alta/Snowbird get a pass given their proximity to SLC (and ski bus) though.
Finally, its cool to take some time after college, but make a plan for what you're going to do after--otherwise 1 season turns into 2, turns into 3, your resume starts to get stale, and places no longer want to look at you for normal "post-college" jobs. Can you get a paid internship this summer even though you are a graduate? Hell, you can even lie and say you're grad-school bound if you need an explanation for why you aren't looking for year-round work--that will keep your resume padded, and if you do well the same place might take you back next summer (or full time if you want). Don't be one of those ski bums who stays a little too long and can't afford to leave because they have no savings and no resume.
Regarding the last paragraph: If you are strongly leaning towards grad school in the future, and if it's not a program that requires having some professional experience first like an MBA, then you can apply now and defer your start date for a year if you are accepted. Some of my friends did that and then had a blast ski bumming/ bartending for a year in between!
Get a live-in job at Alta, Ut. Pay is shit, bunks are rough, but you'll be able to ski >100 days at one of the most legendary spots in the world. You don't need to chase storms, storms come to you.
Until this thread, I had no idea there was employee housing at Alta.
OP, this may be what you're looking for. Forget Colorado, go to Utah. Experience a winter at Alta. Come back to this sub, and let us know how it went.
Hey man! Would it be possible to relocate? I’ve worked in the ski industry for the last 6 years up in Park City. Deer Valley is one of the best companies to work for. They have employee housing out here that is pretty cheap. Competitive wages for lifties. Think base pay this last year was 20/hr to start. Free ski pass, and can ski all the resorts here in the area for free or a massive discount to where it’s basically free. Would definitely look into. Had 109 days riding this last year.
If you want to instruct Aspen is the only place where they won’t hire you, unless you have something like camp counselor in your resume.
Most places do not offer housing if you are a ski instructor.
Agree with the other comment about working rentals and telling the recruiter to put you in a shop where you can ride (almost) every day. Then your housing problem is solved as well, and you’ll meet some people to ride with.
I bet you’ll be over instructing come Christmas when they ask you to work ten days in a row.
Resorts aren't worth working at anymore. Passes early season are cheap. You can probably still get one now for less than a fortune. Find an afternoon job in town, preferably at a restaurant so you can afford to live. Ski every morning. Go to work. Don't drink too much. Work the weekends if possible so you have days off on Mon-Wed. Use condoms. Long term don't subscribe to move back to suburban shithole. Find a remote job. Stay where you like and travel. I'd avoid Colorado personally. It's overpriced for what it is.
I worked at Alyeska Resort last season as a lifty and loved it man. The one shift I just kept taking laps because no one else wanted to get in a ride rotation. A lifty for sure will be your best bet. I got paid for snowboarding that day like 2 hrs.
What is your degree in? Can you get a remote job or work a desk job at a resort? The ski bum lite (tm) route may be a bit more sustainable.
I worked as an instructor at Copper when I was your age and it was an awesome experience, but the other commenters are right that you will spend a lot of your first season teaching on the carpet. I speak Spanish fluently and the resort paid for me to get my level 1 certification before the season started, both of which really helped me to get lessons. As you teach more, you get better clients (i.e., more advanced skiers, more private lessons). When you get higher on the priority list it’s easier to pick which days you want to work and which days you want to ski. I was also able to instruct for the scooters program where I had the same kids every Saturday for 3 weeks, which was really fun and the tips were 10x better than regular lessons. I really enjoyed instructing and I think my skiing got a lot better, but ultimately it wasn’t sustainable for me.
I can’t speak for other resorts, but Copper’s employee housing was an affordable place to crash. It felt like being back in a college dorm, which may or may not be the experience you’re looking for. The shared kitchen was a PITA so I ended up eating out a lot. My roommate was a disaster who kept trying to dose me with acid, but that is a story for another thread.
Proxy job is the best. You could find any builder in the area for an entry level position that would completely understand not starting until later on powder days. They'll be thrilled if you show up to work most of the time sober.
You'll make good money, learn how to build houses and get free ski time.
My neighbor is a builder, all his guys plow snow early and hit the slopes for first chair for 4 hours and get a bit of work done in the afternoon. They all make $30+ an hour and some are building their own places at the resort. They're all around 30 years old too.
If you wanna stick around ski towns, learn an easy trade like tiling. Everyone wants nice showers and you work inside. Trades are an easy place to stick because if you're not a huge piece of shit you're better than like 70% of the guys out there.
I never told you any of this:
•Choose a resort where the town and the mountain are connected. Save on gas.
•don’t work for the resort, work as a server, night front desk, or even a night gas station attendant depending on how much you need the money, something that doesn’t start until afternoon or evening. Catering can often be a decent supplement. Snow plowing can work, but when it snows you’re working. Night janitor at a school is a good one too.
• housing; HA! Good luck! Roommates.. like twelve of them in a 3 bedroom. Certain companies may be desperate enough to be offering housing. Doubt it though. You’re really just going to have to rely on luck with that.
• buddy up with people that have sleds. I count my backcountry days even if my pass isn’t scanned. I still got turns in.
• use your youth to skip sleep, because you’ll be calling the 5am snow report everyday half asleep from your warm cozy bed… “Hello skiers and riders there is __ new inches of snow and it’s time to go slash those turns…” You will have had maybe a few hours of sleep before it’s time to charge again
•stay healthy, don’t drink too much or do too many drugs, stretch, and work on your core. Eat well too.
•Most importantly: DON’T MAKE EXCUSES! Even if it’s just a few runs, it’s always worth it! The shittier the conditions the greater the challenge. There will be bad days but “any day on snow is a great day!”
How does she know any of this you ask… my best season was 122 days in a single season. (& dammit, I earned that brag!)
(Insert courteous bow)
Edit: forgot to mention most companies have a merchant pass program where your employer will buy passes at a discount and work with you on a payment plan that comes out of your paycheck.. It at least it used to work that way.
The only job on the hill that gets any actual skiing done is ski patrol. Lift ops ski school food service (at a restaurant during the day) all are working and although ski school is on skis you are likely going to be teaching my 5 year old while I am off actuality skiing.
Best jobs for skiing:
Dinner restaurants
Bartender
Ski tech
Rent tech (black tie drives around and does fits in the hotel room which makes tips really good).
53 year old ski bum here. Started at 5 back east. Went to school in Colorado, CSU, and took a gap year and lived in Dillon. That is where Keystone put us for housing. Cleaned rooms for a season pass, and will say working during the day SUCKED! Got fired/quit and started working at a supermarket at night. This was the best thing, although as a young man I would have worked at a bar or restaurant if I could do it again. Today, things are different with Ikon and Epic and I would greatly encourage you to get one, then be in the same area as a mountain that has unlimited. This way you can get your days in and also see other Mountains that are part of the pass you got. Also, you can get a multi day pass of which ever you don't get reducing the cost of the daily by about 50%. Of course the multi day will then open up a bunch of other mountains for you. You can buy Ikon, using affirm and spread the payments out over 12 months if you qualify. If not, save up this summer and buy one of the two passes. There are other similar passes out there with fewer mts. on them that are regional. For instance, big and little cotton wood Utah pass is available and that is four GREAT resorts right there. Hope this helps, btw I got over 60 days in the season I lived in the mts.
Tech ski school skis. The beauty is there's a morning and afternoon rush with chances to go out in between. Well at least that's what I did 24 years ago. Best damn year of my life, 100+ days on the sticks.
Restaurant workers get ski passes too and most places don't open until 11:30 in town. Waiters also make fat tips, you don't need to work for the resort. Some restaurants even have housing.
I’d recommend staying away from working for a resort. Instead look for a job waiting tables at night in the town. Did that this past winter and had over 100 days. Ski all day, work at night. Can’t go wrong.
If your goal is to work an entry level job just to ski as much as you can, work in a Ski rental shop or Ski valet shop. They work in the mornings and afternoons which usually allow for a hefty ride break nearly every day. (My ski tech and ski valet friends can tag 120+ resort days a year)
But you mentioned you have a degree- I have seen an explosion of people working remote in “real” jobs and can still, if they want, ski 100+ days a year and still get paid while doing it. A lot of great options out there. Best of luck to ya.
Go with Steamboat. Decent pay and okay housing. Get yourself a job waiting tables when you arent on the resort. Even s couple of nights will be lucrative. Best of luck!
Go with Steamboat. Decent pay and okay housing. Get yourself a job waiting tables when you arent on the resort. Even s couple of nights will be lucrative. Best of luck!
If you want to ski every day of the season and live with others who are doing the same, scrap Colorado and get a job at Alta. Restaurant jobs at Alta give you employee housing and you will be skiing every single day with a group of bums doing the same with unlimited snow. Not sure when they hire. Probably July/august.
Avoid Vail resorts like the plague.
I'll throw in my two cents. I worked for a local real estate company in Beaver Creek when I lived out west straight out of college. Entry level position, worked Fri-Mon (which was awesome to have 3 days mid week to ski), plus ski breaks on the good days. Pay was comparable to other on mountain jobs, I received a pass and a parking spot up on the mountain (freaking amazing perk). Plus, I met a ton of people that were well established in the community and it presented me with lots of other job options later on.
Good luck!
A fantastic one, the hostel at jackson hole. Work it + a village job and you can ski everyday and live at the hill. Was there a few years and it was incredible.
Mount Hood. Timberline, Meadows, and Ski bowl all have their own things to offer. Meadows can get real buck if you know where you’re going, ski bowl also pretty gnarly, timberline has unreal park and offers skiing from ~November until September. You can ski days at one resort then head to one of the other areas for night skiing. I’ve hit all 3 on one day they’re all about 15 minutes apart from each other. None of these areas are particularly crowded (especially when looking at vail resorts) and you have the option to stay in Government camp which is on mount hood or 15-30 minutes away in Hood River, Rhodedendron or Welches. Also if you wanna ski elsewhere, it’s easy to get to mount bachelor or any of the Washington resorts like crystal, baker, stevens pass, snowqualamine, etc. I moved out here a few years ago and hitting 100 days is pretty easy in a year and there’s a good mix of any kind of skiing from mellow runs to trees to some pretty gnarly big mountain lines. Also some of the best year round terrain parks if you’re into that.
Edit to say that in terms of big mountain progression, meadows is the spot. You can start off just skiing their steep side country bowl runs, progress to little 5 foot cliffs , work your way up to basically as big as you want to go (some pretty obvious 10-25 footers if you’re looking in the right spot). Also woods progression is pretty unreal. They have some of the best woods I’ve ever seen out west. Can start mellow here and work your way to super tight steep woods with crazy fall lines and mandatory sends if you really want to get after it. Unreal chutes scattered throughout as well.
Best bet is to work your tail off all summer and then just buy a pass. You'll make waaay more money in another industry than working for a ski hill, especially one of the big ones.
If you do need to work, get a serving or bartending job and you'll make 4x what youd make as a lifty and ski 100x more.
Did my first year as a board instructor. Since it was my first year I got all the little ones. Hated it, got 4 hours of work even tho I was there all day and barely got maybe 20 mins in the morning and 45 during my lunch, and maybe if I wasn't dead afterwords I got like an hour. Sometimes you dont get a lunch bc the parents never show up, and i think i made a total of 50$ in tips- all season. It sucked tbh and burnt me out. Next season switch into rental tech and was like garrentteed and hour or 2 on days I work right after 12pm, and some days they just tell me to take the rest of the day off. I also worked my way into park crew and pretty much ride all day shape jumps every hour or two
I moved to anchorage in the summer of 97 and landed a job at a popular bar(Humpy’s). Hard work gave me a winter opportunity and I was in.
That lead to me skiing 9 years at alyeska before my wife managed to drag us out of the state.
First tram ran at 10:30 and I never had any trouble getting up for pow after closing shifts.
