# How to work at a resort next winter!? and shred 100+ days



## 209Cali (Jan 11, 2010)

I live in the Central Valley in CA, I want to board it up more then 39 days this next winter. But it's just not possible working full time Monday-Friday and only shredding on the weekends.

I did take a vacation this winter up to Tahoe. At Kirkwood, I heard about them having employee housing? Is that pretty common at most big resorts? I'd love to just take a winter off from my reg. job and work at a resort / live there? Idc how bad the lifestyle is as long as i'm able to shred on my days off / off hours.

How would I do this? Has anyone done it? All advice / tips / help would be much appreciated.



Not to mention it would also rock to make friends who are actually good at boarding, the friends I have that board are not so good and they don't share the same passion I do towards snowboarding. Oh and my local small resort I got my season pass to has gotten extremely boring


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## legallyillegal (Oct 6, 2008)

first time? congratulations, you just scored a sweet job bumping chairs 6 days a week...including pow days

you will be paid the absolute minimum possible, and the rent for your housing will be taken out of your pay

but don't worry since there's not much to spend it on except booze!


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## Reede (Feb 16, 2009)

Yea work in a bar or restaurant. Dont get a day job if you wanna do a season somewhere. You might as well keep your full time job and board on the weekends if you're gonna be stuck running lifts during the (pow) days..


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

98% of the minimum wage snow carnies do not ride even close to what you did this season. Don't ever work for a mountain if you want to really ride.


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## 209Cali (Jan 11, 2010)

Hmmm. Thanks a lot for the feed back!

I was thinking that I could work for a resort with Night riding. That way I could ride on my days off (obviously which I do now) and during off hours from work (lunch / break and at Night!?) 

But I mean living conditions would suck.. I have no Idea why but the lifestyle sounds so appealing to me. 

Kinda wanna experience something crazy while I'm young


How the hell do people get in 100+ day seasons then? Or at least like 60? Cause having a full time job, other then at a resort? doesn't seem very possible to me. I could be terribly wrong though


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

Today was day 125. You want to know how I did it with a real job before I got government sponsored?

Simple I found a job that had a flex schedule to it, so I'd go in to work at 9 a.m. leave around 11 unless it was a pow day come back around 2 or 3 depending on conditions and shit then work till about 8ish. The other option is what I used to do which is go in to work at 2 or 3 in the afternoon and work till 8 or 9. When I had that schedule I worked in a shop that paid hourly plus commission so I would just hustle my ass off for sales and bank on commission checks. 

Your other option is to get a night restaurant gig.


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## 209Cali (Jan 11, 2010)

Wow. I'm dumb never thought of that. My work would prob have no problem with me doing that.. But I live 2hours 45mins away from Tahoe resorts and an hour and a half from my home mountain resort.. So i don't really see that possible? hmmm

What kinda shop did you work at if you don't mind me asking?


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## legallyillegal (Oct 6, 2008)

209Cali said:


> Hmmm. Thanks a lot for the feed back!
> 
> I was thinking that I could work for a resort with Night riding. That way I could ride on my days off (obviously which I do now) and during off hours from work (lunch / break and at Night!?)
> 
> ...


so why would they hire someone who is unwilling to work during the day, when they can hire someone who is willing to work any shift at any time

it's not like you're a one-eyed man among the blind

living in a dorm-style room with 3 other guys sounds appealing to you?


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## Adrii (Mar 29, 2010)

dude all he wants to do is shred....its understandable....no need to bash on the kid...all he wants to do is be able to shred daily in the winter, i dont see whats wrong with it and i would go for it too...he doesnt mind if he has to share a room...he just wants to shred as much as possible and i say go for it!! fuck everyone else who thinks otherwise deush bags!


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## Snowfox (Dec 26, 2009)

Adrii said:


> dude all he wants to do is shred....its understandable....no need to bash on the kid...all he wants to do is be able to shred daily in the winter, i dont see whats wrong with it and i would go for it too...he doesnt mind if he has to share a room...he just wants to shred as much as possible and i say go for it!! fuck everyone else who thinks otherwise deush bags!


