# Moving out west??



## ZacAttakk (Oct 20, 2014)

Hey guys I have always wanted to drop everything, pack my truck and move out west for a winter or two. I will hopefully finally be done school this year so why not. I feel like if I don't do it now I never will. I want to work at a resort as a board instructor, lift operator or something along those lines. I don't care about making a lot of money. Just enough to get me by is fine. Has anyone done this and have any tips? Or do any of you guys currently work at a all time mountain and can point me in the right direction. A mountain with employee housing would be ideal. I have done research but wanna see if anyone has personal tips on housing and stuff like that.


----------



## Kilgore Trout (Aug 22, 2012)

Have you considered working in the service industry? Everyone I know that has worked for a resort hasn't had nearly as much time riding as one would expect. Resorts also generally their employees like shit.

You can make great money as a server or bartender and most likely be able to ride everyday. Just a thought.


----------



## ZacAttakk (Oct 20, 2014)

Kilgore Trout said:


> Have you considered working in the service industry? Everyone I know that has worked for a resort hasn't had nearly as much time riding as one would expect. Resorts also generally their employees like shit.
> 
> You can make great money as a server or bartender and most likely be able to ride everyday. Just a thought.


I have thought about that but that would be a last resort. The best case scenario would to be an instructor so I can ride and work with people. Plus lift tickets and season passes for resorts like in CO or Jackson are expensive as hell. If I work at the resort I would get mountain perks.


----------



## larrytbull (Oct 30, 2013)

Read This

Life Of The Snow Carny: The Trap -
By our own Burton Avenger


----------



## Alkasquawlik (Jul 13, 2010)

Kilgore Trout said:


> You can make great money as a server or bartender and most likely be able to ride everyday. Just a thought.


Ya, and how easy do you think it is to get one of those coveted server/bartender gigs, especially if you're a newbie to the area and have no connections?


----------



## ZacAttakk (Oct 20, 2014)

larrytbull said:


> Read This
> 
> Life Of The Snow Carny: The Trap -
> By our own Burton Avenger


haha that's a great article but I refuse to believe its all like that. Yea of course you are going to be dealt a shitty hand if you just on a whim decide to get a last minute job right before the busy season of a place in the service industry. But I will be planning a bit better then that and I refuse to wash fucking dishes. I worked as a lift operator towards the end of high school at my local mountain and it wasn't that bad.


----------



## Kilgore Trout (Aug 22, 2012)

Alkasquawlik said:


> Ya, and how easy do you think it is to get one of those coveted server/bartender gigs, especially if you're a newbie to the area and have no connections?


Guess it depends on how much experience you have if you don't have any connections.


----------



## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

Know a server that works at Steamboat. Skis every day, works nights. Makes enough to take the summers off.


----------



## lab49232 (Sep 13, 2011)

Instructing is a mixed bag. Are you certified? If so to what level? If not, you don't stand a chance at teaching at a bigger resort out west so you would need to get that done this season so you can teach next year. Keep in mind these positions are all filled by October or early NovemberSo you need to start planning now for next year. Hopefully you weren't thinking of this season because it simply wont be possible.

You do not make any money! you will get a free pass, which is awesome, but unless you are a highly experienced guy or somehow manage to get a bunch of private request lessons living off purely teaching is nearly impossible.

You won't get to ride while teaching. In fact half of your lessons you may not even make it on a lift. You being young, new, and inexperienced will get the intro lessons and they SUCK most of the time. It's fun when you get students who catch on fast and you watch the joy on their face but seriously you'll spend the vast majority of the time not even strapped in to your board and walking around in the flats on the bunny hill. That's teaching

That said go move now! After college I decided it was Mt. Hood for me. Packed up my stuff, had no place to live, no job, no anything, drove across the country to Portland and figured it out as I went. Not many times in your life that you have 0 obligations or ties to anything and can simply do whatever the hell you want.


----------



## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

ZacAttakk said:


> haha that's a great article but I refuse to believe its all like that. Yea of course you are going to be dealt a shitty hand if you just on a whim decide to get a last minute job right before the busy season of a place in the service industry. But I will be planning a bit better then that and I refuse to wash fucking dishes. I worked as a lift operator towards the end of high school at my local mountain and it wasn't that bad.


It's exactly like that, but you know you worked at a tiny little shit hill on the east you know all.


----------



## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

it's one thing to "refuse to believe" something when you have evidence to the contrary, but another thing entirely when you refuse to believe because it conflicts with your wishes....

