What's the lure of skiing? Is it the action itself, the sudden flight, the wind tugging at your face while you go down, down, down? Or is it the impressive face of the mountain itself? The very aesthetics? Our need for beauty? Our urge to escape from the concrete jungle of the cities? To some skiers, the lure is simply the quiet white, the soft pat of the ski on fresh snow, the new track, and the slope that hangs from the sky as if it were a sail.
It may be liberation from the self. A tuning out. Another world. The challenge of capricious Mother Nature. Real ski bums chuck the City, the Establishment, the claustrophobic office cubicle, or the hated computer; they want to breathe some decent air (when not smoking grass). Like temporary farmers, they drop out from the city rat race for a winter to ski. Or they skip a few college semesters to work at Sun Valley, Bear Valley, Stowe, Vail, Aspen.
There are those who don't even know they are "ski bums." But they'd do anything for skiing, and to be around the ski resorts. ("Skiing is better than sex-you can do it all day," one of them puts it.) The slopes are places where you don't have to think about the Government, or worry about that collection agency that has been after you. You're as free as the sailor in the one-person boat; the sky is as remote and silent as it is for a motor-less glider pilot.
Better-Paying Jobs for Ski Bums
Today's young ski bum belongs to a special breed. He or she finds a job that allows one to ski a great deal and still live right. Opportunities? Sports shops are always in need of people who can repair the complicated equipment. Any clean-cut person with a sales bent can easily find work selling parkas, goggles, ski racks, and other gear in ski shops.
What's more, ski areas usually need healthy types who have had some work experience in the nation's amusement parks. Loading a carousel or a Ferris wheel amounts to about the same thing as placing a skier on a chairlift. Large crews are always busy on skiers' gondolas, and while there's no union, all the people get fair pay. Anyone who knows how to drive a big tractor or road grader can handle the big cats used for "packing" or smoothing ski slopes. Cat drivers make good hourly wages. Some of them are ski bums.
You can figure that with thousands of skiers coming in, the towns are crying for chefs, real estate sales people, car rental helpers. If you don't mind getting your hands greasy, remember that dozens of jobs go begging for ski lift mechanics and servicemen. Lifts often go on the blink, and in any case, state laws demand plenty of lift maintenance.
For the trades-bricklayers, electricians, cabinetmakers, carpenters, accountants-the bigger ski resorts are wide open. Some skilled persons are so rare that they can call their own shots-they can ski whenever they want to. A whole residential section on Aspen's Red Mountain, for instance, was built mostly by ski-bum carpenters who would be on the slopes when it was sunny and appeared on the job only when it snowed. According to the builders, it took three times as long to finish these fancy new chalets. But the guys got away with it, because of the labor problem. Let's survey some other specific "snow farming" opportunities. For instance: The demand for skiing instructors is great. There are many part-time teaching jobs on North America's smaller ski hills. Sports shops, hotels, clubs, and public schools often run programs which require teaching assistance. Part-time apprentice instructors find jobs at the areas.
The best positions go to fully certified experienced instructors, who are coveted by top resorts. Indeed, according to the PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America), there are never enough fully certified skiing teachers.
This is easy to understand. If you want to be certified, you'll have to shell out some money for studies and exams. The exams are tough. The three-day PSIA certification test includes a difficult written exam covering ski theory, history, psychology of teaching, biomechanics, and international rules of racing. Following that, candidates are brought to the snow and asked to demonstrate various ski maneuvers clearly and precisely. Would-be instructors are watched with eagle eyes and then graded. Next comes the actual teaching phase. That may be the most difficult part. Each newcomer is put before a "class" composed of examiners and other PSIA experts. The applicant is asked to "teach" a maneuver or exercise and correct any errors he sees in his "students." Experienced examiners will attempt to confuse the candidate.
You must also run a slalom course with complete control over your skis. After an oral exam comes the free skiing test; now you take on steep and bumpy terrain, hopefully in style. To become certified, you need to pass all the various tests. About a third of the student instructors usually flunk. Those who don't make it can still teach skiing to assorted ski clubs, the high school students in mountain communities, or for a small ski area which doesn't insist on certification. (In any case, you can ask for a second exam and then pass.)
Actually, not everyone is cut out to become and remain an instructor. Some people just don't have the patience; others eventually give up because they don't want to teach every type of class-from beginners to experts. A famous European racer who joined one U.S. school lasted only one year. He admitted that the job bored him to death.
Standards are always higher at the plush well-known resorts. In fact, what does it take to be on the teaching staff of a prestigious Colorado Mecca, for instance? Here's how one ski school director explains his needs: "Our philosophy is to take good skiers who are sincerely interested in working with people. They must have a talent for getting along with all types of persons and must enjoy doing so. Because our ski school is large, they should be able to work well in an organization which is more regimented than smaller schools. We therefore require mature, self-sufficient people. We naturally look for the best qualified instructors we can get in terms of certification."
How about an instructor's pay? The scales vary, depending on your experience and background, the location and importance of the school. It's a fair winter income.
A good skier should also think about a possible job on the Ski Patrol. There are several thousand around the U.S. Being on a resort's professional patrol means job security during the ski season which, in the high Colorado Rockies, lasts from November through April. The patrol assists with ski races, handling the press, and of course, rescuing injured recreational skiers. All bigger ski resorts-such as Stowe, Aspen, Big Sky (Montana), and many others-hire a full force each winter. The salary will vary from area to area. It may range from $300 to $1,000 a month, plus fringe benefits. The Patrol Chief earns proportionately more. National Ski Patrol requirements include completion of the American Red Cross Standard and Advanced First Aid Courses.
A Job for Everyone (Almost)
A little skill can go a long way to live off the snow harvest. Dozens of photographers, for instance, manage to earn a winter livelihood thanks to the ski crowd. Some of these people take movies-often for airlines or manufacturers-while the rest earn some bread by snapping pictures for the various ski resorts' publicity departments. In the big resorts several average Joes or Janes roam the bottom of the slopes. They shoot away with their Nikons, then hand out cards to tourist skiers and often make a sale.
If the snowfall is good, there are roughly 25,000 U.S. job openings a season, and the best ski-bum positions-like bartending, high-tip waiters, assistant hotel managers-all go fast. It is therefore crucial to show up "about a month before the ski season, or at least a few weeks ahead of the first customers. References are useful.
Ski bums at the best resorts, like their peers at the little areas, often get free ski lift privileges and sometimes free or inexpensive lodging. (At other resorts, lodging can be scarce.) Ski area employees may get discounts at ski shops and, in some cases, gratis insurance or even free meals. Naturally, you cannot count on fancy living, although a few ski bums even do that. They become assistant managers of condominium apartments, or run ski lodges for absentee owners.
More employment opportunities? Enterprising ski bums of both sexes should look into the following possibilities: cross-country ski guide, service station attendant, maid, secretary, publicity release writer, ticker seller, cafeteria help (many jobs), bartender, liquor store clerk, unskilled area help, janitor (many openings), ticket checker, general maintenance worker, busboy (many jobs), ski repairman, dishwasher (many openings), babysitter.
You can apply at the local Job Service or State Employment Office or resort association, or look through the resort's classified newspaper ads. You should also study the early-season ski magazine ads.