... and you fail at reading comprehension. 

No one wants him to shred less, they're actually preventing him from entering a situation where he'll get LESS time on the slopes than his current lifestyle.


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## Adrii (Mar 29, 2010)

Snowfox said:


> ... and you fail at reading comprehension.
> 
> No one wants him to shred less, they're actually preventing him from entering a situation where he'll get LESS time on the slopes than his current lifestyle.


def was talking to the guy above me! not anyone else in the thread...soo its now time to hopp off thanks!


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## PaulyMolitor (Oct 29, 2009)

a bunch of my roomies were lifties at keystone which has night riding. they got 8 fitty and hour but didnt live in the dorms. they all got epic passes for free although one of them went on a bender stopped going to work and lost the job. once the job ended so did the pass. usually they had the first year fish work night skiing cause it is so cold. night skiing is completely gay. a51 closed early and it was nothing but blue and green groomers open. bottom line is try it out for a season. i went to summit county for this season and it is the best season of my life


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## Adrii (Mar 29, 2010)

PaulyMolitor said:


> a bunch of my roomies were lifties at keystone which has night riding. they got 8 fitty and hour but didnt live in the dorms. they all got epic passes for free although one of them went on a bender stopped going to work and lost the job. once the job ended so did the pass. usually they had the first year fish work night skiing cause it is so cold. night skiing is completely gay. a51 closed early and it was nothing but blue and green groomers open. bottom line is try it out for a season. i went to summit county for this season and it is the best season of my life


niceeeeeeeeeeeeee


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

209Cali said:


> Wow. I'm dumb never thought of that. My work would prob have no problem with me doing that.. But I live 2hours 45mins away from Tahoe resorts and an hour and a half from my home mountain resort.. So i don't really see that possible? hmmm
> 
> What kinda shop did you work at if you don't mind me asking?


I should have mentioned my shop was a half block from the Breckenridge Gondola. Just your basic tune/ski shop most of my time was spent fixing idiots mistakes.

Here's the thing to understand lifty's do not ride as much as they claim or wish they could, second shitty job is food service (i.e. food court), follow that up with rental shop, and then just up the chain.

Since you have a job here's what I would do now, get a second job and bust your ass between the two of them till about mid August. At that time you want to start looking for housing near whatever resort you choose to live at (you don't want to live in staff housing more on this later), then you want to apply to as many places as possible that have night positions and sell yourself to them, after that you want to buy your seasons pass. These are the key three things to getting yourself on shred.

Staff housing can be great if you maintain your job, but guess what you lose your job you lose housing. Plus you can get stuck with shitty ass roommates, cause much like the military you get people from all walks of life. Same thing goes with your pass, plus lets say it dumps 2 feet of fresh but you have to go to work, you call in and use that pass chances are they'll find out and poof you're fired. This is especially true at the more modern resorts that use RF chips or have the scanners hooked up to the computer. They can track you and will know you were using the pass when you should be at work. 

Working for the mountain is great if you work in a higher end position, those low end seasonal jobs you're a slave to them. Hence why you want to find a job off the mountain and preferably at night. Now as I mentioned split shift is a great thing did that for years, but better is night positions that let you shred all day and then keep you occupied in the evening. Plus chances are you'll find a cool job that has a pass reimbursement option if you keep the job all year. This is clutch cause lets say you shell out 700 bucks for your pass, do an awesome job, and at the end of the year they just pay you back for it. Just remember any offer an employer gives you to get it in writing so you can bring it up at a later date if they reneg on it.

Here's the thing to understand though with resorts there's usually always a huge work pool they can draw on and you're just another person that is expendable to them. So you need to set yourself apart. When people were applying with me back in November I always looked to see if they had a resume this was huge. Then I looked at the resume to see how bad it was and if they understood how a resume should be. After that I checked to make sure they had housing or at least a p.o. box that showed they had more commitment to sticking with the job vs. the idiot crashing on his buddies couch. Work history was also important if they had a spotty history chances are they weren't good. Finally their attitude and demeanor, I had a lot of guys come in with the too cool attitude or the I've been working seasonal jobs forever attitude you better hire me I know all cause I've been around the block thing going on.


