# The Snowboarding Lifestyle



## lab49232 (Sep 13, 2011)

You're young to be thinking in finalities but that's ok... ish. Where do you live, where are you considering? 

If you want to actually SNOWBOARD for a living, no you can't, sorry, just not gonna happen if we're being realistic. If you wanna be around snowboarding, be involved in the industry, and be able to find jobs that encourage riding, now we're being a little more serious. I always thought I would never be able to, but I was young and only pictured snowboarding as a possibility as a professional rider, but there's an entire industry that you can be involved in that allows you to at least live in the sport.


----------



## lbs123 (Jan 24, 2017)

I won't advise you how to get closer to the mountains to live your dream but will give you a few tips what you could in the meanwhile:

- start skateboarding and learning tricks, if you haven't already
- get Snowboard Addiction jib board / tramp board so you can practice off the snow - you can learn a lot in advance, especially if you can get to a decent trampoline
- do workout to strengthen your core
- do stretching / yoga to increase your flexibility

I know this is not like actually being on the mountain and snowboarding but it's better than waiting whole year for a couple of snowboard trips.


----------



## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

become a physician's assistant.

you owe me.


----------



## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

here ya go grasshopper

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/snowboarding-general-chat/46301-i-need-reevaluate-my-life-7.html

perhaps a radiologist, sit at home doing consulting, dictate yer report at night...get first chair


----------



## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

snowklinger said:


> become a physician's assistant.
> 
> you owe me.


True story. Or marry a Doctor, Lawyer, high powered ski resort executive and become one of the Vail Skate Dads. 4 years away from retirement once my sugar mama takes this job with The Steadman Clinic, hello Breckenridge Shred Dad life. You're all fucked when she pops out some kids and I have to raise them.


----------



## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

It seems like you have at least some other aspirations in life other than snowboarding. 
Youre padding your resume for college... That is good. Being single in a resort town is fun and less expensive but when you start getting a little older, throw a wife and kids in there, it is almost impossible to survive in a mountain/resort town much less thrive. 

If you want to go to college and survive with a job that you can do in the evenings its possible. You can get first chair, have class from noon to 4 then go to work after... Then snowboard your off days all day. These are more of a restaurant job like dish washing, line cook, waiter. The waiter or bar tender is ideal for more money and a lot of states require minimum wage plus tips(Colorado is not one of them). You would want to start now in a restaurant part time doing the other crap jobs so you have experience. Forget being a bartender for the first year or two in a mountain town because those are very sought after jobs. 

As for what you want to go to school for so you can optimize your shred time? What are you into? I will focus a bit on Healthcare because it is a good one and I am a nurse and it pays well. I used to work at a slopeside hospital and live at the base of the mountain. I did it for 5 years working evenings after riding all day. I could ride every day. I made enough money to survive and live comfortably in a very high end resort town living walking distance to the gondola. I live in a more reasonable cost of living place now and work about half the year as a travel nurse now, I can schedule my assignments around the snow season so I am a snowboard bum in the winter. I purchased a new house this year and want to pay my bills off entirely so I am working a little more but I will still have 50 days(that is not very many by my standards). Physician Assistant was mentioned but a lot of them have day time hours, I know many of them. Another person on the forum is a sleep tech, he can ride everyday and makes a good living also. Of course school is heavy for a couple years but the end result is optimal

Tech/finance industry is a decent one because you can work from home with a lot of those jobs. You have to put in some school time and office time before you can get into those ideal positions. I meet some of them on the slopes, not many though.

You can just say fuck it and go work at a snowboard shop, wait tables or do some other job in a mountain town but you are going to be fighting to pay rent in down seasons and not thriving(at least financially). You may be happy for a while or forever. Personally I like working 6 months a year and being a snowboard bum 6 months a year. I'm 41 now and can kinda kick back and enjoy life a bit. If I didn't want to pay bills down I could work 3 months a year. 

There are quite few mountain towns with college/university. Just do one thing, keep moving forward in life while enjoying the snowboarding lifestyle. I mean moving forward in education and career. A lot of people stagnate in everything else other than snowboarding lifestyle, it can and will take over if you let it. Then you end up sleeping on everyone elses couch or in a tent in the woods during the offseason because you have no where else to go and cant afford a pot to piss in(literally).


----------



## tanscrazydaisy (Mar 11, 2013)

Go on the various snowboard companies and scope out the jobs they offer, so you can focus your major towards it. Internships at those companies will help also.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk


----------



## BoardWalk (Mar 22, 2011)

When you're out of High School move to Missoula, MT for college.


----------



## snowangel99 (Mar 11, 2016)

College life is where it's at. College is easy. Find one close to a mountain. Do a bit of school work and ride the rest of the time. It's fun. Parents will be happy. College years are bliss. Don't miss em. Everything is paid for. It really is the life...

