Can anyone really be a ski bum anymore?

[snowaddict91]

Someone who has a highly focused set of priorities?

Thats what its about. I'm no bum anymore, but my job choices, work schedule, and budget are planned heavily around skiing a shit ton. I've avoided promotion opportunities at work simply because it would destroy my skiing life. Many don't get it or have told me I'm not making the right choice, but its what works for me. Thankfully my wife understands and supports.

[snowaddict91]

actually the epic pass sells college students passes at a great price as do most resorts, went to Western in the 70's and used to take the fianancial aid check right up to CB and get my pass. Took classes tues n thursdays = ski 5 days /week

When I started at Western I wanted to go to med school. By the time I graduated all I knew I wanted to do was ski. I think my mom still wishes I never set foot in that town.

[GeezerSteve]

Just guessing, but there are likely more than a few people here who that could apply to, including some of us that guided our lives in this direction over a long period of time prior to knowing our spouses/partners.

True. Honey and I were moving parallel in the same direction before we met. (And those respective arcs included our independent decisions decades ago to forego having kids and living below our means.) She, like me, dropped out of her career path a couple times, going broke one of those times. She has duly recovered from that. Her path is a few years behind mine. She's well on her way to hitting the number. We talk daily about the final dropout plans. I'll be covered by Medicare when that happens. If our plans go as currently penciled in, we'll need a substantial cushion to cover her HC insurance premiums for the bridge from dropout to Medicare eligibility. It's kinda fucked up that HC coverage is the big wild card, even for those who responsibly saved and scraped.

Again, in our case, our final dropout plan is about rubber tramping. Unless something goes terribly wrong, we will have too much (i.e., measurable) wealth to qualify as bums.

[schindlerpiste]

Probably already said, but I'd guess that at least 1/2 of modern day ski bums are twenty-something trustafarians who are not in a rush to take on the toils of the daily grind.

[XXX-er]

Just guessing, but there are likely more than a few people here who that could apply to, including some of us that guided our lives in this direction over a long period of time prior to knowing our spouses/partners.

I supose YMMV but zero planning or direction here, more like if Jeff Lebowski worked at IBM

[GeezerSteve]

Probably already said, but I'd guess that at least 1/2 of modern day ski bums are twenty-something trustafarians who are not in a rush to take on the toils of the daily grind.

Yeah, when I was a near-bum in my early to mid-20s, most self-identified "ski bums" we ran into in or near ski towns were beneficiaries of trust funds and/or had some other form of family support. OTOH, most of the transients we met outside ski areas were as poor as us, i.e., very few possessions and not enough money to live more than a few weeks without needing to find work. I lived that way a couple years until the insecurity of being constantly broke got to me.

My personal experience is somewhat skewed by my brief gig as lead trombonist in the Wood River Valley Orchestra, a jazz big band comprised of AFM Local 484 (Sun Valley) members. (Local 484 went defunct soon after that.) The band had a few guys who lived really low to the ground. One guy, a gifted musician and lovely soul, scraped through life playing various brass instruments, electric bass, acoustic bass and steel drums. He sometimes would get a gig with a cruise ship band in the off season, traveling to and from port via hitchhiking. (He did not own a car.) His only significant annual expense was a season pass. Most of his calories came from free food, e.g., restaurant throwaways and dumpster diving. He went through a series of younger girlfriends who offered him a place to live until they left town or kicked him out after growing weary of supporting him. In between GFs, he'd couch surf with buds or old GFs. I sometimes ponder what happened to that guy.

[Meadow Skipper]

It's kinda fucked up that HC coverage is the big wild card, even for those who responsibly saved and scraped.

I think this is one of the biggest reasons ski-bumming is a lot more difficult now.

[Djongo Unchained]

Jesus fucking Christ you guys. This is my life, and you're all up talkin about it, hashing it out.

You're killing me softly, with this song.

So much to say. Maybe why I arrived here about a year ago. Searching for ski bums. Thank God Dibs picked up my message in the bottle.

Fresh outta school in 1990, All I knew was that I wanted to have fun. Moved To JH, made friends with the JHAF and have been quilting together a life of jobs, residences and living thriftily. Never cheaply. Ever since.

One of my lessons has been that it's all kinda relative. For all the good, equal bad. For all the awesome, Equally tragic... for pretty much everything. yin/yang.

I've skied miles of blower, can hit 60+ mph at will, ridden over 10,000 trams and will not blow you off on a POW day. If I took you on the best over the head , expert level run of your life, you would not be the first.

I consider myself one of the luckiest skiers here.

Now let's talk about sacrifices.

I will likely work until I die. Retirement? Not really in the cards.
Homeownership? Not yet but maybe someday! .

I am that focused guy. Everything revolves around my skiing every morning in TV. Construction pays really well and my connections for steady employ,help keep my head above water.