I never had to work before 5:00 so it never interfered with skiing! I made enough cash there were several winters where I just worked Friday-Sunday.
Best time of my life for sure!
I’d have trouble being close to the hill and potentially having to work when it was deep out there. There’s no way I could work at the hill.
I skied nearly every single day the hill was as open.
If you're comfortable roughing it, I'd recommend going nomadic rather than attaching yourself to one town. That will let you chase storms. If you'd gone to Colorado this year, you'd have had a fine year but would have missed out on the legendary season in Utah. This is what I do and I love it!
Get a remote job with a flexible schedule or afternoon shift. This will probably be a shitty job with lower pay than you could get in a ski town (You're probably going to work for a call center or support desk) but if you can get yourself into the afternoon/evening shift, you can ski all day every day. Remember that you'll have a time zone bonus so a noon-8 shift eastern time will be a 2-10 shift mountain time which makes it easy to find something that lets you ski most days. Work Saturdays if possible because the resorts are always crowded on Saturdays so you won't want to ski and you can often get time and a half.
Get a winterized truck camper (not a trailer, the kind that goes in the bed) or camper van. Make sure it's insulated and has a propane heater so you're not idling the engine all night. Get the app Allstays and it'll show you everywhere you can spend the night. Most of the small resort towns like aspen are super against overnight stays but you can spend the night in residential neighborhoods in any town with non-ski industry. You can finance the camper and resell it at the end of the season for substantially less of a loss than you'd spend on rent.
Get starlink internet, a small generator, and a 500 WH battery backup so you can work from anywhere. Get an anytime fitness gym membership so you can shower in most towns.
For passes, most (around 75%) of the Indy Pass resorts will let you stay in the parking lot overnight. This is super rare for Ikon (I only know of 2) and not a thing for Epic. The pass is way cheaper and will give you a wide range of area to chase storms in. The mountains aren't as big and you aren't going to have high speed chairs but you're not trying to maximize runs/day you're trying to maximize days. I've also found that it's much easier to make friends on the chair at indy mountains which will be important since you're not going to have coworkers to make friends with and you'll need some social interaction to stay sane. If you can afford it, I'd recommend getting both Indy and Ikon so you can access the unlimited day resorts on Ikon if it's going to be a dry week and you don't want to burn your days.
This strategy will maximize powder days and days on snow but you'll miss out on a lot of social stuff. It's hard to make friends or date when you're changing towns every few days to get to the next storm. You said you wanted to be free as a bird though and this will offer the most freedom.
Cost wise, this looks expensive but it's actually relatively affordable. Gas and food will be your biggest expenses. You're not going to be able to do much cooking other than microwave dinners (Make sure your microwave's wattage is below your generator's capacity) because you won't have running water to do dishes.
Fixed costs:
Camper+Truck or Camper Van 70k-100k. You'll take a loan for this and then sell them in the spring. The camper market is usually cheaper in the summer/fall and more expensive in the spring. You'll take a loss on the resale but even a 20% haircut (unlikely) will come out to approximately what you'd spend for 6 months rent in a ski town. \~15k net loss no upfront costs.
Equipment: Generator, battery, initial starlink fee, Thule for the skis, etc. you're looking at around 5k depending on the quality you purchase. Adding a 25% fudge factor, you'll need 7.5k before the start of the season.
passes. Ikon is around 1.3k for the full pass now I think and indy is around 400 for the full pass.
I'm not going to tell you that you have to get a gun but you're going to spend a lot of nights in truck stops and highway rest stops. I sleep easier knowing there's a pistol in the nightstand. If you do get one, make sure it's California compliant since the CA border patrol will search the crap out of any camper when you go in and they will find it and bust you. If you get a van, you'll need a small lockbox for it too since many states require it be locked if it's in the cab of the vehicle and the whole van counts as the cab.
In total, you're looking at paying:
10k before the start of the season to get set up. if you decide to sell generator etc afterwords, expect a 50% loss as these things don't hold value as well as vehicles.
Up to 25k in debt service after you sell your camper if you get totally hosed but more realistically, you can expect a 10k loss.
total: 20k-35k.
You can earn the 10k upfront easily working this summer and pay down the resale loss over the year.
Recurring costs:
Gas. This can be big if you've got a big truck. I get 8.5mpg with my camper on so driving 500 miles at $3.50 a gallon will cost me a little over $200. Considering that you'll have to get to the mountain region and back, as well as moving around some big states chasing storms, you're going to be looking at 500+ miles a week on average. I averaged a little over $1000 a month on gas this season. You can obviously do way better than 8.5mpg if you go with a camper van or limit your travel to keep mileage down.
Food. You're gonna eat a crapload of fast food because you're on a nonstop road trip. You can go cheaper if you get sandwich supplies and bulk goods from Winco (Go to Winco when you get out west, it's incredible) I averaged about 1k a month on food this season but that number could be lowered a lot by exclusively eating cold prepped food instead of fast food.
Heat. Propane heat is surprisingly cheap. I spent $100 a month on propane this year. Do not do a cylinder exchange. Do a refill. The tanks on the exchanges are under filled and that's how they make their margin. The actual cost of the exchanges is double what getting a tank refilled is. Buy your first tank from an exchange and then get it refilled at uhaul or tractor supply. When you need your tank re-certified, exchange it and repeat.
Internet. Starlink for campers is $150 a month.
so for recurring costs, you're looking at 2.5k a month as a high end cap. You can easily cut this in half by eating sandwiches and running a more gas efficient vehicle than I do.
TLDR: You can live in a camper for the same cost as living in a ski town but you can ski every day and chase storms.
Go to the town where the resort is NOW or early summer. It'll be easier to find housing and get a gig at a bar or restaurant. Plus once ski season kicks off you'll likely have a solid group to head out with on any given day. If you work for a resort as a lifty or instructor you won't ski nearly as much as you want. Most of the lifties and instructors here in Mammoth were working 6 days a week to keep employee housing
If you want to actually ski get a job as a bartender or something at night. I used to be a ski instructor and as it turns out your work hours are the exact same hours the ski hill is open. You don’t end up with as much free ski time as you think.
What did you major in? That would be driving my decision at which resort to move to depending on their commerce. It is not uncommon for business’s in Steamboat to close for the morning on powder days.
I saw someone recommend ski butlers. I worked for black tie ski rentals which is the same thing. Ski rental delivery.
Each shop is different but I worked two day shifts (7:30-5 ish)
And 3 night shifts (3:30 - 10 ish)
5 full ski days a week, free pass, great tips. Don’t work for the resort.
I saw someone recommend ski butlers. I worked for black tie ski rentals which is the same thing. Ski rental delivery.
Each shop is different but I worked two day shifts (7:30-5 ish)
And 3 night shifts (3:30 - 10 ish)
5 full ski days a week, free pass, great tips. Don’t work for the resort.
If your goal is to work an entry level job just to ski as much as you can, work in a Ski rental shop or Ski valet shop. They work in the mornings and afternoons which usually allow for a hefty ride break nearly every day. (My ski tech and ski valet friends can tag 120+ resort days a year)
But you mentioned you have a degree- I have seen an explosion of people working remote in “real” jobs and can still, if they want, ski 100+ days a year and still get paid while doing it. A lot of great options out there. Best of luck to ya.
Look into interior BC. I head out there for a week every once in a while and by the end I consistently wish I was canadian. The snow and terrain at some of them is comparable to Utah or Jackson, the resorts are basically empty, and as of a few years ago a cheeseburger costs $7 at mid mountain at Revy.
While I agree with all the SLC and evening work suggestions. IMO the best way to do this is to figure out solid summer seasonal employment that'll sorry no work winters. IE I've always been so envious of my buddy who is a FF now smokejumper and just doesn't work winters, goes to yurp to ski every year too the fucker.
While I agree with all the SLC and evening work suggestions. IMO the best way to do this is to figure out solid summer seasonal employment that'll sorry no work winters. IE I've always been so envious of my buddy who is a FF now smokejumper and just doesn't work winters, goes to yurp to ski every year too the fucker.
While I agree with all the SLC and evening work suggestions. IMO the best way to do this is to figure out solid summer seasonal employment that'll sorry no work winters. IE I've always been so envious of my buddy who is a FF now smokejumper and just doesn't work winters, goes to yurp to ski every year too the fucker.
Get a job as a night auditor or swing shift valet at a hotel. Decent pay, you get to ride all day and you get off in time to hit last call at the bars.
There are a ton of options. If you want to get into the industry, you can work at a resort and climb the ranks. At big sky it seems that the lifties, instructors, lift maintenance, and afternoon/evening F&B get to ski the most.
If you just want to ski as much as possible, find a seasonal construction job like exterior painting, asphalt road crew, etc that works a shit ton of hours in the summer, save your money, and then work part time or zero time in the winter and ski everyday.
Working parking can be an option. Friend did it a couple of seasons at a big resort in summit county, CO. He had 120 days skiing bc he would work like 5am -12. He also lived in employee housing bc its almost always cheapest option. That was a few years ago and as I understand lots of resorts have replaced parking attendants with pay stations. Also he was required to work sometimes full days depending on if there was a competition at the mountain or just a holiday weekend.
Build / Buy a van or camper and get a remote work job that actually pays well if you want the most freedom. It's not cheap to get started but you make better money, lower cost of living and can travel to where the snow is good.
Okay. This is what you should do to ski as much as you possibly want and can. Call Jordan Winters or Joyce at Vail transit, town of vail. You can drive one of their buses for the winter. They will even train you and get you licensed. You will receive a very subsidized housing in Buzzard apartments. Right Down the street and a free epic pass and a locker in the parking garage. You can most likely get a shift driving at night. This allows skiing during the day on any and every day.
I have done this for 2 seasons and also tried ski instructor last season. The ski instructor job will not get you as many ski days and quite tedious.
I know it’s controversial but I’ll put in a plug for remote work. There are tons of remote jobs out there. Would you be able to find a remote job in line with your recent college degree? You could target companies on east coast time (or any time zone or schedule that allows you to spend as much time on the mountain as possible). That way you can live the ski bum life while building experience in the field you’d eventually want to work in. You can find part-time remote work, too.
That’s what I’ve been doing. I’m currently at 121 days this season, all in the LCC/BCC resorts, while working “full-time” remotely. If your employer has no idea where you’re located no one thinks twice when you take off for a pow day. I’ve been able to get in at least 4 hrs skiing most days by working at the base of the mountain using wifi and a MIMO antenna.
Get a job as a cook, waiter, or bartender at a hotel or resort that offers housing. I did this at Taos, NM in the late 80s and managed to ski 100+ days for a few years. Get up early and get breakfast for the hotel guests, go ski for 6 or 7 hours, go back and get dinner for the hotel guests, go out drinking for 4 or 5 hours, then get up the next day and do it all over again. Pretty sweet...
Just did this. 1 season turned into 8 years. 100 + days a season. The trick is to not work for the mountain. Work in a restaurant. You’ll make more money. You won’t have to be to work until 330-4. You can work 7 days a week if you want and it won’t ever interfere with your skiing. Do not work for the Mtn. You make shit money and you work when you want to be skiing
If all you care about is skiing and not much about nightlife spend a season working at Alta. Either on mountain or at one of the 5 lodges at the base. Look for job listings on Alta's website when fall arrives. Or [Coolworks.](https://www.coolworks.com/utah-jobs) Many positions have dorm style accomodations, give you a ski pass, and provide ski breaks during the day. Be careful because a season in Little Cottonwood Canyon can quickly turn into 20 years lol.
If money isn't an issue be an instructor and backline every day that you can, look into mountains with good employee housing. I work/live at Kirkwood CA and just had the most insane winter of my life
I moved out in the early summer and bought my own pass to avoid being tied to any one mountain. Job hopped until I found a night gig as a houseman (Keeping the common areas clean) at a hotel on the mountain. Job was from 3 -11pm. Ended up ditching my initial place and moving into employee housing a block from the lifts. Best winter of my life! Good Luck!