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk


----------



## DaftDeft (Mar 7, 2016)

Go to med school or law school. 

Pick a specialty that doesn't involve seeing patients or going to trial.

"Work from home" on the ski hill.


----------



## Phedder (Sep 13, 2014)

In general, follow the advice in this thread, get a solid education and choose a profession with snowboard friendly hours living close to a mountain. 



Argo said:


> You can just say fuck it and go work at a snowboard shop, wait tables or do some other job in a mountain town but you are going to be fighting to pay rent in down seasons and not thriving(at least financially).


In general, this is true. But there are some gems out there if you look for them. I've been very fortunate in who I've worked for in that I get very good and very cheap staff housing in high rent environments, and the bosses appreciate the other skills I can bring to the job which means I get well compensated with bonuses or benefits. 

I'm currently (and trying to stay through PR) in Banff where my living expenses, including meals at the staff cafe, can be kept as low as $600CAD a month. I work 4 days on, 3 days off, plus Fri/Sat night riding if I choose to. I have a degree and no debt, and if someone asked me 5 years ago what I'd be doing now, this wouldn't have even been a blip in my mind. Never wanting kids makes this a lot easier, too. One day I'll grow up and move into Firefighting or Police, maybe. I've been saying that for a few years now... 

Either start developing skills that make you very employable in a mountain town, or focus your education around building a life in the mountains.


----------



## Pointy Deity (Dec 12, 2014)

Argo said:


> Tech/finance industry is a decent one because you can work from home with a lot of those jobs.


Pretty much this. Mountain towns are expensive, I don't know how people get by on resort job wages. Lots of programming jobs are fully remote, so that could be a good way to earn decent $ and be able to live near the mountains.


----------



## zc1 (Feb 20, 2017)

Decide (1) what you really want to do with the rest of your life work-wise (such an easy decision, I know); (2) whether you want snowboarding to *be* your life or just *part of* your life; (3) whether you want to have it be a large part of your life right now or if you're willing to focus on something else now so that you can snowboard more later on in life.

My choices were (1) work unrelated to snowboarding, (2) snowboarding as 'just' a part of my life, (3) snowboarding as a larger part of my life later on when I had the means. Along the way I got married and we had children. I kept snowboarding while going to school, etc, but the frequency wasn't great. Now I have a job that I love and that is very flexible. I can work 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off or really whatever combination I like. If I was single or didn't have children then I'd easily be able to do 1 week on and 3 weeks off through the winters and still pay the bills and live comfortably. I lost some snowboarding time, but I gained a great, secure job and a family that I wouldn't want to live without. My kids are growing up to be a mix of snowboarders and skiers, and they get to spend winters skipping school for a week at a time while we all go to the mountains (they're excellent students). It's still not as much snowboarding as I would like, but everything is a compromise, and for me this is a great one.

You say that snowboarding is your biggest stress relief, but consider how the stresses that you face (levels, sources) and your options for relieving them might change if snowboarding became the primary source of your income. Also consider the possibility that the escape (snowboarding) might be in the same place as the people, situations, etc. that you're trying to escape from if you engross yourself completely in snowboarding; where do you go to escape, then? There are a lot of bad answers, and you'll find them in abundance everywhere; mountain towns are no exception.

Sorry, no answers for you. Just a whole lot of questions, really.


----------



## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

1) whats the job.
2) how far are you from your riding place
3) how many days a year are you able to ride 

I agree being in the industry can ruin the desire. I think being in a job outside of the industry helps keep you feeling stoked. 

I think if 2 is more than about 40 miles your going to damage the drive to ride alot of days.

If 3 is under a 3 digit number your not 'living the life'


----------



## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

Idk, I mean if you wanna be a professional snowboarder starting at 16 maaaaybeeee a little to late. Most of the pros are already very good at 16.
I am not saying it's impossible. The other thing is you really need to think about turning a hobby into a career because you might not like what you do when your life depends on it.
I know you just started out and you are stoked. The road to being a pro is much much tougher than most people think. I totally admire people that can do it.
I started snowboarding at 28 which was pretty late to the game. I already had a stable job when I started so I don't have the experience some of the guys have on here. I am no where near at the level of some of the guys on here but I like it as a hobby. It keeps be stoked learning and trying new tricks every weekend.
On the other hand, I do agree with you moving somewhere close to a slope or mountain, that way you can practice more and the cost will be low. I have this small mountain near me about 40 minutes drive and I learned all my skills over there. Of course will I be progressed a lot more if I were to say living near big mountains say Copper, absolutely. Will I like the cost of living there to sustain my hobby? Probably no.
Everything is a balance.


