Work hard, ski hard-- but where?

August 13, 2011 10:14 AM

My friends and I are toying with the idea of working at a ski resort in Colorado this winter. Give me your recommendations and advice!

The best pay, the most fun, the best skiing, the best living--anything you've got! Where should we look first? If you've done it, do you have words of wisdom?

posted by la_rousse to grab bag (5 answers total)

"If you've done it, do you have words of wisdom?"

It's terribly weather dependent; no snow, no work/money. Unfortunately, for most folks wanting to work the resorts for free lift tickets, it's good absolutely necessary to have money if you're living on even the cheap, ratty edge of even a 2nd tier ski resort. All living costs are higher, in the mountains. Also, keep your health insurance current; it's a long, expensive transfer, by ambulance or helicopter, down the mountain to an orthopedist, if you break a leg badly.

It's also, somewhat, dependent on the economy. Maybe not Aspen, Snow Mass, or Breckenridge so much, but elsewhere, if the tourists aren't booking the lodges to near 100% capacity, the first money saving strategy lodge and local business managements employ is to cut staff, or staff hours. OTOH, if you don't mind finding and keeping 10 little part-time jobs to creatively make rent in a place where you share a bedroom with 3 other ski bums, while you wait for late arriving powder, go for it. You're only young once.
posted by paulsc at 10:27 AM on August 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Shit pay + free mountain pass. Live on peanut butter and vodka. Work stoned all day, party all night.





It can be fun.
posted by alex_skazat at 10:51 AM on August 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

A friend worked at the McDonalds in Vail a long time ago. He reported cramped dorm living and lots of rich assholes among the customers.
posted by exogenous at 11:01 AM on August 13, 2011

Telluride- live at big billies.
posted by TheBones at 9:58 PM on August 13, 2011

I worked at Copper for a season. In my opinion it's a mid-range resort - way cheaper than vail or aspen, but a lot bigger and newer than A-Basin.

Not a lot of staff accomodation at the resort, but Silverthorne was about 25mins by free shuttle bus. Silverthorne was pretty cool, heaps of ski workers so a good atmosphere, and lot more food/shopping options than living at a resort. It was super easy to find 4 or 5 others to share a house with at any of the hostels.

Pay was the same as everywhere else. Maybe if you are in a tipping job you could expect more at one of the fancier resorts.

One of the big advantages was that they had a ticket-swap deal with a few other resorts in colorado (like A-basin, one or two more that I've forgotten) and other resorts in the US with the same owner - we skied 5 days in Whistler for free.

This was a few years ago.
posted by trialex at 10:29 PM on August 13, 2011