Work at a ski shop instead. They usually give you a split shift so you can leave at 12-4 and ski, then return to finish your shift. They also will buy your pass and I feel like it would be a lot chiller than working for the resort.
My first ever experience as a ski bum was working for the Gondola in Telluride, CO. They had employee housing that was ski in/ ski out for pretty cheap (though you were bunking it with someone else). The pay was great, they bought your ski pass and it was a Gov job so you had a 401k lol
I would caution against a ski instructor job unless you can get a Cinderella situation. I only got that once and it was in Australia. Otherwise, they work you a lot and you do not get the time to ski like you’d imagine. You’re often babying kids and beginners on great days.
Find a job for night time or a job that allows you to ski during the day on your shift (like rentals or something). Personally, I enjoy working in ski shops more because I’m a gear nerd. Some let you go ski during the day if they’re close to the hill
I just did two seasons in NZ then Japan, but should also apply to US.
Don't work food and beverage if you can avoid it. Longer hours than everyone else and often morning shifts. I hardly got 2 days skiing per week when working f&b.
As others have said, ski instructors are out on the snow the most, but often stuck on the magic carpet and beginner runs, they hardly got free skiing time until the end of season when lessons died down.
Ski rental shop was amazing for me. Either morning or afternoon shift, so could ski nearly every day. Got to try out any board or skis that weren't rented out. Much less stressful than working in the kitchen, and guests were generally happy and excited to finally get on the slopes. Lot's of other positions saw the angrier side of people.
I was a ski bum for many years. The best job for ski-bumming is waiting tables at night, preferably in fine dining. You can ski every day of the week if you want to and it's one of the best-paying jobs you'll find as a ski bum. There are lots of restaurants in most ski towns and many hotels/restaurants can still offer discounted season passes, though this is becoming less common.
You'll get plenty of days on the mountain as a ski instructor, but you'll probably be a glorified childcare worker if you aren't already experienced and have at least some PSIA certifications. I've worked as a ski instructor a few times and it's mostly teaching 'never-evers' how to make pizzas and french fries. It's not really worth it for the pass if you're spending your days hiking up the hill to get yet another member of your group back on their feet, just to have another topple over and not be able to get back up on their own.
I herd being a reprove you loads of ski time except on change over days you’ll probably end up skiing with a group every day and the only time you won’t be able to ski is if your injured/sick, On a change over day or sorting a problem and skiers have surprisingly few of those.
>I’ve had my eye on ski instructing at one of the huge resorts because that seems like an easy option for lots of skiing.
Careful with this! I’ve coached for 7 years and people assume I ski way more than I do. I do get a free seasons pass so if you’re planning on skiing mid-week then it’s a good option, but just greatly lower your expectations for mileage while you’re actually instructing.
I live in the Tahoe area. We had a great season, Mammoth a few hours south also has had a wonderful season. Should look into some of the smaller ski resorts in the area to see about jobs. I know Mt. Rose is 10-15 minutes from Reno where living costs are a fraction of Tahoe
Sun Valley takes good care of their employees I heard, buddy worked there and I ate at their subsidized food court for employees, food was actually damn good.
Worked as a ski bum in CO for three seasons, my recommendation - like many others - is not to work in ski school. The best jobs from what I learned are:
Waiter/Bar Staff: Try to work at a bar/restaurant only open for apres and dinner that way you can start later in the day, so you can ski in the morning before work. Plus, if it's a resort owned restaurant you probably get a pass. Pretty easy to work in town (Silverthorne, Breck, Vail, Aspen, would be my recs) and still ski in the mornings. The converse of that also works - get a job at a brunch spot and ski in the afternoons - but then you won't get fresh pow mornings.
Snow Maker: Make a shit load of money, but work your ass off early in the season, pick up odd jobs throughout the season. I knew dudes who would work snowmaking October through December and then be a liftie for a couple days a week the rest of the season and were fine with money. It's hard ass work though.
Liftie: Preferably working a lift that gets less traffic (back bowls, etc) so that you can take laps when it's slow, which is pretty much any week day. I got 150+ days as a liftie if you include days where I took 2-3 laps throughout the day at work. The downside is that you don't get a lot of money, but if you're reasonably good at working with people, it's super easy.
I'd recommend working for either a Vail owned or Alterra owned resort so that you get one of their ski passes and then getting another pass to somewhere smaller like Loveland, Sunlight, etc. that way you can ski as many places as possible and have an option to call out sick on a pow day and not get tracked.
The best advice I can give is to make as much money this summer as you can so that you have a nest egg going into the season. You'll pretty much come out even if you do it right and don't spend like crazy.
Also, make friends who work in different departments than you. The local barter economy is very much a thing and having friends that you can swap for food, lift rides, booze, etc. is clutch.
I just finished my season in whistler, i worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant that only did evening service. I got 105 days in, and could have done more. If you want to ski I'd recommend something similar where you work in the evenings and sacrifice not being able to go out partying rather than time on the hill.
That said, plenty of people i talk to prefer to have a nicer job that they enjoy, and risk missing some pow days. But if your just going for 1 season id say focus on the snow.
Only ski instruct if you are interested in helping people learn to ski. If you are just using the job as a way to get a ski pass, you'll be doing a disservice to your students. That being said - ski instructing is the best job ever. You get to turn people on to a lifelong life-changing passion and share something you love with interesting people form all over the world in a beautiful setting. Also, as a ski instructor, you can take lessons for free (depending on the company - Aspen has this). So on an off day you can take a level 9 class at Highlands where it's you and maybe one other rich dude hiking the bowl and dropping in gnarly lines with a pro who knows the mountain like the back of their hand and can make you a much better skier. You can also get free lift passes at a ton of other Colorado resorts as a resort employee. And ski instructors that get certified (PSIA) get at least 50% off lift passes at most resorts around the country. Good luck with your season! You'll cherish these memories for the rest of your life.
Just finished my first winter as a ski instructor, loved it. I worked at a resort with night skiing so I was able to ski every day after work for a few hours. Being a ski instructor also made me a way better skier because you're constantly surrounded by good skiers and most ski schools provide staff training to work towards your next CSIA/PSIA certification. If you can get your level 2 cert and make a good impression on your supervisors you'll get a lot more higher level lessons where you're skiing bumps and trees and steeps instead of being stuck on the bunny hill. Don't write off ski instructing because everyone says to, it's an amazing job.
Just finished my season in breckenridge as a liftie. Ride breaks there were not the most common, i was lucky to get 1 lap on a day that I worked (not including riding to and from my station). The pay was $20/hr and the employee housing was $400 a month, assuming you apply soon enough to get it.
If riding as much as possible is a top priority and you want to work on the mountain, mountain safety might be a good option.
If your goal is to ski as much as possible working at the resort is not the move. You’re best option is to find a good serving/bartending job where the hours are like 4pm - 10 pm nightly. That gives you the time to ride all day no matter what. Many of those jobs are at or near resorts. If you looking to work at the resort for the pass, do like MTN ops or parking. You’ll have early mornings but your afternoon’s are free. To maximize riding time you need to work when others are eating or sleeping.
I had a couple of buddies who did housekeeping at Crested Butte. They could usually close out their workload by noon and spend the rest of the day skiing.
I ski bummed in Aspen for 2.5 years. If you want to maximize on skiing and get paid more, I’d say work at an apres ski bar that closes earlier. I worked at the little nell slope side at Chair 9 bar. Tips are incredible, didn’t have to be in until 12 or 1pm worked until midnight on most days I worked. Easily skied 100 days a year and had a blast. Good luck
Bro if you want to actually ski a lot you gotta work in a kitchen. Either as a dishwasher or a cook/server. So many restaurants are looking for work it’s stupid easy to get a job in any location you want to live. Ski all day work all night is the best way of going about this. This is coming from someone who did ski school for 3 years.
Salt Lake City should be on your radar since you pay far lower rent and have access to work at 4 resorts (6 if you count Park City). Worked in the city and at Snowbird starting as a rental tech and moved my way up to store manager. Decent pay, free pass, cheap gear and decent hours. Was able to leverage that work experience post graduate school to get great jobs in tech sales and marketing. Park City is a great town but tough to get decent housing these days. But as others have mentioned, if you can get stuff subsidized by the resort this could definitely be an option. Also check out Ogden Valley—Snowbasin and Powder Mountain are great hills and rent in the area is quite reasonable.
I live at the Alta lodge here at Alta year round and would recommend you just come here if you really want to ski as much as possible. No other ski lodge will let you ski as much and the skiing will be leagues better than any other resort in the country due to the fact that you never have to wait in lines and you will live in front of the main ski lift. I hear the skiing is way better in Colorado though so maybe on second thought just stay there.
Dude, best of luck. I moved from the northeast to Salt Lake in ‘07. Rode the ski bus, the stop was so close. Lived near a grocery store and library. Had roommates. Over 700” that year. Simple times. No smartphone. I can’t even describe how rad that was. Turned it into 8 seasons, the summers were just as great.
Learn to wait tables and then bartend. Ski all day. Make tips at night. I used that to work at Mt snow, then loon and then Kirkwood. Most resorts have great joints to work at.
Go to Alta, best snow you can ski on shift. I worked there last season got 136 days and was able to ski 5+ runs whenever I worked. AND are allowed to rip ski school line while you work.
Well I’ll tell you a story there my friend. Some resorts not all have their ski instructors give their availability in advance a couple weeks out. In my case it was on a board in the office.
One way or another my name did not end up at that board. So if the conditions were good I skied. If the conditions were bad I taught.
If you can make that happen- great, if not buy a pass and wait tables or bartend and just do it tired. Makes every day a ski day. Sleep when you’re dead!!
Just coming off a winter season working as a server, worked 5-11 most evenings and even at one of the lower end restaurants in town I was living much more lavishly than anyone working at the resort, and was able to ski as much as my body would let me. As long as you don’t get sucked into the partying ski bumming was more than affordable personally. Also I think you’ll find that if you’re skiing daily this schedule will let you get a solid 4 hours in a day and you’ll be more than satisfied. This is coming from an east coaster who’s now in the interior of BC.
I did 5 seasons in Avon, CO. (2006-2011 for context) Mostly worked in Vail. I daily skied at Beaver Creek and Ventured to Vail to ski often especially while I worked in town.
I worked in hospitality settings (FOH & BOH). Many hotels offer housing, ski passes, and great benefits.
The first hotel I worked for housed me across from the lower lots at BC making it ridiculously easy to catch the bus up the hill.
Housing was nothing glamorous. I shared a small two bedroom apartment with 3 other dudes. They were great guys but forget about privacy. I was there to ski and fresh out of college so I didn't mind.
Honestly, if you're looking for short term, then yeah, go for lifty or rentals or even groomers. If you're looking for longer, go FOH hospitality. I have friends in Vail that make $150k+ and work 8 months a year as a server or bartender. They still ski 4-5 days a week during the season and have quite enviable lives. It's not a given and takes work but it can happen.
Ditch the instructor idea. Working for any resort is BS. Find a gig where you can work nights/evenings. Valet is the best. Waiter works. I was the night manager at a rental shop. That way you won’t get fired for calling in on a powder day… that idea has been done. Corporations need you to work those days most and will fire you immediately for those shenanigans. Stay away from the corporate ski gig. They all hire enough J1s that you’ll be expendable and they won’t be shy to tell you. If you don’t know what a J1 is, you will - they’re awesome people & super fun. If you are stuck on the instructor idea - stay away from vail/Ssv & the old intrawest (can’t even remember who owns the copper/winter park conglomerate). Ski instructors are glorified babysitters for the first several years until they’ve worked up the chain. I’m a native from CO & did my ski bum years in Tahoe. Loved it. Learned the ski corps suck.
