Ski Jobs

Question
I am a very qualified skier on groomed hills (as i live in Ontario) and would love to work in the ski industry as a career.  The best thing I can come up with is possibly a ski patrol in BC or Alberta since they are involved with Avalanche control, search and rescue, weather patterns, etc.  My only concern is I would also one day like to be able to afford a home and be able to support a family.  My questions are...
(1) What does a ski patroller make annually?
(2) Are there any jobs on a hill which you could make a living at?

Thanks for your help in answering these questions of mine;

James

Answer
Hi James,

Life on the mountain...ahhhhhh....
I've known alot of patrollers in my day, and they had the following in common:
1. Lived with roomates, rented, at age 35
2. Had 3 jobs,usually in a restaraunt
3. Bachelors.

If those sound appealing to you, then by all means go for it.

(1) Seriously, there are alot of Patrollers who own, have a house, ect. but they usually have something else on the side. The Patrolling is not the main gig. The money is not great. Most of them are Volunteers - they get to ski for free, they get huge discounts on new skis and bindings.

There is a lot of training. Demands on your time, but it can be very rewarding. There are a few "full time" patrollers, people who have a salary, but most are part time fill ins. I would guess 30K-40K per year. The job as you can guess, is seasonal, so a resort just can not afford to pay year round. Being a qualified skiier on groomers is not enough out west- you have to be an expert bump skiier, trees, deep and heavy powder, cliffs, double diamonds, out of bounds, ect. And be a fully certified EMT. Most of the injuries/rescues happen there, and you have to be good enough to ski that terrain WITH a tow sled to get the person out. So  most patrollers start out volunteering over a number of years, working other jobs, while they build their skills out. So, while I myself have the abilities to patrol, i dont have the time to devote.

However, here are your options if you want to live and work on the hill and not be waiting tables at age 40.

Borrow all that you can and go to college:

1. Accountants- every single business, and there are hundreds of small businesses in a resort that need accountants. Get your accounting degree, join a small firm in a resort, you'll make 40K a year. (USD) you'll ski every weekend, every vacation, meet most of the restaraunt owners in town, and be able to get 1/2 days in 2-3 days per week. In 7 years, you'll either be a partner in that firm making 120K per year, or on your own, making the same. You only need a bachelors with a great GPA from a state school to get in the club.

2. Real Estate. - Competitive business, but you make a ton of money if you are honest, follow up, and go over and beyond for your clients. they start at 30 and make up to 300K per year, easy. The most expenisive real estate in the world is in ski resorts.

3. Lawyer, Doctor, - obivious here, they make great money, but get to ski more than any of the above.

4. Pretty much everyone else is scraping by- restaraunt work sucks. I owned one, i know. Skilled tradesman are always whim to the boom and bust. Huge financial stresses, hard to keep a girlfriend much less a family.

5. this sounds obvious, but if you decide to head out, get away from the drug crowd- ski town are SMALL and everyone talks, right away. No secrets. Once you get the rep as a partier, #1 and #2 people stay away from you.

Good luck, hope this helps.

Tom