well, i tried the real world...

[Hugh Conway]

I get it. I really do. Further, I can see how you can cut corners, live frugally, and make it work out. But how to you get health insurance? That's a show stopper unless you're fond of crossing your fingers or declaring bankruptcy in the event of a serious injury.

panhandling fundraisers when you "shockingly" fuck up your knee/leg/whatever.

[Bromontana]

Alf figured it out, would be interesting to hear his story in more detail.

[jibmaster]

My situation is ironic.
I left college to be a ski bum and ended up currently living(past 20 years) in the same town where the college is located.
I ended up living where I started when I left...

There is no skiing where I live. The closest ski location is 100 miles away.
But I love living here. Tons of mt. biking year round.
Gardening year round.
And I have a job with full health benefits and retirement plan.
While my job is seasonal, I work 5 days/week year round.
Winter is the slow season and I get some extra time off.
I usually get the entire month of January off.

Sure it's weekend warrior status most of the year, but I love being a ski bum here.

[huckbucket]

panhandling fundraisers when you "shockingly" fuck up your knee/leg/whatever.

I was trying hard not to go there. Would appreciate a serious response from those in the know.

[Al_Rouse]

I'm going to agree with Blurred here. I mean, it's actually admirable that you have a job that is such a calling that you'd rather do it than ski all day, but that's still pretty weird.

Skiing is awesome, but it doesn't provide the intellectual stimulation of other career options. Taking a few seasons off from the "real world' was cool, but I couldn't survive in a place where the main conversation is about the epic pow that was slayed earlier in the day.
One must balance the physical with the mental.

BTW, do you know there are new cover sheets for the TPS reports? If you could just go ahead and put a new cover sheet on your TPS report, that'd be greaaat.

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

I get it. I really do. Further, I can see how you can cut corners, live frugally, and make it work out. But how to you get health insurance? That's a show stopper unless you're fond of crossing your fingers or declaring bankruptcy in the event of a serious injury.

You know you can just buy yourself insurance, right? Think I paid like $180/month with Blue Cross for a $5k deductible when I lived in Jackson. Took about 10 minutes to get signed up.

[Zeedashbo]

uhhhhhhhhh have you ever been to Jackson? There's hot, cool chicks all over the place. Same goes for most of the larger-than-tiny ski towns in the West. but if that's what you need to think to yourself to justify where you live.......

Agreed. Jackson is mecca for hot mountain town yoga chicks. If you're not bad looking and aren't a total dirt or douche bag you should be able to cash in. Plus if you have tons of tourist tail.

[tone capone]

The ratio conditions may be much better then say 20 years ago but honestly if you actually think what you're saying is true you really need to travel a bit.

and on and on and on....


Jesus H motherfucker, can't even joke around in this place anymore before everybodys nutsack gets all twisted up. Fuck off all of you and your fucking circle jerk about how much cooler you are. Sorry I tried to be funny, I didn't know I was taken so seriously around here.

Meat Spicy hit me up if you're ever up this way and want to shred the pow or harvest the poon, as has been said, there are some classy ladies up here. Last time I checked the "Real World" was a stupid fucking show on MTV about the biggest douchebags on earth.

[PowTrees]

It may not be the snowiest place and its pretty crowded for mountain towns, but summit/breckenridge and eagle county/vail are a good place to compromise. I know lots of people, myself included whose jobs are all too real in a ski town. It's not like it was before the recession, but there are still lots of full time jobs with benefits here. The girl to guy ratio is pretty good here too, it's way better than it was 15 years ago.

Not to mention, if you want a cubicle/real job why not Denver (or even slc)? As long as you have a car, there's no problem accessing outdoors from the big D. It's confusing to me why so much talk about cubicle jobs seems to equate to the east coast...

Good luck and follow your dreams!!

[huckbucket]

You know you can just buy yourself insurance, right? Think I paid like $180/month with Blue Cross for a $5k deductible when I lived in Jackson. Took about 10 minutes to get signed up.

Wonder what percentage of people living this lifestyle actually pony up. Hard to imagine Alf in the vid at the top of this page paying the monthly for health insurance.

[AdironRider]

Or a 5k deductible waiting tables, or in Alf's case, repairing climbing soles.

[claymond]

Some resorts offer insurance for reasonable rates. Snowbird has it if you're considered a full-time year round employee, which is an anyone who averages over 25 hours a week. Covers medical, dental and optical

[Danno]

In the words of Telemike, fuck off Greg.

[Ice_Coaster]

Well done. I worked in a cube in DC for just shy of 4 years after I graduated college. Actually made a thread similar to this a couple years ago and most encouraged me to take off. I stuck around long enough to get vested in my 401k and then put in my 2 weeks notice, packed my truck, and started driving west. Took a menial job at one of the Utah resorts when I first got here just to network/meet people, and I now am settled with a "real job" and live in Park City year-round. Not the gnarliest mtns in the world on the backside and I still took a massive pay cut all told, but it's still Utah, there's world class mtn biking out my back door, the people in town are active and enjoyable to be around, etc. I'm not a true ski bum by any stretch but I've found a pretty nice balance between skiing and work.

[jwolter7]

Damm you are lucky. After 20+ years of living at seven different ski areas I'm still stuck in city/make some money land trying to pay off my ski adventures credit card debt...

You are seeing it right, have fun back in Jackson and don't spend any money on stuff you don't really need.

[jwolter7]

Use headphones, turn it up loud and don't turn around once you start your drive out west!

[MJbumper1121]

You should totally drop everything and move to the land of the "bearclaw woods", where you can slay biatchez like snooki and hang out with AZ greg...