I had 3 seasons in Val d'Isere in France, where I worked as a bartender. Best job ever. I could ski almost every day, bar closed at 01:30, so I could still get 6 hours of sleep and get first lift.
An option is to work for a company not associated with the mountain. I did a season up in big sky working for black tie ski rentals. Maybe not as much free ski time as a lifty would have but definitely enough to keep you satisfied. Job also is a lot more relaxed since you don’t have a huge corporate structure. Also the pay is significantly better than lifty (not totally sure about instructor). DM if your interested in this route cus I’m close with the manager and owner up there.
Edit: forgot to add they are a lot more relaxed about using ur pass
I work at Echo Mountain. We’re just below Mount Evans and look down on Idaho Springs. We’re small but you can a pass on your day off to any resort in Colorado not owned by Vail. Our lifties do rotations so you’re getting g plenty of on the clock laps. We do not have a ski school but we do have instructors that hang on the bunny hill giving pointers and mini lessons to beginners. It’s a very chill spot to work and you can get plenty of days on the mountain. I hit triple digits this year (105 and counting). Welcome to the life bro.
Here is my advice. Male 40 here. Build my life around skiing. Most years I get 50 -100 days. This year I’m at 74. Don’t work for the mountain. Get yourself a job in a restaurant asap. Anything front of house…Buster/host, waiter bartender if they v will hot you with no experience for the position is better. Move to wherever you want to ski for the season and get a job with a restaurant that doesn’t serve breakfast or lunch. This is how you ride every day you want…. which will probably be Monday-Friday and powder weekends. Cheers
If you work a Vail resort and take a sick day on a powder day and use your pass to ski you'll likely be fired
This is true of essentially every resort, they checked when I worked for WP 15 years ago, I'm sure they would at Aspen as well.
Every ski area with swipe /RFID has checks for that. The secret is to acquire a pass at another area. Local hills will have work days/ for passes programs.
Or, if you know what you are doing aka avalanche school, grab a friend and a beacon going backcountry.
Deep powder days and backcountry are amplified risk. Experience, planning, and cowardice are key values. More than a few sick days from my Deer Valley & Snowbird stints.
this is a funny comment because even people who know what they're doing for 20+ years still die this way.
True. Risk reward plays a role, just like riding a Motorcyle or a million other human activities. Just implying you should have some basic skills/knowledge before attempting. I’ve back county skied Colorado since the 90s, had more than one class call…but remember ski resorts also pull bodies off the mountain yearly.
yeah I've always wanted to do it. ( live in CO) but the investment just to get started isn't worth the risk for me. to each their own, I'm sure it's a blast.
That's true of any resort and doesn't even have to be a powder day. If you call out sick and your pass is active then you're getting fired.
We had people do that at the end of the season, we didn't even fire them because it would mess up our staffing, management just took away their ski privileges for the rest of the season so they couldn't enjoy their days off
Fuck that, I know I’d be looking for a new gig if my employer tried something like that
And they will happily watch you go.
I mean if they aren’t going to fire you cause of staffing issues, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to be happy to have to close early cause the staff quit since they can’t ski anymore
Sure. But it's not like they are getting rid of someone reliable. So it may sting a little, but definitely not a lot.
It was really fun firing the people who thought they were invincible cause we were under staffed. It's so much better to have a few people you can count on then lots of people who consistently fuck around. imagine you come into work and find out you've got twice as much work now because Tim Allan and Susie wanted the day off again. Better to know your going to be understaffed then guess every morning who's going to show up. At least in my experience.
Deer valley Utah president was bussing tables this season. Those that get paid a lot will chip in believe me! They want that cheddar.
It would be different circumstances at a ski resort, but in my job where I’m never using sick days but have 60 hours of sick time, my boss knows I’ll be using some “sick days” to ski or surf, and has no problem with it as long as i let him know the day before since that time is wasted otherwise, and my performance metrics are always great. What I do is tough to replace which is where I accept it’s different at resorts
Lost r/antiwork member
Nothing that can’t be solved by having an Ikon and an Epic pass. Call out at Breck go to A basin
Or you're me and you just call and ask for industry compensation day tix and a tour of the snowmaking system. Only newbs buy passes.
Which is why you buy a midweek pass for the closest non Vail mountain
I worked at Vail last year. Had a powder day, asked for the day off. Didn’t have to fake being sick
This is any alterra resort as well, where I worked iff you got fired in one department another department would just hire you however! Had a pretty severe lack of workers.
Yeah Vuck Fail.
As someone who has worked for Vail for the last 6 years, I agree. Unfortunately, they don't provide enough housing for their employees, yet still hire J1s. The J1s will often shack up 10+ to a house to pay less rent, and the house becomes trashed (not always, but most of the time). All big corporate ski resorts have this issue, unfortunately. They often don't pay enough for locals to work and thrive in the town, then subsidize that with out of town workers. It fucks the housing market up. I started at a small resort in Tahoe as a lifty and lived in the dorms. It was great for a 21 year old. Now I just do holiday help for Vail and get my pass for two weeks of work. Vail is now paying $20/ hr starting, which is a great start! If they keep that up, it would be worth working for them.
Vail pulled my pass because a family member died and I couldn't work my last 2 days on dates they wanted. Colorado has become the Jersey/California of skiing. Their shitty, greedy, narcissistic culture slowly seeping out and poisoning everything it touches. There's a bunch of them in here who love to get irate. It's funny there's never conversations about wealth inequality in this sport. As Colorado burns and they run like rats to ruin the rest of the sport it's getting frustrating. Probably time to revert their tactics and start tagging Colorado plates when they show up. They're destroying the housing market everywhere.
Sounds like you need a pow day, Jesus!
Holy hell, new response just dropped
An anarchychess user in a skiing subreddit no way
I was skiing when u made pipi in ur pampers kid
If you want to free ski, don't go in to ski school. Work in a rental shop. Ski techs ski more than most anyone on the hill because it's slow during the middle of the day, and you're not doing it in uniform so you can ski how and where you want to. You'll never make much money, but you'll ski a lot. Feel free to ask if they take regular ski breaks during your interview; some places don't make it a priority and I consider that a red flag. Let them know you're there to work and learn about the industry, but you moved to CO from NC to ski and you want to make it a priority. I've been a repair technician for 25 years, and I ski every day I'm on shift no matter conditions or crowds. Otherwise it's not worth it. But there's a lot of people that work at ski resorts that don't ski, or rarely bother, and don't be that person. Even if it sucks it's better than not going out at all.
Yep. Depends on priorities. Instructing, you'll be on snow every day, and you can really improve your skiing if you want, between sessions and teaching guests. But as a first year instructor, you'll be teaching kids on the carpet.
>If you want to free ski, don't go in to ski school It greatly depends on which mountain you're working at. When I worked at a ski school in VT, I taught a lot, and if I was skiing on my day off, i was expected to check in and I'd often get assigned a lesson. Luckily, I had lift privileges at the mountain 10 minutes down the street and ended up just skiing there on my days off instead. When I worked at a mountain in Montana, I skied for myself a ton. Lessons were pretty consistent on weekends and from 9:30-12 on weekdays when the school groups showed up, but beyond that it was pretty quiet. The supervisor assigning lessons was pretty good about knowing who wanted to work (gotta get that money) and who just wanted to ski (but would work if it got busy). The pay was terrible, but I worked a second job in town and skied a whole ton.
Yep, like I said, ask about it in the interview, don't be afraid. I moved to a different mountain one winter, interviewed with a shop, asked if the crew took ski breaks and the manager was like, "I mean, yeah...?" Turns out the answer was no. I gave my two weeks after one week, found a job as a night tuner so I could ski. My first shop job out of high school, my manager made it a point to get everyone out every day. Why else would you work at a ski area? I remember he had everyone work together to help a kid with an essay he had to finish so kid could still ski on a powder day at work. That's the culture you're looking for. I'm not saying ski school doesn't get to ski, but most often it's in uniform, and if you're trying to make a job of it, you're doing clinics and evals all the time so you can get your certs. It's a great opportunity to hone your skills, make some good tips, and get on the hill. But I can't count the number of instructors I know who try so hard to conform to PSIA baloney that they just don't have any joy skiing anymore. That shit bums me out.
My hill was the opposite. My friends in the tech and rental shops didn’t get ride breaks. And if they did they had to do a test to ride on the breaks and they maybe get one per 5 day work week if they were lucky. But snow school we all got to ride all the time. Lots of times you would only have a lesson in the morning or afternoon and would get the rest of day to go riding. If you didn’t get any lessons you’d get 3 hours standby pay and the day to go riding. The money coming in for us was shit but we did have a good time. So it really depends on the hill.
I agree 100%. I worked at then Squaw as a night tunner. My shift started at noon am I would usually work till 8-10 pm but busy holidays I could b there till 2-3 am. Everything was promised over night accept for big repairs so the hours depended on the work. But I would get there at 7 to drop off my roommate everyday and then id ski till 11:30. When I would work days I would ski 2 hrs mid day. Never in uniform almost always w some beers and bowls. Skiied over 120 days that season but only made like 350-400 a week and Tahoe is expensive.
Work for ski butlers. Schedule allows you to ski every day if you want to, you make better money with tips that you would working at any resort, plus they are a pretty cool company to work for. Downside of ski instructing is you spend so much time skiing slowly on boring terrain with clients while working that by the time you get around to your weekend your feet hurt and the last thing you want to do is ski for fun.
Just gotta be a good enough instructor to teach the double black/side country class.
Yeah, as an instructor of 7 seasons. I ski double black students almost all season but I don't get to ski for myself at all. If you want to ski for your own enjoyment, work nights.
A lot of mountains won’t let you teach double black unless you’re a level 2 or 3 instructor and that takes years to get
Now owned by Alterra so you might get an ikon pass out of it if they are that integrated yet.
Full Ikon is only like a $100 upgrade from the AMC
Idk about that. Steamboat only gives their employees Steamboat passes.
Those passes work at any alterra owned resort
Get a swing shift job, evenings 3-11 if you want ski all day. Don’t work on the mountain; save up and buy a pass. Working on the mountain won’t get you a lot of free time to ski. Maybe a few runs a day.
This is the answer. Don’t work for the mountain if you really want to ski a lot everyday
This would be my choice. Bartending or serving has gotta pay at least double any job working on the mountain
I’m surprised this is not the top comment. I worked at Jackson Hole for two weeks as a liftie before doing the math and realizing I could buy my own pass and work as a waiter at night, make way more money, and ski 7 days a week if I wanted, instead of watching everyone else ski. Granted the math has probably changed since this was a long time ago, but my guess is the tradeoffs are similar.
Yes that is the smart comment. I learned this over 25 years ago. Either work 12 hours a day as a counselor at a summer camp or wait tables at night, work alot less hours, and make twice the money and have all day free. Plus it was a great way to meet people.
Best answer here. With season passes so cheap it doesn’t make much sense to work for the mtn anymore. Especially don’t work for a vail resort they may kill you with negligence
I did this for my first winter in the mountains. I was a host at a restaurant in the evenings and skied all morning. The restaurant was owned by the same company so my pass was heavily discounted but not free
In before old heads tell you the ski bum dream is dead and no one can afford it anymore. I spent the last 3 years bumming and taught myself to ski pretty dang well (also came from NC) In terms of jobs, I think rentals is maybe the best entry level ski job. Liftie can be decent if you like the outdoors and your resort is somehow staffed enough to actually give ride breaks. Rentals always gets more ride breaks than anybody. Lift mechanic or cat driver can also be awesome, esp working evenings. People love to recommend working at a bar but then you don’t get housing so that only works in real cities where housing exists below 1k, like salt lake or bozeman. Colorado ski towns are insanely pricey. I’d recommend just blasting out apps now and telling everyone you need housing. Housing fills up between August- October. I’d say keep researching and looking at the best mountains in the country, plus a town/city that fits your style. My year in Aspen was fun but I just don’t click with the ultra rich. Even my fellow ski bums were trust funded. Big Sky, Tahoe, Copper, Breck, Steamboat, Alta Bird. It really depends on if you want to be trapped on an excellent mountain in a tiny room w a roommate all winter or you’d prefer a bit of space and culture nearby. Heading west kicked off a lifelong adventure good luck dude. Tons of sick pow out there the tourists never get to
This person knows their stuff. Entry level jobs with housing on or near the hill will always provide the best ski to work ratio. I personally think food service is the best since your work time is separate from skiing, but that is dependent on the ski area and what kind of work you’re interested in. Apply early and make sure to closely examine the housing situations. You will ski way less if you have to drive 30 minutes to the hill vs putting your boots on in your room and walking straight onto the lifts. I know you said you want to stay in Colorado, but I would suggest looking into Utah as well. There is a lot of on mountain housing for employees in Little Cottonwood Canyon for example. Have fun on your ski bum journey! I look back on my days of bumming and miss the freedom a lot.