----------



## tanscrazydaisy (Mar 11, 2013)

snowangel99 said:


> College life is where it's at. College is easy. Find one close to a mountain. Do a bit of school work and ride the rest of the time. It's fun. Parents will be happy. College years are bliss. Don't miss em. Everything is paid for. It really is the life...
> 
> Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk


In the US, taxes don't subsidize college. Unless you are N.Y. resident then you can go to public school on the NY taxpayer dime.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk


----------



## freshy (Nov 18, 2009)

I'm coming more from the point of view you want to live on the mountain and will do whatever it takes to get there, not so much you have a actual plan for your life and want to fit living at a ski hill into it. You will need to make some sacrifices but it will be well worth it.

First things first, save up your money for a few months of rent at least. Getting a place is the hardest part. Finding roommates will be super easy and finding a job when you live there will be super easy. Do not be surprised if you have to cram like 6 people into a 2 bedroom suite to make rent manageable. I had someone live in my closet before and a few people slept in the living room, privacy is a luxury.

I lucked out my first year and managed the staff accommodation, basically cleaned the bathroom every day for free rent. There are definitely building manager jobs out there as well, but it's usually free rent not really pay. 

You will want to work nights, that pretty much only leaves service industry jobs like working in restaurants or front desk at a hotel. I could easily wash dishes again, it's so stress free. Cooking is easy to find work because it sucks so bad, and serving is a little more sought after because the tips are huge. Your not old enough to bar tend so may as well forget that one.

Nothing is better than living slopeside, walking out from your ski in ski out pad strapping on and catching first chair every day it snows.

After your first year you will probably want to return so make some contacts so you can set up the following year easier. My future wife and I rented the same bachelor pad for a few years.

It gets very addicting. I was spending my winters snowboarding and my summers surfing making around minimum wage but having maximum happiness.

If you can pull off having a real career type of job go for it, but your 16 so fuck it and go live it up.


----------



## poser (Mar 7, 2018)

I’m also of the opinion “fuck it, you’re going, go for it.” 

My ideas: 

1. Wildlands Firefighter. You can join when you’re 18. I bet you can do the training when you’re 17. You could definitely get the EMT and First Aid training done proactively. This will have you traveling and working like a dog May-sept. How much you make depends on the year, but it’s common to make about 40k or so during that window. With seniority, you can make upwards of 80k, though a low fire year and you might not work. Work you’re ass off for 4-5 months and the winter is yours. 

2. River Guide. Short season and you’ll have to work through the winter to make it but it’s common summer work for liftys. 

3. Hunting guide/outfitter. You don’t necessarily have to be a hunter, as you could work in camp as a cook or handling horses. You absolutely need experience with horses. Throughout the West, this would be a mid Aug-Nov job so you could combine it with being a wildlands firefighter, river guide etc. low pay, high tips. 

4. Snowboard industry: assuming you are going to bypass college and be N/A for marketing and sales jobs, How about getting experience with hands on manufacturing starting now and jump into work in snowboard manufacturing. There are enough boutique companies doing board manufacturing in the US that this could be viable. Even the big companies manufacturing overseas are creating and testing their designs in-house here before mass producing. You could jump into a whole game and art of boutique manufacturing: snowboards, shaping surf boards, learning how to weld and doing boutique Mtn bikes. At 16, you could find a job in a shop that is manufacturing anything and start learning skills and equipment. Who knows, one day you may be designing snowboards. The downgrade version of this would be to work tuning and waxing skiis/snowboards, though that is very seasonable. Peak manufacturing season is going to be the opposite of snowboard season. Venture snowboards are right up the road and they definitely are not working on powder days. 

5. Lifty jobs are usually seen as dead end jobs. That being said, people who end up working as directors of mountain operations started as liftys. The downside is you’re working during winter and you’re hanging out at work on your days off, the pay is shit and the work isn’t likely going to be so rewarding. Personally, I’d work a belt sander at a snowboard manufacturer for $9 an hour vs being a lifty for $10 an hour. Wildlands firefighter is probably going to pay north of $15 an hour + overtime and hazard pay when actually fighting fires. 

What you want is freedom, flexibility, somekind of possible career potential and accessibility to mountains. So get yourself a job, preferably a job that prepares you for something with some skills, Save and horde money like crazy for the next 2 years, go do it and don’t look back. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## MySunnyLife (Mar 5, 2018)

To answer most questions.... 
I live in Texas unfortunately, there's not a single damn mountain out here and it is way to hot... never get to see the snow. I'm not sure how its easy to find riders to ride with you, most people around me seem to have no aspiration for anything at all. For college, I heard something about a Snow or Ski/Snowboard club where you can take breaks during the year to go hit a mountain. There seem to be two main options when it comes to the job you take, work a job that pays well for the first couple of years and then move to the mountain and all that. I actually prefer the second option of just working for a smaller wage and being able to live and shred from the benefits. I actually want to get out of the blazing heat down here, and this sounds horrible but I'm fine with being able to move away from my parents. To ride, our family drives to Colorado, I usually can ride at least 3 times a year, but the days range from 3 days to 1.5 weeks. I aim to have snowboarding as a good chunk of my life. 