The difference in your home hill to a resort out west is that you will probably be relying on said resort (or some other landlord) for housing vs living at home... Assuming that's true, it a whole lot tougher.


----------



## Mammoth Lifty (Aug 2, 2014)

It's true, take it from me a lifty at a big resort out west. YOU ARE THEIR BITCH! I get 20-39 hours a week mid season because they refuse to pay overtime. Housing costs 22 dollars a night which comes out to be $660 a month give or take. The money I pay for rent comes straight from my paycheck so at the end of the week I get payed a whopping $125 which is enough for groceries and a 30rack of PBR. Believe me when I tell you, you can't make money and won't make money working for the resort. You think you'll ride 100+ days but you won't. At the most you'll get 40 decent days which will be fun, but It won't compare to the depression that sets in as you watch your friend who works at the bar, shred 200+ days (the entire season) all while buying rounds at the bar, eating steak, and filling his gas tank up every week. That being said, if you want to live in a ski town where a big resort is located you have to pay your dues. Get out here be a slave for a few winters but go home in the summer. Live at mom and dads house, save at least 5 grand, and then come back full force in the winters. If you do this for a couple seasons you'll build a group of contacts that you can use to get a coveted job working in a repair shop or tending bar or whatever. Its much easier to spend $600 on a season pass then it is selling your soul to the resort. However if snowboarding is your passion and you want to pursue a career in the ski industry then being a slave is the right thing to do. find a mountain that has a non corporate vibe and begin working there. In a few years you'll be able to climb the ranks and hold down a supervisor position. But still this won't get you living there year round. Living in a resort town means you have a summer and winter job and you probably won't see a increase in your savings account. SO HEED MY WORDS! If you want to live your life as a semi homeless ski bum then come join us, we weren't cut out for regular civilization anyways. BUT! If you want a future and a 401K and possibly a house, stay where you are, find a good paying job with good benefits and vacation time, and come visit me 7-10 days a year.

RANT OVER.


----------



## cerebroside (Nov 6, 2012)

Alternative: Put that degree to use (you got it in something worth having, right?), get a job within two hours of a lift, weekend warrior it up. Bonus points for night riding.
Have the job, have the house, have the 401K/TFSA, get 30+ days on the slopes.


----------



## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

larrytbull said:


> Read This
> 
> Life Of The Snow Carny: The Trap -
> By our own Burton Avenger


This is 100% the fucking truth. I graduated college 11 years ago. Three of my buddies decided they were gonna go out and spend a winter in Tahoe. Two of them are still there waiting tables. The other is down in Key West now doing the same there. The carny lifestyle is definitely a trap. But, they all do seem happy, so I say do what you think will make you happy.


----------



## 2hellnbak (Sep 21, 2012)

If you can get your own pad (or at least not employee housing) and have a green thumb at all you could probably survive in CO. I'd look for smaller mountains with less expensive rental homes if it were me being you. Southwest CO rings a bell depending on what spots you look at.

He did say this would only be for two winters.... but if the right situation occurs I could see it being a life long affliction. I "worked" at the resort but I wasn't employed by them, and it was the greatest two years of my life lmao


----------



## radiomuse210 (Sep 5, 2014)

Know nothing of the snow carny life, but I do know what's like to get stuck while taking a "break" before getting to the grown up life. I would make sure your degree has jobs with entry level positions that you can pick up when you need to - and they won't mind a couple years of no experience after college on your resume in that field (which does happen in life). It's easy to get trapped in the broke lifestyle. It's hard to find a better job when you're working all the time to survive and you can't quit your job without something ready right then and there. If you end up needing more education, getting your foot back in the door is tough with no money and no credit - and with those old college debts hanging over your head. 

I'm not saying it's all doom and gloom, because I don't know...I'm just saying make sure you have an exit strategy if things start getting tough out there. 

What are you planning to do for the summer?


Just to add: I do know an instructor at one of my local east coast resorts. While it's not a big name west coast resort - he makes shit money. He's in college and just uses it as extra cash for the winter. He only gets paid when he's teaching and when he IS teaching, he is pretty much tied to the bunny slopes or green hills struggling to get some noobs to stay on their feet. Sometimes he'll get some talented kid who wants to push himself, and he has a blast teaching those ones...and I'm sure he likes the job in general, but most of the time it's slow going with vacationers. He's not certified, but the instructors who are don't get paid much more - but those who are certified take private lessons which can tip fairly well once in a while. Not a job that he could live on by any means certified or not. By reading the other posts, it doesn't look like much is different out west.