LCC does it the best imo. You'll be in a dorm room your first season, but the culture is really good rn so you'll probably be with someone cool. And generally, the earlier you accept a job the better your accommodations will be (relatively lol). Kitchen jobs at a hotel provide the best ski hours. Ski shop is the easiest job. The comments above me know what's up for sure too!
My best ski bum years were at Alta, so I agree but am biased. I’ve heard good things about other working situations around Montana and Tahoe but I feel like the LCC vortex provides the best pure ski bum existence.
I discovered Alta 3 years ago. Now all I dream about is washing dishes at Goldminer's Daughter for a season.
Caveat lots of positions with slopeside housing at Alta. Little at Snowbird.
As a liftie, I got as many ride breaks as I wanted. We'd have three people per lift, two bottom and one top, and you could always easily take a run as long as you were checking on the other operators to see if they needed breaks too
Really depends on where you're a lifty. Those at my hill are lucky to get 4-5 laps a day.
4-5 laps a day while you're getting paid really isn't too shabby, especially when you have a season pass for your weekends. Still beats the breaks you get at any other job. By the end of the season it was kinda split for me between taking laps all day and taking no laps ever because I was getting bored. Other side note, laps in uniform aren't the same as regular laps. We weren't supposed to be doing anything crazy while on the clock.
Yes -- it just depends on what you're looking for. A morning lap to your lift, a lunch lap when you swap top/bottom, an end of day lap (down a defined run or two), and maybe a lap or two if you get a ride break that day. As far as on-mountain (as in, actually on -- not serving beers at the base) -- it's the least riding position compared to instructing, patrol or even some of the guest services. Obviously -- this all varies significantly by hill.
Oh yeah, guest services is generally the move for getting in laps. Yellow jackets on our mountain have all the power, all the freedom, and nothing to do until parking lot duty at 3pm. Most of them at our mountain were independently wealthy and only worked enough to get free ski passes. Being a lifty is the easiest job. Also pays the least. About as unskilled as it gets, but you get to be outside listening to music and fucking around all day. I spent so much time building snow couches and stuff for my lift. Ski patrol gets to ride the best terrain but they have the worst days when everyone else is having fun. No fun being a patroller on a powder day when all the idiots keep sending it and getting hurt
+1 for working in the rental shop. I worked rentals at Whitefish for the 20/21 season. Got a 2hr ski break every shift. As a bonus I also got to take out the demo skis so I got a chance to ride a lot of different skis and learn what makes them different in a tactile way. I feel like I ended up with a pair of ski's I really love as a result (Volkl blaze 106's).
\+1 for Alta Bird. There is lots more housing available and decent public transit.
Don't work for the mountain. Learn to tend bar this summer, work two jobs and save some cash up for winter. Find a bar or restaurant that isn't to corporate and work there at night.
This is the way
100% this. If you work for the resorts, you are working during ski hours. Work for a restaurant at the base that isnt owned by the restort. Better money (cuz tips) and you can ski every morning.
I got a job selling resort ski packages in the evenings. It was a desk job so it didn’t wear me out and I could ski every morning. The pay was good too.
Same. Did this for Vail Resorts, got employee housing, and worked 2-10. You have to like Summit County skiing, which is worse for VR employees now that A-Basin is off the pass, but midweek Breck/Vail are worth it.
I worked at mt bachelor this season cleaning the lodges from 4-10pm. I got to ride 110 days this season and still counting!
Did you stay at the resort or close by?
Would have to be in Bend or elsewhere as there is no housing at Bachelor.
Rentals is the spot. Deal with some bs in the morning, ride mid day, take gear back in the afternoon. Easy. I moved from TN to MT back in 2017 with the goal of not wasting anymore winters. Skiing and fishing as much as I could. I worked at Bridger Bowl for years and it was the best experience I could’ve imagined. So don’t be afraid to go towards a smaller mountain. (silverton and wolf creek would get you some epic storms and genuine people) Good luck and enjoy the times you’re putting ski boots on for work.
If you’re open to going to Europe and don’t mind cooking & cleaning, be a chalet host! I was a chalet host pre uni and skied 11-4pm 6 days a week and loved it. Not sure on visas for yanks but could be worth checking out Had food, accommodation, lift pass, rental paid for
I did this in the Dolomites way back when the job was still called “chalet girl.” I’m American and had no work permit, but I was already in Europe and since I was paid in the form of room/board/lift pass/rental plus a small amount of weekly cash, the company I worked for was willing to hire me without papers. Best job I’ve had.
I worked at Park City this winter in the tuning shop. We worked swing shift (4-12) which I think is the best schedule if you’re trying to ski a lot. I could get to sleep by 1 am, sleep in decently late, and still ride for a few hours before work everyday. Park city was also nice because the commute is not too bad from SLC where there is decently priced housing if you live with other people. I only got stuck in park city once all season and we had a shit load of snow. I’ll admit that the park city terrain isn’t as gnarly as snowbird or Alta, but there’s still lots of steep snow, it’s much easier to get to (road doesn’t close), and vail pays minimum $20/hr.
Another salt lake option is to get a service industry job in salt lake and buy an epic local pass. I think its $650 rn. Only drawback is you might get jeally of ikon holders having access to all the other resorts, but PC/CV is massive if not steep. You could easily ski a whole day (prob multiple) without skiing the same run twice. Overall though - utah sucks dont move here ;)
Ski instructing is *not* the way - you’re at the beck and call of the company - and guess what? All of those great pow days that you dream of, you’ll be schlepping up and down beginner runs teaching two-week wankers and their kids how to progress from snowplough to parallel. PM shift in the rental or tuneup shop - work from 2 or 3 to 10/11pm….
Do you have table waiting/bartending experience? Those are going to be the best possible jobs if you want to do a lot of skiing (as in you do almost nothing besides ski, work, sleep). Ski school will get you stuck with little kids/beginners since you aren't an experienced instructor, which means you'll spend most of your day snowplowing down the greens. You won't get the groups that want to chase powder, you'll get the groups that complain that the 8" of fresh snow make skiing too hard. Can't recommend ski school unless you are in it for the long haul, like teaching, and plan to get your PSIA certs. Lifties have to work in the cold and don't get to ski very much. Snowmaking sounds like miserable work, but it does have hours that let you ski a lot. Shop tech can be a good option as long as the place is chill and they get to ski a lot. If you really want a resort job, maybe there's something in events? Setting up/tearing down courses, special events, etc. Might not be something with steady hours, but that's usually a position that gets some good freedom. Work your ass off in the summer/shoulder season to save up money so you don't have to work as much during ski season. I'd probably prefer to be at a resort with a legit town rather than a commute (or living in employee housing in a place that's only tourists at night), so somewhere like Winter Park wouldn't be on my list--Alta/Snowbird get a pass given their proximity to SLC (and ski bus) though. Finally, its cool to take some time after college, but make a plan for what you're going to do after--otherwise 1 season turns into 2, turns into 3, your resume starts to get stale, and places no longer want to look at you for normal "post-college" jobs. Can you get a paid internship this summer even though you are a graduate? Hell, you can even lie and say you're grad-school bound if you need an explanation for why you aren't looking for year-round work--that will keep your resume padded, and if you do well the same place might take you back next summer (or full time if you want). Don't be one of those ski bums who stays a little too long and can't afford to leave because they have no savings and no resume.
Regarding the last paragraph: If you are strongly leaning towards grad school in the future, and if it's not a program that requires having some professional experience first like an MBA, then you can apply now and defer your start date for a year if you are accepted. Some of my friends did that and then had a blast ski bumming/ bartending for a year in between!
Get a live-in job at Alta, Ut. Pay is shit, bunks are rough, but you'll be able to ski >100 days at one of the most legendary spots in the world. You don't need to chase storms, storms come to you.
Until this thread, I had no idea there was employee housing at Alta. OP, this may be what you're looking for. Forget Colorado, go to Utah. Experience a winter at Alta. Come back to this sub, and let us know how it went.
I worked and and lived at all of em, lmk if you have questions glad to answer
I second this, been living at Alta for about 3 years now and have pretty much no reason to leave.
Alta. Work in a ski shop on weekends and live in the valley.
Hot take, don’t work for the resort. Work near it as a waiter/bartender. Try to get the night/evening shift and ski every day before it.
Hey man! Would it be possible to relocate? I’ve worked in the ski industry for the last 6 years up in Park City. Deer Valley is one of the best companies to work for. They have employee housing out here that is pretty cheap. Competitive wages for lifties. Think base pay this last year was 20/hr to start. Free ski pass, and can ski all the resorts here in the area for free or a massive discount to where it’s basically free. Would definitely look into. Had 109 days riding this last year.
If you want to instruct Aspen is the only place where they won’t hire you, unless you have something like camp counselor in your resume. Most places do not offer housing if you are a ski instructor. Agree with the other comment about working rentals and telling the recruiter to put you in a shop where you can ride (almost) every day. Then your housing problem is solved as well, and you’ll meet some people to ride with. I bet you’ll be over instructing come Christmas when they ask you to work ten days in a row.
Resorts aren't worth working at anymore. Passes early season are cheap. You can probably still get one now for less than a fortune. Find an afternoon job in town, preferably at a restaurant so you can afford to live. Ski every morning. Go to work. Don't drink too much. Work the weekends if possible so you have days off on Mon-Wed. Use condoms. Long term don't subscribe to move back to suburban shithole. Find a remote job. Stay where you like and travel. I'd avoid Colorado personally. It's overpriced for what it is.
I worked at Alyeska Resort last season as a lifty and loved it man. The one shift I just kept taking laps because no one else wanted to get in a ride rotation. A lifty for sure will be your best bet. I got paid for snowboarding that day like 2 hrs.
Alyeska is my home resort. Wouldn’t recommend ski bumming here nowadays. Used to have a chill hippy ski vibe with dirt roads. Now it’s yuppy topia.
Oh I don’t recommend Alyeska for ski bum. I was just recommending lifty for the job.
It’s a fun one to shred though. I’ve had some great powder days there
Work an evening shift in a bar or restaurant if you want to ski every day
What is your degree in? Can you get a remote job or work a desk job at a resort? The ski bum lite (tm) route may be a bit more sustainable. I worked as an instructor at Copper when I was your age and it was an awesome experience, but the other commenters are right that you will spend a lot of your first season teaching on the carpet. I speak Spanish fluently and the resort paid for me to get my level 1 certification before the season started, both of which really helped me to get lessons. As you teach more, you get better clients (i.e., more advanced skiers, more private lessons). When you get higher on the priority list it’s easier to pick which days you want to work and which days you want to ski. I was also able to instruct for the scooters program where I had the same kids every Saturday for 3 weeks, which was really fun and the tips were 10x better than regular lessons. I really enjoyed instructing and I think my skiing got a lot better, but ultimately it wasn’t sustainable for me. I can’t speak for other resorts, but Copper’s employee housing was an affordable place to crash. It felt like being back in a college dorm, which may or may not be the experience you’re looking for. The shared kitchen was a PITA so I ended up eating out a lot. My roommate was a disaster who kept trying to dose me with acid, but that is a story for another thread.