So I got a few questions...

Which colleges will allow me to ride the most? There's some good info on the internet but it's kinda vague

What is the best location for a good resort and/or best location to snowboard and for work pay? 
I would like some suggestion locations states, cities, countries whatever
I heard things like, Alaska, The Alps, Japan, Canada
Don't worry about the language barrier, I'm already bilingual in Chinese, English being my first, I could easily learn a new language 

What is the most common career path that everyone takes for this type of living? It seems like everyone here has different jobs to allow them money, rent and free time?

How can I work to do flips and tricks and stuff? I can already do flips and other things on the trampoline but not sure if that's enough.

Also balance, I don't want to be that one guy windmilling in the air straight to an injury. What can I do

Thank you everyone for taking time out of your day to respond.


----------



## Fire Rose (Feb 15, 2016)

Here's my opinion:
If you can, get a job now working weekends and summer and save all of your money. It will be crap pay and a crappy job but you should be able to save a fair bit assuming you have no expenses. Don't let your grades slip though. It will also give you work experience.
After high school do a gap year and work at a mountain. Use the money you saved to help you get housing and cover expenses until you can get a job. If you can pick somewhere with a higher minimum wage but smaller mountain so lower cost of living vs big resorts. Think about what you want to do in the long run. Look into colleges/tech schools/training programs etc and start applying.

College degrees in theory should allow you to earn more money and support your snowboarding habit. But it will also put you in a fair bit of debt especially if you go out of state. Plenty of tech college programs are shorter, cheaper and will also help you get a better paying job.

If you want to go the college route, plenty of colleges have nearby mountains and clubs/programs. Figure out a general idea of what you want to study then pick the best colleges for those programs to apply to.


----------



## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

MySunnyLife said:


> To answer most questions....
> I live in Texas unfortunately, there's not a single damn mountain out here and it is way to hot... never get to see the snow. I'm not sure how its easy to find riders to ride with you, most people around me seem to have no aspiration for anything at all. For college, I heard something about a Snow or Ski/Snowboard club where you can take breaks during the year to go hit a mountain. There seem to be two main options when it comes to the job you take, work a job that pays well for the first couple of years and then move to the mountain and all that. I actually prefer the second option of just working for a smaller wage and being able to live and shred from the benefits. I actually want to get out of the blazing heat down here, and this sounds horrible but I'm fine with being able to move away from my parents. To ride, our family drives to Colorado, I usually can ride at least 3 times a year, but the days range from 3 days to 1.5 weeks. I aim to have snowboarding as a good chunk of my life.
> 
> So I got a few questions...
> ...





Fire Rose said:


> Here's my opinion:
> If you can, get a job now working weekends and summer and save all of your money. It will be crap pay and a crappy job but you should be able to save a fair bit assuming you have no expenses. Don't let your grades slip though. It will also give you work experience.
> After high school do a gap year and work at a mountain. Use the money you saved to help you get housing and cover expenses until you can get a job. If you can pick somewhere with a higher minimum wage but smaller mountain so lower cost of living vs big resorts. Think about what you want to do in the long run. Look into colleges/tech schools/training programs etc and start applying.
> 
> ...



Sunny...here's another option...do a short tech community college thing. My middle son is a merchant mariner with abs deck and engineer cert. got his schooling of 1.5 years at CC all expenses paid...it was abit of a tough gig but for that short amount of time, When he was done making bank with good chunks of time off. He has zero expenses, walks off the dinghy with a boat load of cash and can have anywhere from a few weeks to months off with the ability to afford to go anyplace. He is fairly frugal and easily adapts to d-bag life and could board everyday. He has even taken 1-2 years off at a time.


----------



## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

Meh.........first and foremost.....are you attractive? The path I took.......will be a lot harder if your'e an ugly fuck. I tried college........after a year......they asked me to not return. Tried construction.........but I was too pretty for that. Caught a break.......got a job modeling........couple local commercials......the big break came a year later........started performing as a male entertainer. Sure........you might have to sleep with a few fatties and uggos..........but the money is good. Studied the Kama Sutra.........worked on my abs and mustache.......life was good. Then it happened........I met the one........the one I was destined to be with for the rest of my life...........daughter of a cattle rancher. Got married........had a son........don't have to work..........ride all the time............trying to convince the father in law.......to buy a small ski hill..............