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## Adam C (Mar 1, 2010)

I created a similar type of thread a little while ago and many people recommended working as a bartender close to the resort because they make a killing in tips, so I though I'd just pass that little bit of info onto you since we have similar goals in the near future


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## 209Cali (Jan 11, 2010)

BurtonAvenger said:


> I should have mentioned my shop was a half block from the Breckenridge Gondola. Just your basic tune/ski shop most of my time was spent fixing idiots mistakes.
> 
> Here's the thing to understand lifty's do not ride as much as they claim or wish they could, second shitty job is food service (i.e. food court), follow that up with rental shop, and then just up the chain.
> 
> ...



Very good info here man, Thank you very much!

Obviously I would save money prior to moving. Def need to work on my resume. I need bar tending skills dangit.. Can I take a class for this ahahha


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Move back home, work at least a couple of jobs, don't spend your money, don't drink, don't have a gf, eat top ramen everyday....when the season is almost there, buy a early discounted pass, look for a cheap housing nearish a resort but not in the resort...hitchhike; and continue to not drink, no gf and eat top ramen everyday and shred like a mofo for 100+ days. 

Meet these folks all the time some have jobs that allow them to do business from the chair lift, some make bank off season and some have flex work schedules...like working 3 12hour days, working weekends/riding weekdays, working eve or night shift and riding freshies in the am. My schedule is 7 nights on and 7 off...could shred everyday if my wife would let me.

Though there can be some benefit for working at a resort, in that some times you can catch a ride on a groomer cat for an early turns, hiking and riding at night under a full moon, and having bc access and secret stashes.


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## Guest (Apr 12, 2010)

Adam C said:


> I created a similar type of thread a little while ago and many people recommended working as a bartender close to the resort because they make a killing in tips, so I though I'd just pass that little bit of info onto you since we have similar goals in the near future


while that is great in theory, it's not quite as easy in practice. bartending tends to be a pretty close-knit, nepotistic industry, especially in ski towns where bar staff tend to be very entrenched, either working year round or returning year in year out.

i have been living in south lake tahoe and working in the snowsports industry for 6 winters now and the first couple of seasons sucked from a financial point of view. ski resort work pays poorly and, very often, you'll have to work when you want to ride and, equally as often, you'll not get to work when you really need hours. i have stuck with it and now i am paid a reasonable amount (for a ski resort) and i have more control over my own schedule than i had when i started.

my advice is to not see it as a job but more as a working vacation - try to budget how much you will need to live the lifestyle you wish to lead and try to ensure you have as much of that money as possible in the bank before you start...

alasdair


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## Adam C (Mar 1, 2010)

alasdairm said:


> while that is great in theory, it's not quite as easy in practice. bartending tends to be a pretty close-knit, nepotistic industry, especially in ski towns where bar staff tend to be very entrenched, either working year round or returning year in year out.


I figured that, it's the same here in my small town. You need to know someone who knows someone who owns a bar to get a job. 

Life's all about who you know. So be friendly and make lots of friends from all walks of life and maybe just maybe you'll be able to land "the" job, whatever that may be


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## PaulyMolitor (Oct 29, 2009)

do you have a good hook up? i lived out in frisco slanging as my sole job


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## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

Don't go to a destination resort. Much cheaper to find housing and jobs when you can't live slopeside. 

Plenty of areas in the PNW with good night riding so you can work during the day and ride at night. Some on hill jobs are also conductive to this. PM Snowolf about the benefits of working swing shift.


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## bubbachubba340 (Feb 10, 2009)

BurtonAvenger said:


> Today was day 125. You want to know how I did it with a real job before I got government sponsored?
> 
> Simple I found a job that had a flex schedule to it, so I'd go in to work at 9 a.m. leave around 11 unless it was a pow day come back around 2 or 3 depending on conditions and shit then work till about 8ish. The other option is what I used to do which is go in to work at 2 or 3 in the afternoon and work till 8 or 9. When I had that schedule I worked in a shop that paid hourly plus commission so I would just hustle my ass off for sales and bank on commission checks.
> 
> Your other option is to get a night restaurant gig.