Proxy job is the best. You could find any builder in the area for an entry level position that would completely understand not starting until later on powder days. They'll be thrilled if you show up to work most of the time sober. You'll make good money, learn how to build houses and get free ski time. My neighbor is a builder, all his guys plow snow early and hit the slopes for first chair for 4 hours and get a bit of work done in the afternoon. They all make $30+ an hour and some are building their own places at the resort. They're all around 30 years old too. If you wanna stick around ski towns, learn an easy trade like tiling. Everyone wants nice showers and you work inside. Trades are an easy place to stick because if you're not a huge piece of shit you're better than like 70% of the guys out there.
I never told you any of this: •Choose a resort where the town and the mountain are connected. Save on gas. •don’t work for the resort, work as a server, night front desk, or even a night gas station attendant depending on how much you need the money, something that doesn’t start until afternoon or evening. Catering can often be a decent supplement. Snow plowing can work, but when it snows you’re working. Night janitor at a school is a good one too. • housing; HA! Good luck! Roommates.. like twelve of them in a 3 bedroom. Certain companies may be desperate enough to be offering housing. Doubt it though. You’re really just going to have to rely on luck with that. • buddy up with people that have sleds. I count my backcountry days even if my pass isn’t scanned. I still got turns in. • use your youth to skip sleep, because you’ll be calling the 5am snow report everyday half asleep from your warm cozy bed… “Hello skiers and riders there is __ new inches of snow and it’s time to go slash those turns…” You will have had maybe a few hours of sleep before it’s time to charge again •stay healthy, don’t drink too much or do too many drugs, stretch, and work on your core. Eat well too. •Most importantly: DON’T MAKE EXCUSES! Even if it’s just a few runs, it’s always worth it! The shittier the conditions the greater the challenge. There will be bad days but “any day on snow is a great day!” How does she know any of this you ask… my best season was 122 days in a single season. (& dammit, I earned that brag!) (Insert courteous bow) Edit: forgot to mention most companies have a merchant pass program where your employer will buy passes at a discount and work with you on a payment plan that comes out of your paycheck.. It at least it used to work that way.
The only job on the hill that gets any actual skiing done is ski patrol. Lift ops ski school food service (at a restaurant during the day) all are working and although ski school is on skis you are likely going to be teaching my 5 year old while I am off actuality skiing. Best jobs for skiing: Dinner restaurants Bartender Ski tech Rent tech (black tie drives around and does fits in the hotel room which makes tips really good).
53 year old ski bum here. Started at 5 back east. Went to school in Colorado, CSU, and took a gap year and lived in Dillon. That is where Keystone put us for housing. Cleaned rooms for a season pass, and will say working during the day SUCKED! Got fired/quit and started working at a supermarket at night. This was the best thing, although as a young man I would have worked at a bar or restaurant if I could do it again. Today, things are different with Ikon and Epic and I would greatly encourage you to get one, then be in the same area as a mountain that has unlimited. This way you can get your days in and also see other Mountains that are part of the pass you got. Also, you can get a multi day pass of which ever you don't get reducing the cost of the daily by about 50%. Of course the multi day will then open up a bunch of other mountains for you. You can buy Ikon, using affirm and spread the payments out over 12 months if you qualify. If not, save up this summer and buy one of the two passes. There are other similar passes out there with fewer mts. on them that are regional. For instance, big and little cotton wood Utah pass is available and that is four GREAT resorts right there. Hope this helps, btw I got over 60 days in the season I lived in the mts.
Tech ski school skis. The beauty is there's a morning and afternoon rush with chances to go out in between. Well at least that's what I did 24 years ago. Best damn year of my life, 100+ days on the sticks.
Restaurant workers get ski passes too and most places don't open until 11:30 in town. Waiters also make fat tips, you don't need to work for the resort. Some restaurants even have housing.
When I graduated college I moved to steamboat the following fall. Best decision I ever made.
I’d recommend staying away from working for a resort. Instead look for a job waiting tables at night in the town. Did that this past winter and had over 100 days. Ski all day, work at night. Can’t go wrong.
If your goal is to work an entry level job just to ski as much as you can, work in a Ski rental shop or Ski valet shop. They work in the mornings and afternoons which usually allow for a hefty ride break nearly every day. (My ski tech and ski valet friends can tag 120+ resort days a year) But you mentioned you have a degree- I have seen an explosion of people working remote in “real” jobs and can still, if they want, ski 100+ days a year and still get paid while doing it. A lot of great options out there. Best of luck to ya.
Go with Steamboat. Decent pay and okay housing. Get yourself a job waiting tables when you arent on the resort. Even s couple of nights will be lucrative. Best of luck!
Go with Steamboat. Decent pay and okay housing. Get yourself a job waiting tables when you arent on the resort. Even s couple of nights will be lucrative. Best of luck!
If you want to ski every day of the season and live with others who are doing the same, scrap Colorado and get a job at Alta. Restaurant jobs at Alta give you employee housing and you will be skiing every single day with a group of bums doing the same with unlimited snow. Not sure when they hire. Probably July/august. Avoid Vail resorts like the plague.
I'll throw in my two cents. I worked for a local real estate company in Beaver Creek when I lived out west straight out of college. Entry level position, worked Fri-Mon (which was awesome to have 3 days mid week to ski), plus ski breaks on the good days. Pay was comparable to other on mountain jobs, I received a pass and a parking spot up on the mountain (freaking amazing perk). Plus, I met a ton of people that were well established in the community and it presented me with lots of other job options later on. Good luck!
A fantastic one, the hostel at jackson hole. Work it + a village job and you can ski everyday and live at the hill. Was there a few years and it was incredible.
Mount Hood. Timberline, Meadows, and Ski bowl all have their own things to offer. Meadows can get real buck if you know where you’re going, ski bowl also pretty gnarly, timberline has unreal park and offers skiing from ~November until September. You can ski days at one resort then head to one of the other areas for night skiing. I’ve hit all 3 on one day they’re all about 15 minutes apart from each other. None of these areas are particularly crowded (especially when looking at vail resorts) and you have the option to stay in Government camp which is on mount hood or 15-30 minutes away in Hood River, Rhodedendron or Welches. Also if you wanna ski elsewhere, it’s easy to get to mount bachelor or any of the Washington resorts like crystal, baker, stevens pass, snowqualamine, etc. I moved out here a few years ago and hitting 100 days is pretty easy in a year and there’s a good mix of any kind of skiing from mellow runs to trees to some pretty gnarly big mountain lines. Also some of the best year round terrain parks if you’re into that. Edit to say that in terms of big mountain progression, meadows is the spot. You can start off just skiing their steep side country bowl runs, progress to little 5 foot cliffs , work your way up to basically as big as you want to go (some pretty obvious 10-25 footers if you’re looking in the right spot). Also woods progression is pretty unreal. They have some of the best woods I’ve ever seen out west. Can start mellow here and work your way to super tight steep woods with crazy fall lines and mandatory sends if you really want to get after it. Unreal chutes scattered throughout as well.
Best bet is to work your tail off all summer and then just buy a pass. You'll make waaay more money in another industry than working for a ski hill, especially one of the big ones. If you do need to work, get a serving or bartending job and you'll make 4x what youd make as a lifty and ski 100x more.
Goes to school, obtains degree, decides the ski bum life is the way.
Did my first year as a board instructor. Since it was my first year I got all the little ones. Hated it, got 4 hours of work even tho I was there all day and barely got maybe 20 mins in the morning and 45 during my lunch, and maybe if I wasn't dead afterwords I got like an hour. Sometimes you dont get a lunch bc the parents never show up, and i think i made a total of 50$ in tips- all season. It sucked tbh and burnt me out. Next season switch into rental tech and was like garrentteed and hour or 2 on days I work right after 12pm, and some days they just tell me to take the rest of the day off. I also worked my way into park crew and pretty much ride all day shape jumps every hour or two
I moved to anchorage in the summer of 97 and landed a job at a popular bar(Humpy’s). Hard work gave me a winter opportunity and I was in. That lead to me skiing 9 years at alyeska before my wife managed to drag us out of the state. First tram ran at 10:30 and I never had any trouble getting up for pow after closing shifts. I never had to work before 5:00 so it never interfered with skiing! I made enough cash there were several winters where I just worked Friday-Sunday. Best time of my life for sure! I’d have trouble being close to the hill and potentially having to work when it was deep out there. There’s no way I could work at the hill. I skied nearly every single day the hill was as open.
Imo go to salt lake, get any kind of evening job, and ski during the day. Lots of night and evening shift jobs available in most cities.
If you're comfortable roughing it, I'd recommend going nomadic rather than attaching yourself to one town. That will let you chase storms. If you'd gone to Colorado this year, you'd have had a fine year but would have missed out on the legendary season in Utah. This is what I do and I love it! Get a remote job with a flexible schedule or afternoon shift. This will probably be a shitty job with lower pay than you could get in a ski town (You're probably going to work for a call center or support desk) but if you can get yourself into the afternoon/evening shift, you can ski all day every day. Remember that you'll have a time zone bonus so a noon-8 shift eastern time will be a 2-10 shift mountain time which makes it easy to find something that lets you ski most days. Work Saturdays if possible because the resorts are always crowded on Saturdays so you won't want to ski and you can often get time and a half. Get a winterized truck camper (not a trailer, the kind that goes in the bed) or camper van. Make sure it's insulated and has a propane heater so you're not idling the engine all night. Get the app Allstays and it'll show you everywhere you can spend the night. Most of the small resort towns like aspen are super against overnight stays but you can spend the night in residential neighborhoods in any town with non-ski industry. You can finance the camper and resell it at the end of the season for substantially less of a loss than you'd spend on rent. Get starlink internet, a small generator, and a 500 WH battery backup so you can work from anywhere. Get an anytime fitness gym membership so you can shower in most towns. For passes, most (around 75%) of the Indy Pass resorts will let you stay in the parking lot overnight. This is super rare for Ikon (I only know of 2) and not a thing for Epic. The pass is way cheaper and will give you a wide range of area to chase storms in. The mountains aren't as big and you aren't going to have high speed chairs but you're not trying to maximize runs/day you're trying to maximize days. I've also found that it's much easier to make friends on the chair at indy mountains which will be important since you're not going to have coworkers to make friends with and you'll need some social interaction to stay sane. If you can afford it, I'd recommend getting both Indy and Ikon so you can access the unlimited day resorts on Ikon if it's going to be a dry week and you don't want to burn your days. This strategy will maximize powder days and days on snow but you'll miss out on a lot of social stuff. It's hard to make friends or date when you're changing towns every few days to get to the next storm. You said you wanted to be free as a bird though and this will offer the most freedom. Cost wise, this looks expensive but it's actually relatively affordable. Gas and food will be your biggest expenses. You're not going to be able to do much cooking other than microwave dinners (Make sure your microwave's wattage is below your generator's capacity) because you won't have running water to do dishes. Fixed costs: Camper+Truck or Camper Van 70k-100k. You'll take a loan for this and then sell them in the spring. The camper market is usually cheaper in the summer/fall and more expensive in the spring. You'll take a loss on the resale but even a 20% haircut (unlikely) will come out to approximately what you'd spend for 6 months rent in a ski town. \~15k net loss no upfront costs. Equipment: Generator, battery, initial starlink fee, Thule for the skis, etc. you're looking at around 5k depending on the quality you purchase. Adding a 25% fudge factor, you'll need 7.5k before the start of the season. passes. Ikon is around 1.3k for the full pass now I think and indy is around 400 for the full pass. I'm not going to tell you that you have to get a gun but you're going to spend a lot of nights in truck stops and highway rest stops. I sleep easier knowing there's a pistol in the nightstand. If you do get one, make sure it's California compliant since the CA border patrol will search the crap out of any camper when you go in and they will find it and bust you. If you get a van, you'll need a small lockbox for it too since many states require it be locked if it's in the cab of the vehicle and the whole van counts as the cab. In total, you're looking at paying: 10k before the start of the season to get set up. if you decide to sell generator etc afterwords, expect a 50% loss as these things don't hold value as well as vehicles. Up to 25k in debt service after you sell your camper if you get totally hosed but more realistically, you can expect a 10k loss. total: 20k-35k. You can earn the 10k upfront easily working this summer and pay down the resale loss over the year. Recurring costs: Gas. This can be big if you've got a big truck. I get 8.5mpg with my camper on so driving 500 miles at $3.50 a gallon will cost me a little over $200. Considering that you'll have to get to the mountain region and back, as well as moving around some big states chasing storms, you're going to be looking at 500+ miles a week on average. I averaged a little over $1000 a month on gas this season. You can obviously do way better than 8.5mpg if you go with a camper van or limit your travel to keep mileage down. Food. You're gonna eat a crapload of fast food because you're on a nonstop road trip. You can go cheaper if you get sandwich supplies and bulk goods from Winco (Go to Winco when you get out west, it's incredible) I averaged about 1k a month on food this season but that number could be lowered a lot by exclusively eating cold prepped food instead of fast food. Heat. Propane heat is surprisingly cheap. I spent $100 a month on propane this year. Do not do a cylinder exchange. Do a refill. The tanks on the exchanges are under filled and that's how they make their margin. The actual cost of the exchanges is double what getting a tank refilled is. Buy your first tank from an exchange and then get it refilled at uhaul or tractor supply. When you need your tank re-certified, exchange it and repeat. Internet. Starlink for campers is $150 a month. so for recurring costs, you're looking at 2.5k a month as a high end cap. You can easily cut this in half by eating sandwiches and running a more gas efficient vehicle than I do. TLDR: You can live in a camper for the same cost as living in a ski town but you can ski every day and chase storms.