----------



## offthewallds (Dec 16, 2016)

Stay away from manufacturing/engineering unless you can find a place working 3rd shift or go into business for yourself. The hours are usually long, there aren't any powder clauses. I'll have every other Friday off and a bunch of travel time. I'll have some trips to Moses Lake, WA, so I can duck into Snoqualmie night riding and work in some extra turns that way. Pretty much relegated myself to weekend warrior status to stay on my career path. 

That being said, inspection work can be good for the lifestyle. Pay is good, and you can work 3/4 of the year and ride all winter. There's big money in UT, working pipelines or plants/refineries. Industrial radiography pays fairly well but their schedules get manhandled a lot. If you like heights, get rope access training.

IT work from home would be pretty cush, I imagine it'd be a lot easier to duck out that way.


----------



## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

MySunnyLife said:


> Don't worry about the language barrier, I'm already bilingual in Chinese, English being my first, I could easily learn a new language
> 
> How can I work to do flips and tricks and stuff? I can already do flips and other things on the trampoline but not sure if that's enough.
> 
> Also balance, I don't want to be that one guy windmilling in the air straight to an injury. .


Sunny...pick up a couple more languages like German/French/Japanese, move to some ritzy tourist hill and be a guide/host/bartender (or least preferable instructor) to touristas. The new globe trotting middle/upper class are the Chinese. 

As for flips and tricks...do some gymnastic stuff...get on the high school gym and diving team and keep up the tramp work.


----------



## ctoma (Aug 9, 2011)

offthewallds said:


> IT work from home would be pretty cush, I imagine it'd be a lot easier to duck out that way.


Been in IT for almost 20 years, still trying to get that cushy work from home opportunity... Based on what I have seen, best shot at a full-time work from home gig is go into development. Some guys I work with are at-home developers who aren't even in the same time zone as me. As long as they meet deadlines they can pretty much work any time they want.


----------



## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

Any city with 60k or more is usually going to have at leaset a community college, possibly university. 

With good riding well within an hour think about Reno, Salt Lake, Portland, Bozeman, Anchorage, Gunnison, Glendwood Springs, Bend, Vermont/New Hampshire. They all have college/University campuses within an hour. 

For a job, it doesnt matter much, most in a mountain town will pay very little. Big thing will be to find one to pay the bills.

As for careers... narrow down your interests a little because we have already mentioned some and your still scatter brained about it. I assume You have 2 years of highschool left so you have time to think about it. 

For training, if you want to be a flippy spinny person you need to have air awareness. Take a gymnastics class or 3 along with the trampoline practice. Use online stuff and practice jibbing at home with something like Snowboard Addiction.


----------



## poser (Mar 7, 2018)

Here are a couple of colleges: 

Western Colorado University: Gunnison. 30 min from Created Butte. 

Fort Lewis College: Durango. 30 minutes from Purgatory. 45 minutes from Silverton Mtn. 1.5 hour from Wolf Creek. 2 hours to Telluride. 

University of Nevada. 

Montana State 

Colorado Mtn College 

University of Utah 

You could also consider Jr Colleges. Also look at Canada. 




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

I'm a full-time writer, so I can pick my hours. Right now there's good snow on the locals so I'm up there almost every day.

However, it's a low-probability tactic for making a living.


----------



## Fire Rose (Feb 15, 2016)

To add to the growing list of colleges (assuming you want to go the college route) I would look into Western or Central Washington University. Both good colleges in lower cost of living areas (at least for Washington) with nearby mountains and a higher minimum wage. Western/Bellingham specifically draws a lot of outdoorsy people. But different universities will be better for different degrees so that should be more important.


----------



## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

At 16 I knew I was going to be a snowboard bum the rest of my life. 

Here's what the steps are to become successful at it. 

1. Learn that you will struggle. 
2. Listen to your locals that have done the struggle before you. 
3. A College degree doesn't mean shit anymore, it means you're saddled with debt and you followed the life trajectory society deems normal. 
4. You're only young once. 
5. You're not the only one with this idea and most people that want to do this fail so miserably they become an ongoing joke in any resort town. 
6. Your choices from the start of this decision will dictate whether you ride 100 days a year or you are so tired from your awesome lifestyle choice that you never snowboard and fall into a life of ramen, cheap whiskey, and STD's. 
7. No one will give a shit about you that you wanted to move to the mountains.
8. Don't ever acknowledge you're from Texas and if you have that fucked up drawl they have, lose it fast. 

