Resort Work / Life - Seeking Beta / Advice

[benjinyc]

my friend was a patroller at Park City too (they will hire anyone), then patrolled at Brighton because of the easier commute from SLC, but ultimately wanted a more steady non-seasonal job so made the fairly easy transition to being a paramedic.

sidenote: none of the utah resorts will let you snowboard as a patroller.

[C.Fuzzy]

What was he doing at the local hill? Killington has a program in resort management, 3 years and leave with a bachelors. A friend of my wife went through there and is now a director level employee in his 30s.
I moved to Snowmass, Colorado in my 20s and knew very little about resort jobs beyond lifty, bartender or instructor. If I were to do it again a maintenance job overnight in a hotel or rental complex would be a fun gig. Fix shit at night and ride all day. Snowcat operator was always something I thought would be awesome. Anything that keeps your days/mornings free for riding.
When I made the move I was fortunate to have a friend already out there. I couch surfed until I found a room to rent. My second season I got into a house with some other ski bums and it was pretty rowdy. There’s always somebody with a Friday and never a shortage of ways to party. It takes plenty of discipline to keep your shit together, but not impossible. Being in a house with 8-10 roommates was fun but could get overwhelming at times. Lots of people coming and going and if I wanted quiet I had to get out and find it.

I believe he did mostly food court stuff.

Thanks for the heads up on the killington program. It may be of interest, or grow to be an interest, at the moment I think he's mostly just wanting to ride. But definitely a cool idea.

[C.Fuzzy]

I appreciate all the answers so far. Some good info in them regarding positions that allow more riding, or pay better, etc. Also, seems to be a decent amount of support for SLC. So that may be a consideration, especially as it may be a closer cultural fit with the tea totaling and whatnot.

I don't think there's any real risk to him getting carried away with the party, so I just wanted to clarify that. It's not his scene and I don't think he wants to get into it. The inclusion was more to see if raised any concerns or objections or led to specific recommendations that would be helpful to consider.

Anyhow, keep em coming. More insight is always welcome.

[benjinyc]

oh there are def employees that choose to live in their vans/trucks, if he's open to that he'll have a lot of options. I know resorts like Aspen and Crested Butte always has good job opportunities but the lack of employee housing is the issue

[ninja_nate]

One option not mentioned so far is lift ops. If he’s more into working with his hands, being outside, etc lift mechanic jobs typically pay well and can be more than a seasonal gig since there’s work to do in the off season on lifts and on the mountain.