Ah, the winter season is upon us here in the Northern Hemisphere.  All the families with ski cabins are pulling out their gear and winter clothes, while the ski industry employees are getting trained on their next seasonal job. Now heading into my fifth winter season in the ski industry, having come from the Silicon Valley and online advertising, it has remained incredibly clear to me that there are certain perceptions of the ski and snowboard world that I find wildly incorrect. Today, I would like to address just three of those perceptions, that were actual direct quotes from a shuttle ride from Calgary to Banff, Canada, just a few weeks ago. Granted, these quotes were all from one single passenger, I do think his outlook is shared by many others.

 Three myths – 

1. If you were not raised skiing, or visiting the snow, then snow is miserable, for the rest of your life.
2. Once you are “old” you can no longer ski. It’s too hard on our body.
3. All ski industry employees are lazy ski bums, only working three or four days a week, just to shred pow, and completely ignore the responsibilities of a real life.

“It has to do with how you were raised. If you were raised in snow it makes you happy.  It makes me depressed.”

Although there is a photo of me when I was about one year old, in a puffy pink outfit, with a miserable scowl on my face, while my mom’s and brother’s smiles glowed in front of the white background, I was not raised in the snow. I snowboarded for the first time when I was maybe 13 years old, and probably had a total of 10 days on the hill until the day I started working at a ski resort, when I was 30 years old. I crashed my truck into a snow bank on my third day of work, this was how inexperienced I was in this environment. And yet, I came to love snow so much that I moved away from the town at 6,300 feet (South Lake Tahoe) into the mountains at 7,800 feet (Kirkwood), literally across the street from the chairlifts. I have lived through winters so heavy with snow that I could walk out of my second story window. I have literally crawled through the snow, on hands and knees, from my boyfriend’s place to my own. I have had nine total people sleeping in my tiny two bedroom apartment, unexpectedly when the roads closed.

I refuse to leave the mountain. I am not the only one who has fallen in love with his world as an adult. Some hate it, and leave, while others are invigorated by it. Some have known it their whole lives, but others have definitely happily discovered it in their late 20s, 30s, and sometimes 60s.

“It was to do with your age. I used to love skiing. Now it’s too hard on my knees.”

Have you ever stood at the base of a black diamond chair lift during the first or the last hours of operations? I have. My first job in the industry was as a ticket scanner (aka one of the most fun jobs of my life). Majority of the people lapping Kirkwood Mountain Resort’s Chair 6 “Cornice Express” are of the age that would get them discounts on rental cars and meals at diners. Yes, age can affect your physical health, because, well, you have to work harder to stay in shape. You have to eat healthier, and do more cross training, and likely commit to months or years of physical therapy, or even a surgery or two, to keep your body going. And, there sure as hell are “old” people skiing, at every resort, and even still hiking in the backcountry to really earn their turns. 

Age is not an excuse. Sorry to break it to you. If you disagree, swing by ski school warm-ups at your local mountain and see how many 60+ instructors there are, or just stand at the base of a black diamond chairlift and ask the ticket scanner what ages she is seeing pop up on people’s profiles.

“I work Monday Tuesday Wednesday,” the driver said. “Oh, you’re one of those,” the man responded, knowingly.

It takes a lot of my energy to hold in my furry in response to this statement and his tone. Where do I begin? How about we just list the many reasons why someone may only work three days a week:

1. They know how to financially budget on a paycheck from only three days a week.
2. They are technically retired, but want to keep making connections, and being a part of their community, or earning some fun spending money.
3. They are an artist or entrepreneur who is primarily focused on being successful on something they are passionate about, but still want and need a steady paycheck.
4. They are a parent and cannot afford to pay for three to four (or more) lift tickets for the entire family so they work at the resort to enjoy the perks.
5. They work at more than one resort, or more than one job in the tourist industry.
6. They are caring for a loved one who is ill.
7. They enjoy their free time more than grinding at work for their entire lives, being miserable.

Is that enough reasons for you? To me, “one of those” simply means a mindful human being who is not just following other sheep and succumbing to the pressures society puts on us for what “successful” in the United States of America means.  Yes, there are some people who come here to just ski or snowboard. Is that so wrong? Or are you just jealous? I was one of those people my first season. I also wanted time to work on speeches for Toastmasters and give myself more space and time to heal after my mom passed away. Would you judge me for that? Now, I have succeeded for three seasons in full-time highly impactful roles at the resort. This season, I decided to reduce my commitments in order to prioritize time for my writing. Many of the ski industry employees who start out as “ski bums” in entry level positions, partying every chance they get, fall in love with this world, this lifestyle, and maybe even one particular resort, and move up to be supervisors, managers, directors and even general managers!

This is the beauty of seasonal work – you are not locked in for years and decades. You get to regularly re-evaluate what is most important to you, and if your job is fulfilling and a good fit. As a bonus, you live somewhere incredibly beautiful – a place where everyone else goes to vacation.

So, yes, we are, “one of those.” And proud of it. We all have goals to still be skiing in our 60s and 70s, and are actively working on ensuring this happens, even in our 20s and 30s. Lastly, many of us did not grow up in the snow or on the hill. It’s a mixed demographic of backgrounds. This does not matter, because now, we are all in love with the same thing – the mountain. And no one, and nothing, can take us away from our love.