Here's what you should do. 
1. Finish high school, while stacking as much cash as you can. I mean literally if you're not holing away 500 or more bucks a month into a savings account with a high interest rate or putting it into an ETF or something that will give you a good return on your investment, quit now. 
2. Work in food service or customer service. Not fast food because those jobs are for suckers, I'm talking middle of the road to fine dining or sales of some sort. Since you're in Texas I suggest Sun and Ski as they have 100's of stores and you could transfer to one in the mountains and they actually pay well, have benefits, and will take care of you. Otherwise any snow retailer or even REI would work. 
3. Read some books on the life of the ski bum like this https://www.amazon.com/Search-Powde...preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch it will give you insight into the world you're about to actually enter and prepare yourself. By the time you move, my book will be written and hopefully published. (Shameless self promotion)
4. If since you're from Texas you are thinking of moving to Colorado, because you people just love this state so fucking much, you are to relinquish your drivers license the day you move and get a CO one, you will lose that stupid Texas Drawl, you are not to mention you are from Texas unless it is really pushed, and you should never compare CO to TX. 
5. Tell your parents you're moving to said state to shred and get residency so you can get in state tuition. Whether you go to College or not, this will get your parents off your ass and cause them to be more supportive because you're showing them that you understand financial responsibility. This will buy you some time to figure some shit out. 
6. Get accident insurance as a supplement to your health insurance. This will be a life saver when you get too gnarly for your own good and dislocate a shoulder, break a collar bone, blow your knee out, or think it's a good idea to ride that tobogan of your friends A-Frames roof. Also it's cheap as shit around 20 bucks a month and will cover you for lost wages so you're not crying to your parents to help you out because your life choices are horrible. 
7. Do not and I repeat do not work for the fucking resort. They are the enemy, they are your overlords if you work for them and they will control you. Oh that free pass, yeah get over it, you won't shred you will just work here. Buy your pass, work a night job, and shred every fucking day! Repeat this sentence again "The ski resort is my enemy, they do not care if I am here to shred". 
8. Understand that you are young and as such no one will want to rent to you, so you will have to have first, last, deposit, in full. If you can plunk down 5 grand and yes that's the going rate right now for most ski towns to get into a house you will look more appealing to your potential land lord. Pick your roommates wisely because you will meet some of the best and some of the worst people ever when finding housing. Also make sure to Google Maps the location of any house you're looking at to find the proximity to the resort, bus stops, grocery, bars, etc. etc. People lie all the time about where stuff is located. If you're really smart you'll get your name and only your name on the lease, you'll learn to jack the rent up just enough to get the people that are desperate but can afford to pay more than you would if you broke the rent evenly so you have them covering your expenses so you can shred all day and not worry about making ends meet. Also fuck Airbnb. 
9. You're young, so you have time to figure some shit out. Do whatever you can to optimize your ride time and remember that you're here to shred. Partying, working, and bullshit will get in the way of that. Repeat after me, moderation is key, unless it's a powder day, then you shred!
10. The side hustle is your friend. Learn how to hustle hard and have a side hustle that makes you cash. Dog walking is clutch and apps like Rovr are great for making money on the side off tourists that needed to bring their three legged Corgi with them. You'll be too young to Uber/Lyft but there's other ways to hustle. 
11. Develop other hobbies outside snowboarding so you have something to detract you on down days because the isolation and separation you'll be experience cause depression. No one talks about this, but it's huge, and suicide is larger in ski towns. Being real here, read a lot, don't over party, avoid cocaine because it'll be the crappiest coke you've ever experienced, and get some hobbies to do on down days. Join the local hockey league if you play, do bowling, invest in yourself to better yourself. 
12. You are not a local till the point comes that you don't care that you moved here. Do not pull the I'm a local card on anyone because no matter how long you've lived some where, there's always someone that will out local you. Trust your locals, build trust in them, and build trust in your community. If you invest in it, it will invest in you and make your time there far more enjoyable. 
13. If you're in this for the long haul, you need to be putting 10% minimum of what you make working in shred town USA into a savings account to buy a house. You'll laugh at me now for this, but 10 years from now you'll thank me when you're not 30 and you managed to buy a crap condo on a bank foreclosure or win the lottery on an affordable housing initiative. Ski towns are one of the few places I say to buy real estate as the value always goes up and it makes sense to own a property and have roommates or a caretaker unit you can rent out that covers your mortage vs paying someone elses. One of my biggest regrets was not swooping a condo in the housing crash of 08 in Breck, the condo I would have bought for 138k is now selling for 450k. See what I'm saying here?
14. You will meet lots of fascinating people from all over that are doing what you're doing. Some will be failures and some will be successes, learn how to see the warning signs of what a failure is so you don't get sucked down by them. Find an older longtime local and learn from them. Let them become your ski town grandfather who will instill you with sage wisdom and also know which girls working at your favorite bar/restaurant are single. Also they probably have a cool muscle/sports car they will let you drive in the summer. Plus these guys seem to always own multiple rental properties that are highly coveted and rent controlled. They will also be able to spot the fresh off the boat kids doing what you're doing that will fail, it's like a sixth sense. 
15. If you want to do this you will struggle. There will be nights you won't eat or if you do it will be crap food. There will be times you have to forego shredding to make ends meet, but if you're serious about this you'll make it work. The town will become a bit inhospitable at times to you and not care about what you're going through because the locals have done it and they know that if you can't make it work you will leave and some other fresh off the boat kid will move in and replace you, but if you can prove yourself you will earn your place here. 
16. College isn't for everyone and don't think you have to fall into the trap of college will earn you more income. If after a year or two of shred life you feel you want to make something of yourself, become a realtor. Trust me on this.