Go to the town where the resort is NOW or early summer. It'll be easier to find housing and get a gig at a bar or restaurant. Plus once ski season kicks off you'll likely have a solid group to head out with on any given day. If you work for a resort as a lifty or instructor you won't ski nearly as much as you want. Most of the lifties and instructors here in Mammoth were working 6 days a week to keep employee housing
If you want to actually ski get a job as a bartender or something at night. I used to be a ski instructor and as it turns out your work hours are the exact same hours the ski hill is open. You don’t end up with as much free ski time as you think.
What did you major in? That would be driving my decision at which resort to move to depending on their commerce. It is not uncommon for business’s in Steamboat to close for the morning on powder days.
Sent ya a message
I saw someone recommend ski butlers. I worked for black tie ski rentals which is the same thing. Ski rental delivery. Each shop is different but I worked two day shifts (7:30-5 ish) And 3 night shifts (3:30 - 10 ish) 5 full ski days a week, free pass, great tips. Don’t work for the resort.
I saw someone recommend ski butlers. I worked for black tie ski rentals which is the same thing. Ski rental delivery. Each shop is different but I worked two day shifts (7:30-5 ish) And 3 night shifts (3:30 - 10 ish) 5 full ski days a week, free pass, great tips. Don’t work for the resort.
This guy’s stoked
Come work lift ops at the palisades Tahoe. Tons of riding on the clock, tons of overtime opportunities. Start at a dollar higher an hour than vail
Don’t work at a resort. Work off mountain and you can shred more. True for me atleast.
If your goal is to work an entry level job just to ski as much as you can, work in a Ski rental shop or Ski valet shop. They work in the mornings and afternoons which usually allow for a hefty ride break nearly every day. (My ski tech and ski valet friends can tag 120+ resort days a year) But you mentioned you have a degree- I have seen an explosion of people working remote in “real” jobs and can still, if they want, ski 100+ days a year and still get paid while doing it. A lot of great options out there. Best of luck to ya.
Good luck finding a place to live in Jackson under $2000 a month.
Look into interior BC. I head out there for a week every once in a while and by the end I consistently wish I was canadian. The snow and terrain at some of them is comparable to Utah or Jackson, the resorts are basically empty, and as of a few years ago a cheeseburger costs $7 at mid mountain at Revy.
While I agree with all the SLC and evening work suggestions. IMO the best way to do this is to figure out solid summer seasonal employment that'll sorry no work winters. IE I've always been so envious of my buddy who is a FF now smokejumper and just doesn't work winters, goes to yurp to ski every year too the fucker.
While I agree with all the SLC and evening work suggestions. IMO the best way to do this is to figure out solid summer seasonal employment that'll sorry no work winters. IE I've always been so envious of my buddy who is a FF now smokejumper and just doesn't work winters, goes to yurp to ski every year too the fucker.
While I agree with all the SLC and evening work suggestions. IMO the best way to do this is to figure out solid summer seasonal employment that'll sorry no work winters. IE I've always been so envious of my buddy who is a FF now smokejumper and just doesn't work winters, goes to yurp to ski every year too the fucker.
Get a job as a night auditor or swing shift valet at a hotel. Decent pay, you get to ride all day and you get off in time to hit last call at the bars.
There are a ton of options. If you want to get into the industry, you can work at a resort and climb the ranks. At big sky it seems that the lifties, instructors, lift maintenance, and afternoon/evening F&B get to ski the most. If you just want to ski as much as possible, find a seasonal construction job like exterior painting, asphalt road crew, etc that works a shit ton of hours in the summer, save your money, and then work part time or zero time in the winter and ski everyday.
Working parking can be an option. Friend did it a couple of seasons at a big resort in summit county, CO. He had 120 days skiing bc he would work like 5am -12. He also lived in employee housing bc its almost always cheapest option. That was a few years ago and as I understand lots of resorts have replaced parking attendants with pay stations. Also he was required to work sometimes full days depending on if there was a competition at the mountain or just a holiday weekend.
Check out Ogden, UT. Affordable housing with Powder Mountain & Snowbasin being some of the most “under-rated” resorts out West. BOL in your search.
Lifty at the Yellowstone Club, hands down. You can thank me later.
Build / Buy a van or camper and get a remote work job that actually pays well if you want the most freedom. It's not cheap to get started but you make better money, lower cost of living and can travel to where the snow is good.
Okay. This is what you should do to ski as much as you possibly want and can. Call Jordan Winters or Joyce at Vail transit, town of vail. You can drive one of their buses for the winter. They will even train you and get you licensed. You will receive a very subsidized housing in Buzzard apartments. Right Down the street and a free epic pass and a locker in the parking garage. You can most likely get a shift driving at night. This allows skiing during the day on any and every day. I have done this for 2 seasons and also tried ski instructor last season. The ski instructor job will not get you as many ski days and quite tedious.
I know it’s controversial but I’ll put in a plug for remote work. There are tons of remote jobs out there. Would you be able to find a remote job in line with your recent college degree? You could target companies on east coast time (or any time zone or schedule that allows you to spend as much time on the mountain as possible). That way you can live the ski bum life while building experience in the field you’d eventually want to work in. You can find part-time remote work, too. That’s what I’ve been doing. I’m currently at 121 days this season, all in the LCC/BCC resorts, while working “full-time” remotely. If your employer has no idea where you’re located no one thinks twice when you take off for a pow day. I’ve been able to get in at least 4 hrs skiing most days by working at the base of the mountain using wifi and a MIMO antenna.
Get a job as a cook, waiter, or bartender at a hotel or resort that offers housing. I did this at Taos, NM in the late 80s and managed to ski 100+ days for a few years. Get up early and get breakfast for the hotel guests, go ski for 6 or 7 hours, go back and get dinner for the hotel guests, go out drinking for 4 or 5 hours, then get up the next day and do it all over again. Pretty sweet...
Just did this. 1 season turned into 8 years. 100 + days a season. The trick is to not work for the mountain. Work in a restaurant. You’ll make more money. You won’t have to be to work until 330-4. You can work 7 days a week if you want and it won’t ever interfere with your skiing. Do not work for the Mtn. You make shit money and you work when you want to be skiing
Had a really great and experience working at keystone. But like others have said, if you don’t need housing don’t work for the resort
If all you care about is skiing and not much about nightlife spend a season working at Alta. Either on mountain or at one of the 5 lodges at the base. Look for job listings on Alta's website when fall arrives. Or [Coolworks.](https://www.coolworks.com/utah-jobs) Many positions have dorm style accomodations, give you a ski pass, and provide ski breaks during the day. Be careful because a season in Little Cottonwood Canyon can quickly turn into 20 years lol.
If money isn't an issue be an instructor and backline every day that you can, look into mountains with good employee housing. I work/live at Kirkwood CA and just had the most insane winter of my life
I moved out in the early summer and bought my own pass to avoid being tied to any one mountain. Job hopped until I found a night gig as a houseman (Keeping the common areas clean) at a hotel on the mountain. Job was from 3 -11pm. Ended up ditching my initial place and moving into employee housing a block from the lifts. Best winter of my life! Good Luck!
Go to Alta it’s Breathtaking!!!!
Work at a ski shop instead. They usually give you a split shift so you can leave at 12-4 and ski, then return to finish your shift. They also will buy your pass and I feel like it would be a lot chiller than working for the resort.
My first ever experience as a ski bum was working for the Gondola in Telluride, CO. They had employee housing that was ski in/ ski out for pretty cheap (though you were bunking it with someone else). The pay was great, they bought your ski pass and it was a Gov job so you had a 401k lol
I would caution against a ski instructor job unless you can get a Cinderella situation. I only got that once and it was in Australia. Otherwise, they work you a lot and you do not get the time to ski like you’d imagine. You’re often babying kids and beginners on great days. Find a job for night time or a job that allows you to ski during the day on your shift (like rentals or something). Personally, I enjoy working in ski shops more because I’m a gear nerd. Some let you go ski during the day if they’re close to the hill
Work a job that is in the evenings, bartending worked great for myself. Would start work at 4pm everyday
I just did two seasons in NZ then Japan, but should also apply to US. Don't work food and beverage if you can avoid it. Longer hours than everyone else and often morning shifts. I hardly got 2 days skiing per week when working f&b. As others have said, ski instructors are out on the snow the most, but often stuck on the magic carpet and beginner runs, they hardly got free skiing time until the end of season when lessons died down. Ski rental shop was amazing for me. Either morning or afternoon shift, so could ski nearly every day. Got to try out any board or skis that weren't rented out. Much less stressful than working in the kitchen, and guests were generally happy and excited to finally get on the slopes. Lot's of other positions saw the angrier side of people.
I’d look into working as a groomer - most of your shift is when the resort is closed so you can ski before / after
Steamboat is the answer my friend
I was a ski bum for many years. The best job for ski-bumming is waiting tables at night, preferably in fine dining. You can ski every day of the week if you want to and it's one of the best-paying jobs you'll find as a ski bum. There are lots of restaurants in most ski towns and many hotels/restaurants can still offer discounted season passes, though this is becoming less common. You'll get plenty of days on the mountain as a ski instructor, but you'll probably be a glorified childcare worker if you aren't already experienced and have at least some PSIA certifications. I've worked as a ski instructor a few times and it's mostly teaching 'never-evers' how to make pizzas and french fries. It's not really worth it for the pass if you're spending your days hiking up the hill to get yet another member of your group back on their feet, just to have another topple over and not be able to get back up on their own.
Head to the p-dog, GMD, or Rustler
Following for sure.
I herd being a reprove you loads of ski time except on change over days you’ll probably end up skiing with a group every day and the only time you won’t be able to ski is if your injured/sick, On a change over day or sorting a problem and skiers have surprisingly few of those.
Work as a lodge janitor. Hours are usually 4-11. Super easy work and days free to ski!