----------



## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

ZacAttakk said:


> haha that's a great article but I refuse to believe its all like that. Yea of course you are going to be dealt a shitty hand if you just on a whim decide to get a last minute job right before the busy season of a place in the service industry. *But I will be planning a bit better then that and I refuse to wash fucking dishes.* I worked as a lift operator towards the end of high school at my local mountain and it wasn't that bad.


With that attitude, forget about it. You won't stand a chance in a resort town. If you want it bad enough, you'll do whatever it takes. If you don't, then just forget about it.


----------



## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

I know nothing about ski town life. I mean it's not like I live in one of the most visited ski towns in North America and grew up in one. I laugh at snow carnies expense often.


----------



## Tuan209 (Dec 26, 2008)

Like BA said, being an instructor at some the bigger resorts out west is tough business. 

Ive talked to some of top instructors at Jackson and multiple resorts out here in Utah and they barely make it by. Some live in trailers and take on multiple jobs, leaving them very little time to actually board/ski on their own. 

If you really want to experience boarding out west, just save up enough money and live out here for 3 or 4 months and then move back home once winter is over.


----------



## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

2hellnbak said:


> I "worked" at the resort but I wasn't employed by them, and it was the greatest two years of my life lmao


:skateboarding::skateboarding::skateboarding::skateboarding:


----------



## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

There's this weird myth vs reality that surrounds ski towns. I grew up next to one and lived in one my whole life, it's all I know. The book I'm currently working on should be a great guide for people looking to be a snowboard bum, not sure when I'll finish it though.


----------



## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

Many years ago after graduating college, I ended up living in a tent in the NF outside a CO ski town for two miserable $%^& months because things didn't work out the way I thought they would (strangely, the resort didn't hire anyone who asked for full-time). Thankfully I was able to get a non-ski job in town that actually used a very small part of what I studied, but the pay was still $h!t. Once I got the job, I rented rooms, sharing with alcoholics, druggies, and just general deadbeats. I was able to Snowboard & mountain bike, but the living situation gets real old real fast.


----------



## SkullAndXbones (Feb 24, 2014)

lab49232 said:


> After college I decided it was Mt. Hood for me. Packed up my stuff, had no place to live, no job, no anything, drove across the country to Portland and figured it out as I went. Not many times in your life that you have 0 obligations or ties to anything and can simply do whatever the hell you want.


how in the world did you accomplish this?


----------



## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

SkullAndXbones said:


> how in the world did you accomplish this?


You just make it happen...be smart about it, pay attention to and be appreciative of the opportunities. Done it several times...in college traveling, going to Dead shows, moved 2000 miles with wife and 3 year old kid, grad school with same wife, 3 month old and 8 year old kid.

Its life...just like riding gnar...go for it.


----------



## ZacAttakk (Oct 20, 2014)

BurtonAvenger said:


> It's exactly like that, but you know you worked at a tiny little shit hill on the east you know all.


Easy bro, You took my comment in the wrong tone. I am not trying to bash your article I even said it was great. I just meant there has got to be some good in it. I am no stranger to working hard for not much in return. After all I am volunteer fire. I know that I dont know everything, thats why a came here to ask. I was just simply stating that I have worked at my local resort and know what its like to watch people have a good time while I am working. And I am fully aware that its a shitty little hill haha:finger1: thats why I wanna go out west. :hairy: thanks for the advise 



radiomuse210 said:


> What are you planning to do for the summer?


I work on private yachts in the summer going back and forth from the east coast to the islands down south.


----------



## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

ZacAttakk said:


> ....
> 
> I work on private yachts in the summer going back and forth from the east coast to the islands down south.


sounds like a great gig.


----------



## ZacAttakk (Oct 20, 2014)

yea its fun but a lot of hard work


----------



## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

ZacAttakk said:


> I was just simply stating that I have worked at my local resort and know what its like to watch people have a good time while I am working. And I am fully aware that its a shitty little hill haha:finger1: thats why I wanna go out west. :hairy: thanks for the advise
> .


Zak...the problem is that working here...you are watching folks have a good time...when its fucking nuking....so its worst than being on a shitty EC hill. Really the best advise...is come out with $5k, try to make it last as long as possible and just get your shred on. There are folks that do it every year...they work forest fire lines in the summer and shred in the winter.


----------



## RVM (Jan 31, 2007)

I was a non-cert instructor at Sierra at Tahoe for a season. It wasn't too bad but Sierra is not a corporate resort. I didn't make shit but I did get a lot of days riding.


----------