----------



## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

Great post, should sticky some of the advice in this thread.. 

This would/could make a funny video for advice on your youtube channel. 



BurtonAvenger said:


> At 16 I knew I was going to be a snowboard bum the rest of my life.
> 
> Here's what the steps are to become successful at it.
> 
> ...


----------



## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

Toying with the idea of doing a video series this summer about how to survive in a shred town or doing something like the Boots and Gloves videos about NYC but for a ski town.


----------



## lab49232 (Sep 13, 2011)

Ill be honest my experience is a bit different than others here but I was basically EXACTLY in your situation and here's my story.

At 14 after weekend trips around Michigan with maybe a week trip to WV or the like I knew I wanted to snowboard, but I was highly intelligent and college was something that wasn't an option I had to go. I started looking at schools I could go to to snowboard. Got in everywhere, looked at UC Boulder, Marquette, a bunch more and ended up at a place in NY. It was only 25 minutes from the mountain, it was 6 hours from home so far enough to be separated, but close enough that if I needed a bail out or an actual home cooked meal, I could still drive instead of having to fly.

In college I started out with the ski club thing but then actually on this forum I found out the the mountain was looking to higher instructors, I emailed the guy asked about it he told me to come take their clinic, he said as a forum member he'd cover the clinic fees and so I was like let's go. Showed up at the resort passed their basic certification class, I told them I was already working one job and going to school full time, they said that wasn't a problem. I ended up teaching night lessons 3 lessons a night 3 nights a week from 7-10. Best part, the night lesson teachers we got paid flat rate no matter if people showed or not. 90% of the time there was nobody there for the last lesson which meant I got paid and all the instructors just went out and free rode and taught eachother. EPIC, but the money, the money was garbage, but I had room and board at school and I got a free pass for really working like 8 hours a week and snowboarding half of that, the other half was walking children down the bunny hill. 

To make extra money I started working the system, the resort offered private lessons for like $120 a pop, and you could request your instructor if you wanted. As an instructor if you had a private request the resort paid you half of the entire lesson fee, that's $60 for an hour and a half of work, plus the regular hourly wage. The mountain was a resort hill with tons of lodging at the base and a popular bar right on the side. So I would teach lessons and ride until 10 at night, cozy on up to the bar, and look for a victim, Find the ld guy sitting at the bar by himself, or maybe with the wife and start up idle chit chat, and most of the time it would end up with "ya I just have my family here on vacation, kids are learning to ride, etc etc etc" Oh you're kids are learning, you know I teach lessons, let them know you want me and I'll make sure iget your kids taken care of. Id leave the night with a private lesson, usually a beer bought for me and then Id skip class the next day to go ride and make bank on the private lesson. I rode 4-5 days a week during season in college, never paid for a day on the slopes, made a tiny bit of extra money from that, but mostly from other retail jobs and such in school.

After college I wanted bigger mountains and said fuck it and packed it all up and moved to the west coast, used my degree to pound doors and managed to get in to a higher end position in the retail and production side. I don't get to ride as much as I use to as it's the busy season for work to but I ride a few days a week, for free, I get to go to any of the tradeshows, and I get to touch snowboards literally every day. I'm pretty content with that.


----------



## fullvermonty (Jan 6, 2018)

I recommend taking some basic classes - bookkeeping, marketing, etc. - in junior college, saving up as much money as you can, and starting a small niche business. 

There are lots of opportunities for personal-service sorts of businesses in ski towns - personal chef, dog walker, skill or craft teacher (I used to do apres ski knitting lessons that were very popular), cleaning, home maintenance, that sort of thing. 

The other option is to have a business like mine - I sell stuff over the internet, so it doesn't matter where I live. 

So far, running my own business has worked out pretty well. I set my own hours, so when I'm home, I can snowboard every day if I feel like it. It involves some travel to trade shows, which makes it easy to tack on side trips. Just got back from a couple of days in Tahoe, and am going to Colorado soon. It's all good.


----------



## jstar (Sep 21, 2016)

Work oil patch, then take the winters off and move to any resort/town that you like. This also will work for schooling, so you don’t have to work while going to university.

Isn’t angry writing a book about this?