Government sponsored? Explain please.


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## Adrii (Mar 29, 2010)

bubbachubba340 said:


> Government sponsored? Explain please.


im guessing unemployement!? lol i might be totally wrong haha


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

bubbachubba340 said:


> Government sponsored? Explain please.



banker, insurance or hmo/pharmacutical exc


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

Unemployment is my friend. Get paid to go shred after a season of working my ass off long hours.


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## 209Cali (Jan 11, 2010)

BurtonAvenger said:


> Unemployment is my friend. Get paid to go shred after a season of working my ass off long hours.


maybe I should just get laid off next season!


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## thetraveler (Feb 24, 2010)

hey bro,

there is too much stuff to read on 3 pages of the thread so i'll write my 5 cents worth with the risk of repeating someone else's words.

stay home with parents or some buddies to save on rent. better if at home because you'll get fed too. find one, two or even three jobs and bust your ass for two, three or even four months 6 days a week. dont party, dont buy shit, dont go crazy (this will be the difficult part trust me) but just work and save. by the end of this ordeal you should have enough dough for a full season without having to do any work during the season. 

start looking for people now to share accommodation as accommodation is so much cheaper when you share it, and start learning how to cook food and on a budget. watch your mum around the house or get some girlfriends to teach you stuff around the kitchen. by the time the winter comes around you should have enough dough and knowledge to let you ride all day every day.


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## Reede (Feb 16, 2009)

Night riding sucks, dont base a whole season around night riding. It's fun once in a while but when only a fraction of the mountain is lit up its a waste.


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## TranceAddictFoX (Dec 16, 2009)

Lots of good information in this thread. I'm like the OP and I want to find a way to be on the mountain as much as possible next year but I pretty much figured that working at a resort would suck. I like BurtonAvenger's idea though. I'll have to see if that's something I can swing next season


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## RVM (Jan 31, 2007)

good luck in getting your 100 days in. that's my goal as well but unfortunately right now I'm not financially able to do so. 

some time in the next few years I am hoping to get rent a place in Tahoe with some friends for a season and try to get in 100+ days. 


Whereabout in central Cali do you live? I'm in Sac.


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## Karaca86 (May 5, 2010)

I disagree. Working on a mountain was one of the best things to ever happen to me in life. I waitressed all season at our local ski resort here in New Hampshire and held a 30hr second job. We had night riding so the mounatin was open from 8am- 10pm yeah it sucks that only part of the mounatin was open but you dont need to go to the top everytime to enjoy your board as far as I'm concerned. Just some snow and an operating lift would be nice. with the free pass this year +access to ANY regional mountain (you get the hookup when you work in the bizz to any other mounatin during weekdays) I averaged 5days of riding a week easy. This was my first season riding (not including the 3 times I once tried back in high school a few years back) and with the amount of days I put in plus some balls most think I've been riding for years. I'm telling you listen to these guys. Save your money. But don't put working at a resort on the back burner cuz it does have its advantages. Not to mention bring your stuff and you can bet you'll be on the lift minutes after punching out  I'm in the same boat. I'm dying to move to Keystone next winter. One of my riding buddies worked out there last winter as a snowboard instructor and said the tips and riding are great! But... he busted his ass to get that position. So stay with jobs in the lodge. You'll stay warmer.


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

Sorry but anyone that chooses Keystone as a place they want to work at instantly looses any credibility.


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## RVM (Jan 31, 2007)

out of curiosity, why is that?



BurtonAvenger said:


> Sorry but anyone that chooses Keystone as a place they want to work at instantly looses any credibility.


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## Guest (May 11, 2010)

I plan on doing a season in Lake Louise/Banff, maybe in Revelstoke this coming season. Not to hijack the thread but how much money would be needed to live relatively comfortably for 5 months in a resort town- including living, food, pass, emergency? ($8000?)


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