[StopMakingSense]

I hear a lot of excuses in this thread!

Oh and talking about the epic slayage of pow, that never gets old

[Slaag Master]

bliss brothers for life!!!!

insurance is for pussies!

bliss is not a list!

other than a season pass, the best things in life are free. if something is not free, fuck it!

great retirement, job security, generous 401k and dental plans are all compensation for being responsible to the faceless dollar!!!

it is all about the bliss!!!!

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Wonder what percentage of people living this lifestyle actually pony up. Hard to imagine Alf in the vid at the top of this page paying the monthly for health insurance.

That's an entirely different conversation - but it's totally on the person and their situation. Until 2014 at least - then I think Obamacare will actually make it easier and cheaper for the run of the mill skibum to get insurance.

[mbizzles]

That's an entirely different conversation - but it's totally on the person and their situation. Until 2014 at least - then I think Obamacare will actually make it easier and cheaper for the run of the mill skibum to get insurance.

Agreed. I have lived in Aspen ski bumming it for 3 years. I have never NOT had health insurance. It limits where I can work because health insurance (and a 401k) are important. There are enough large hotels and/or stores that offer these benefits for employees. But yes, you do have to be willing to work the for the man a bit more. In the end, I believe it pays off. I can ski every day. I earn enough money to make at least one big gear purchase a year, take a trip or two, have a car (albeit old), and live in town in a nice apartment. Do I make sacrafices? Yes. I'd like a nicer car. I'd like some nicer clothes. I'd like to go out to dinner/shows a bit more. But in the end, skiing/mtn biking everyday and having rad gear to go with that is more important to me than a sweet car, new heels to go with a new dress, or dinner out.

However, will I live like this forever? No. I do not want to be a career server. In fact, I greatly dislike serving. But I work at a hotel where most of the guests are pretty cool and the money's good.

So my next move it to try working my way up in an outdoor retailer setting. Sell skis in the winter and bikes in the summer. The money isn't usually great in shops, so I can also serve a shift or two on the side until I work my way up and make more money.

I can see myself working a more traditional 9 to 5 if it's for a company I really like and support, basically if their products are used to shred the brown pow or the white, fluffy pow. Now, finding that job will be difficult I imagine, but I plan to get as much experience while still being in a ski town. Coupling that with my business degree, it will hopefully happen someday.

[neck beard]

It's all about balance...

Yep. Ski almost everyday for 6 months, then don't ski for 6 months. 50/50. The 6 months off could be a bit shorter though.

Everyone is different, but I no longer feel like my life is draining away whilst I do some work for some company, day after day after soul destroying life sucking day of repetitive desk life with people who shared zero in common with my inner self. There is nothing wrong with working, but that stuff is not fit for the human spirit. So much potential, such a waste. I will never get tired of the feeling of freedom I have now.

Work hard, save your cash, leave it all behind before you are too old, live simple on a small income and ski. Particularly backcountry or mission-driven skiing where you need everyday just to get it deeply into your fibers.

Re-post:

[robbo]

I ski bummed for a few years and it was great BUT I did get sick of working for $10 an hour and struggling to pay rent/food/bills. I felt like I was stuck, being a servant to tourists..
I also want to travel around the world more and being a ski bum makes that very hard.

I am now starting a degree so that I can have a well payed career AND live in the mountains.
Studying in Vancouver is great (close to Whis and Baker) and I can still get tons of biking and boarding in.
I think the best combination for me is to have a great career you enjoy, close to the mountains, with enough money to be able to have your own place in the mountains, decent truck, sled, health insurance and money to travel around the world.

[Long duc dong]

Life is a gift. It is not something you take for granted and spend wasting away in a cubicle .
Why would anyone think that is the route to happiness over skiing every day in the Winter?!
Some say it's their only option, but reality is they just don't have the balls to do what you're doing Spicy.

Congratulations.

I lived in the mountains for 5 years, and skied Squaw everyday. I loved it, but I left for cubicle hood and 40 ski days a year. I'm happy I left, and I get to surf a ton in the summer as well as ski in the winter.

It works for some people, so good for the OP. Others want something different, which is why I went the route that I did. Some of the most unhappy people I have ever met were longtime Tahoe locals. Some of the coolest people I met were also older Tahoe locals. It really is a personal choice, and what works for some does not work for others. Some people are able to find jobs that they find interesting and rewarding despite wearing a corpo casual uniform. I am genuinely happier now than I was living in Tahoe, although I loved it at the time. I could tell that if I stayed I might become one of those bitter old locals who was jealous of the guys from San Fran who skied every weekend and had careers.

It is a question of finding the most fulfilling life. If that is skiing everyday, than make sure you do that. You only get one chance to live. Like I said, for me I like the life I have. I would bet that most of the TGR corporate types who are happy live in cities where you can drive to great mountains every weekend, and thus can ski 40 day seasons at places like Mammoth or Tahoe, or who live in Denver/Seattle/Salt Lake type spots. I know that if I lived in Indiana and couldn't surf or ski on the weekends I would go crazy.

Lewis Samuels wrote an article on surfing simplicity recently. At one point he says something like 'average joes using surf forecasts to plan their week so they can leave the office early on Friday afternoon when the models call for swell. Then they get to battle other average joes for shoulder high with + sets' He got it exactly right, as that is what lots of us do.

I think the key is also to find challenge/fulfillment/enjoyment in your work. If you don't get any of that, your life will be hell.

[Danno]

In the words of Telemike, fuck off Greg.

I'm fucking psychic.