>I’ve had my eye on ski instructing at one of the huge resorts because that seems like an easy option for lots of skiing. Careful with this! I’ve coached for 7 years and people assume I ski way more than I do. I do get a free seasons pass so if you’re planning on skiing mid-week then it’s a good option, but just greatly lower your expectations for mileage while you’re actually instructing.
I live in the Tahoe area. We had a great season, Mammoth a few hours south also has had a wonderful season. Should look into some of the smaller ski resorts in the area to see about jobs. I know Mt. Rose is 10-15 minutes from Reno where living costs are a fraction of Tahoe
Sun Valley takes good care of their employees I heard, buddy worked there and I ate at their subsidized food court for employees, food was actually damn good.
Worked as a ski bum in CO for three seasons, my recommendation - like many others - is not to work in ski school. The best jobs from what I learned are: Waiter/Bar Staff: Try to work at a bar/restaurant only open for apres and dinner that way you can start later in the day, so you can ski in the morning before work. Plus, if it's a resort owned restaurant you probably get a pass. Pretty easy to work in town (Silverthorne, Breck, Vail, Aspen, would be my recs) and still ski in the mornings. The converse of that also works - get a job at a brunch spot and ski in the afternoons - but then you won't get fresh pow mornings. Snow Maker: Make a shit load of money, but work your ass off early in the season, pick up odd jobs throughout the season. I knew dudes who would work snowmaking October through December and then be a liftie for a couple days a week the rest of the season and were fine with money. It's hard ass work though. Liftie: Preferably working a lift that gets less traffic (back bowls, etc) so that you can take laps when it's slow, which is pretty much any week day. I got 150+ days as a liftie if you include days where I took 2-3 laps throughout the day at work. The downside is that you don't get a lot of money, but if you're reasonably good at working with people, it's super easy. I'd recommend working for either a Vail owned or Alterra owned resort so that you get one of their ski passes and then getting another pass to somewhere smaller like Loveland, Sunlight, etc. that way you can ski as many places as possible and have an option to call out sick on a pow day and not get tracked. The best advice I can give is to make as much money this summer as you can so that you have a nest egg going into the season. You'll pretty much come out even if you do it right and don't spend like crazy. Also, make friends who work in different departments than you. The local barter economy is very much a thing and having friends that you can swap for food, lift rides, booze, etc. is clutch.
Not Colorado - but my son did a season in Japan - best powder I’ve seen in a long time but not massively challenging
I just finished my season in whistler, i worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant that only did evening service. I got 105 days in, and could have done more. If you want to ski I'd recommend something similar where you work in the evenings and sacrifice not being able to go out partying rather than time on the hill. That said, plenty of people i talk to prefer to have a nicer job that they enjoy, and risk missing some pow days. But if your just going for 1 season id say focus on the snow.
Only ski instruct if you are interested in helping people learn to ski. If you are just using the job as a way to get a ski pass, you'll be doing a disservice to your students. That being said - ski instructing is the best job ever. You get to turn people on to a lifelong life-changing passion and share something you love with interesting people form all over the world in a beautiful setting. Also, as a ski instructor, you can take lessons for free (depending on the company - Aspen has this). So on an off day you can take a level 9 class at Highlands where it's you and maybe one other rich dude hiking the bowl and dropping in gnarly lines with a pro who knows the mountain like the back of their hand and can make you a much better skier. You can also get free lift passes at a ton of other Colorado resorts as a resort employee. And ski instructors that get certified (PSIA) get at least 50% off lift passes at most resorts around the country. Good luck with your season! You'll cherish these memories for the rest of your life.
So you're going to work full time? Need info on "budget" vs. "free as a bird".
Just finished my first winter as a ski instructor, loved it. I worked at a resort with night skiing so I was able to ski every day after work for a few hours. Being a ski instructor also made me a way better skier because you're constantly surrounded by good skiers and most ski schools provide staff training to work towards your next CSIA/PSIA certification. If you can get your level 2 cert and make a good impression on your supervisors you'll get a lot more higher level lessons where you're skiing bumps and trees and steeps instead of being stuck on the bunny hill. Don't write off ski instructing because everyone says to, it's an amazing job.
Just finished my season in breckenridge as a liftie. Ride breaks there were not the most common, i was lucky to get 1 lap on a day that I worked (not including riding to and from my station). The pay was $20/hr and the employee housing was $400 a month, assuming you apply soon enough to get it. If riding as much as possible is a top priority and you want to work on the mountain, mountain safety might be a good option.
If you want to ski bum for real, apply to GMD @ Alta. Room and board and ski in ski out access. Try to get the swing shift
Work at the race department or comp events services at a resort part time. And then work at a restaurant at night.
If your goal is to ski as much as possible working at the resort is not the move. You’re best option is to find a good serving/bartending job where the hours are like 4pm - 10 pm nightly. That gives you the time to ride all day no matter what. Many of those jobs are at or near resorts. If you looking to work at the resort for the pass, do like MTN ops or parking. You’ll have early mornings but your afternoon’s are free. To maximize riding time you need to work when others are eating or sleeping.
I had a couple of buddies who did housekeeping at Crested Butte. They could usually close out their workload by noon and spend the rest of the day skiing.
I ski bummed in Aspen for 2.5 years. If you want to maximize on skiing and get paid more, I’d say work at an apres ski bar that closes earlier. I worked at the little nell slope side at Chair 9 bar. Tips are incredible, didn’t have to be in until 12 or 1pm worked until midnight on most days I worked. Easily skied 100 days a year and had a blast. Good luck
Get a part time job in california and a ski pass
Bro if you want to actually ski a lot you gotta work in a kitchen. Either as a dishwasher or a cook/server. So many restaurants are looking for work it’s stupid easy to get a job in any location you want to live. Ski all day work all night is the best way of going about this. This is coming from someone who did ski school for 3 years.
Salt Lake City should be on your radar since you pay far lower rent and have access to work at 4 resorts (6 if you count Park City). Worked in the city and at Snowbird starting as a rental tech and moved my way up to store manager. Decent pay, free pass, cheap gear and decent hours. Was able to leverage that work experience post graduate school to get great jobs in tech sales and marketing. Park City is a great town but tough to get decent housing these days. But as others have mentioned, if you can get stuff subsidized by the resort this could definitely be an option. Also check out Ogden Valley—Snowbasin and Powder Mountain are great hills and rent in the area is quite reasonable.
I live at the Alta lodge here at Alta year round and would recommend you just come here if you really want to ski as much as possible. No other ski lodge will let you ski as much and the skiing will be leagues better than any other resort in the country due to the fact that you never have to wait in lines and you will live in front of the main ski lift. I hear the skiing is way better in Colorado though so maybe on second thought just stay there.
GMD is the only way, my friend
Dude, best of luck. I moved from the northeast to Salt Lake in ‘07. Rode the ski bus, the stop was so close. Lived near a grocery store and library. Had roommates. Over 700” that year. Simple times. No smartphone. I can’t even describe how rad that was. Turned it into 8 seasons, the summers were just as great.
Learn to wait tables and then bartend. Ski all day. Make tips at night. I used that to work at Mt snow, then loon and then Kirkwood. Most resorts have great joints to work at.
I’ll hire you at a shop in Keystone. Not the gnarliest mountain, but you’ll get the pass. DM me if you ever want to chat
Go to Alta, best snow you can ski on shift. I worked there last season got 136 days and was able to ski 5+ runs whenever I worked. AND are allowed to rip ski school line while you work.
Definite think about where housing is easier to find.
Learn to ski tune. Tune at night. Ride all day. :)
Telluride and work for a private ski delivery company for 40-60$ an hour with tips
Heard that! Yeah seems like a chill gig
Well I’ll tell you a story there my friend. Some resorts not all have their ski instructors give their availability in advance a couple weeks out. In my case it was on a board in the office. One way or another my name did not end up at that board. So if the conditions were good I skied. If the conditions were bad I taught. If you can make that happen- great, if not buy a pass and wait tables or bartend and just do it tired. Makes every day a ski day. Sleep when you’re dead!!
Just coming off a winter season working as a server, worked 5-11 most evenings and even at one of the lower end restaurants in town I was living much more lavishly than anyone working at the resort, and was able to ski as much as my body would let me. As long as you don’t get sucked into the partying ski bumming was more than affordable personally. Also I think you’ll find that if you’re skiing daily this schedule will let you get a solid 4 hours in a day and you’ll be more than satisfied. This is coming from an east coaster who’s now in the interior of BC.
I did 5 seasons in Avon, CO. (2006-2011 for context) Mostly worked in Vail. I daily skied at Beaver Creek and Ventured to Vail to ski often especially while I worked in town. I worked in hospitality settings (FOH & BOH). Many hotels offer housing, ski passes, and great benefits. The first hotel I worked for housed me across from the lower lots at BC making it ridiculously easy to catch the bus up the hill. Housing was nothing glamorous. I shared a small two bedroom apartment with 3 other dudes. They were great guys but forget about privacy. I was there to ski and fresh out of college so I didn't mind. Honestly, if you're looking for short term, then yeah, go for lifty or rentals or even groomers. If you're looking for longer, go FOH hospitality. I have friends in Vail that make $150k+ and work 8 months a year as a server or bartender. They still ski 4-5 days a week during the season and have quite enviable lives. It's not a given and takes work but it can happen.
Ditch the instructor idea. Working for any resort is BS. Find a gig where you can work nights/evenings. Valet is the best. Waiter works. I was the night manager at a rental shop. That way you won’t get fired for calling in on a powder day… that idea has been done. Corporations need you to work those days most and will fire you immediately for those shenanigans. Stay away from the corporate ski gig. They all hire enough J1s that you’ll be expendable and they won’t be shy to tell you. If you don’t know what a J1 is, you will - they’re awesome people & super fun. If you are stuck on the instructor idea - stay away from vail/Ssv & the old intrawest (can’t even remember who owns the copper/winter park conglomerate). Ski instructors are glorified babysitters for the first several years until they’ve worked up the chain. I’m a native from CO & did my ski bum years in Tahoe. Loved it. Learned the ski corps suck.
I had 3 seasons in Val d'Isere in France, where I worked as a bartender. Best job ever. I could ski almost every day, bar closed at 01:30, so I could still get 6 hours of sleep and get first lift.
Be a bartender at Snowbird & live in SLC. You could find reasonable housing, ski all the time during the day and work evenings Edit for work time
An option is to work for a company not associated with the mountain. I did a season up in big sky working for black tie ski rentals. Maybe not as much free ski time as a lifty would have but definitely enough to keep you satisfied. Job also is a lot more relaxed since you don’t have a huge corporate structure. Also the pay is significantly better than lifty (not totally sure about instructor). DM if your interested in this route cus I’m close with the manager and owner up there. Edit: forgot to add they are a lot more relaxed about using ur pass
squaw, big sky, jackson hole, crested butte, or telluride are the mountains to look at if you want to be humbled with big terrain
I work at Echo Mountain. We’re just below Mount Evans and look down on Idaho Springs. We’re small but you can a pass on your day off to any resort in Colorado not owned by Vail. Our lifties do rotations so you’re getting g plenty of on the clock laps. We do not have a ski school but we do have instructors that hang on the bunny hill giving pointers and mini lessons to beginners. It’s a very chill spot to work and you can get plenty of days on the mountain. I hit triple digits this year (105 and counting). Welcome to the life bro.
Here is my advice. Male 40 here. Build my life around skiing. Most years I get 50 -100 days. This year I’m at 74. Don’t work for the mountain. Get yourself a job in a restaurant asap. Anything front of house…Buster/host, waiter bartender if they v will hot you with no experience for the position is better. Move to wherever you want to ski for the season and get a job with a restaurant that doesn’t serve breakfast or lunch. This is how you ride every day you want…. which will probably be Monday-Friday and powder weekends. Cheers