----------



## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

Oh wow that is a lot of useful information on how to be a snow bum. I don't think I can ever live a life like that.


----------



## MySunnyLife (Mar 5, 2018)

I didn't expect to have so many responses for suggestions and advice. As I was typing this I thought I was going to be another post that gets ignored and no feedback at all. I'd like to once again thank all of you for taking time out of your day to help me out. I will look through every post and grab as much info as possible, it's hard right now because time is limited for me this week. 

Quick update.... Spring Break is happening after this week is over and I'll be at Breckenridge or Vail to hit the mountains. I'm borrowing a gopro to film some juicy stuff, I plan on progressing in jumps and tricks as well as just riding down the mountain. 

I would like to know some tips or things I can do while I'm there to get the most out of snowboarding or just learning things from locals. 

Thanks.


----------



## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

lab49232 said:


> At 14 after weekend trips around Michigan with maybe a week trip to WV or the like I knew I wanted to snowboard, but I was *highly intelligent* and college was something that wasn't an option I had to go.
> 
> ...
> 
> In college I started out with the ski club thing but then actually on this forum I found out the the mountain was looking to *higher* instructors, I emailed the guy asked about it he told me to come take their clinic, he said as a forum member he'd cover the clinic fees and so I was like let's go.


Sorry, couldn't resist 

Honestly though, my real question is why at 16 he seems to have so much stress that only snowboarding seems to relieve.


----------



## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

VAIL. >

Don't ever make that mistake again. Unless your going to eastern Oregon where there is actually a town called Vale...




MySunnyLife said:


> I didn't expect to have so many responses for suggestions and advice. As I was typing this I thought I was going to be another post that gets ignored and no feedback at all. I'd like to once again thank all of you for taking time out of your day to help me out. I will look through every post and grab as much info as possible, it's hard right now because time is limited for me this week.
> 
> Quick update.... Spring Break is happening after this week is over and I'll be at Breckenridge or Vale to hit the mountains. I'm borrowing a gopro to film some juicy stuff, I plan on progressing in jumps and tricks as well as just riding down the mountain.
> 
> ...


----------



## poser (Mar 7, 2018)

BurtonAvenger said:


> At 16 I knew I was going to be a snowboard bum the rest of my life.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




This is an informative post. Part of it is a reminder that I don’t live in a “real” mountain town. At least not in the sense that Telluride, Aspen, Breck, Jackson Hole, Created Butte are. I live in Durango, which is not an easy place to make it by any stretch, but there are some real jobs: there are regional offices of very large companies, some manufacturing, a college, mining, trucking, a real (regional) hospital and a host of medical professionals etc. Of course there is also a long list of bullshit, seasonal jobs and the the pay scale is deflated across the board. The median income is nowhere near enough to to match the median home price, vacancy runs at less than 1%. Durango has employment and even potential career advantages over all of those True mountains towns and even then, it sends a lot of aspiring locals reeling back to where they came from broke and destitute. Considering how much more infinity difficult places like Vail, Breck, Aspen, CB & Telluride must be to make in relation to my experience moving to Durango, I’d suggest any aspiring snowboarder let the above perspective sink in deep. 

things to ponder: 

-why not consider a focus on Backcountry access instead of resort riding? Take Silverton, for example. Rent is likely cheaper than any “mountain town” a person can name. Work in the winter is bleak and highly seasonal, but but not so worse than any of these other towns when you adjust for population. Groceries are expensive, you have to drive 60 miles to Durango for any real services, BUT your are surrounded by a lifetime’s worth of Backcountry skiing/boarding and, at 400+ inches of average snowfall, it gets more snow than any of these destinations. It’s hard, cold and rugged, but the access is free and not clogged with tourists. 

Is there a list of mountain towns rated most difficult to live in to least difficult to live in? 

Where is the tipping point for resorts? At what point do they go as far as they can go for the highest price possible before we see a growing reaction in terms of limited service “ski areas” and semi-Backcountry skiing? 

***All things being equal***, if you had a choice between hut to hut Backcountry or resort accommodations, climbing a mountain and riding back down it or resort accommodations, which would you choose and why?


----------



## OlivJasn (Dec 22, 2020)

If you are tired of typical American mountain towns, why don’t you try another country? Last year we went to Switzerland, to one mountain village close to Hérémence and Sion. There was a nice and quiet place, with fewer tourists. So, there was a lot of space for skiing and snowboarding. We wanted to go this year, but the borders were closed. Besides, my friend found a few retreats for practicing yoga on https://yogapractice.com/yoga/luxury-yoga-retreats-in-usa and probably we will go there to try something new.


----------



## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

OlivJasn said:


> If you are tired of typical American mountain towns, why don’t you try another country?


Maybe not Canada, though...

* ducks to avoid toques suddenly hurled at me *


----------