I am not a dirtbag, nor a ski pro. I am a ski bum. I don't work for the skico. cuz I can't be under their thumb. We already antagonize each other enough.

I work hard, a lot, for 3 seasons; and spend 4 months on a honey moon of skiing each new winter in JH.

I'll be 53 in 2 days. Kinda stuck in the Hole now.

[ADKmike]

There should probably be some kind of term for that, but bum ain't it by any means.

'White Collar Ski Bum' comes to mind... (not your scenario in particular...referring to the discussion of having a job and fairly standard life to support skiing alot in return)

[GeezerSteve]

. . . and jeff rich(supplied me with a few weeks of work during my pause.)

who knew Ale capone was a rock stacker?

[teleb10]

I totally remember that guy! Haven't seen him in a while I wonder if he's still out there.

[AdironRider]

Totally. Try to create a life as in home ownership, some savings, a family etc. in a town like Jackson without any form of family support and see how much time you'll get skiing! Ha!

It works out for me being 2.5-3 full days on the hill (both weekend days and a combination of short trips night skiing, dawn patrols on the pass, and pow clause tram lap or two on big days), and that is in Jackson where there is some semblance of a "career" is even possible. I can't imagine places like Crested Butte or even Breck this even being a path you could pursue without outside help. Jackson is relatively unique in that aspect of being able to do something outside of hospitality or seasonal construction related stuff, and it requires waiting a couple years to figure it out/ find it.

It also required buying a place in Victor, so not even really in Jackson. I also don't know if I could have made it work without saving 10k during college and then moving out here during the recession. Shit was briefly "cheap" for a minute there in terms of rentals.

I've never been a city guy so the life works for me, but without family help, you might as well be a weekend warrior somewhere else and make more coin if you have any tolerance for living outside of the mountains.

I'd also agree with the statement that I was never a bum. I bussed tables for a season and skied everyday but then blew out an achilles the next season and have been in a real job ever since unfortunately.

[SumJongGuy]

Couple observations here.. Very few skiers come from poverty level families. It's nearly impossible to grow up being a really good skier without strong family financial resources. Dropping out of college, or a good job to go ski for a decade or forever might be called ski bumming, but a lot of people who do it actually have a safety net available if they ever decided to go grab it, reconcile with their wealthy parents or whatever.

There are also genuine hard luck stories where people manage to support the ski habit delivering pizzas or tuning skis. And, there are people who are good enough to teach or patrol, but again those are usually people who got good mileage on the slopes growing up thanks to a fortunate family situation. Some don't have the safety net, some do. But, it's definitely possible to get a job at a resort or nearby where the job includes housing.. Apartment manager, maintenance man, etc.. It's still working though. I'd consider a true "ski bum" someone who gets their gear out of a dumpster, hikes for turns or somehow gets free lift rides, begs for food money on the corner, and either lives out of a broken down vehicle or is somewhat homeless, couch surfing.

[white_wolf]

I'll chime in since I'm an actual 20-something semi ski bum.

It's possible but not in the "pure" way that I think a lot of you are thinking about ski bums. I tune skis and adjust bindings all winter to be able to ski at least a couple hours a day, every day. I come from a solid family but I definitely don't have a trust of any kind or anything like it. The past few summers I've been working sustainable agriculture jobs, which is something I care about deeply, but that pays like shit and next summer I think I'll probably be pounding nails or pouring concrete to save up a little money. This winter is gonna be really hard (living in the bed of my truck for a while hard).

I didn't even grow up skiing - I just discovered it 4 years ago and have been passionate about it ever since. I'm good enough to ski with patrol any day of the week but I haven't stayed in one place long enough to take an OEC course and commit to one mountain long term even though I've been asked to. Patrol pays like shit now-a-days anyway.

I have friends that work landscaping jobs 60 hours a week all summer and then work part time in the shop all winter and shred their asses off. They're the best skiers on the mountain, and probably the closest thing there is to the mythical "ski-bum" y'all are looking for. Sounds like Djongo has been on that program for quite a while.

[babybear]

This is me. And yeah, I'd never dare call myself a ski bum. On the other hand, while I make good money, I value my time and flexibility for outdoor pursuits and have made "sacrifices" to maintain that, such as turning down gigs where'd I'd be very well off but working way more than I want and less able to skip work on a powder day. There should probably be some kind of term for that, but bum ain't it by any means.

How about a Ski Professional, which is very different than being a Professional Skier. ;-)

don’t forget a true professional skier always carries a suitcase too

[LiveLarger]

I'm feeling old and salty and worried about the future of skids. Like, where can anyone actually afford to live in the mountains anymore? And are the mega resort conglomorates gonna kill skiing? Someone give me hope! Who is still doing it for real?

Yes, there are a ton of them in Europe. If you go to eg Chamonix, the place is literally crawling with Scandinavians and brits etc who are bumming. People are sleeping four/five persons in apartments I wouldn't be comfortable to be more than two in. My impression of US skibums are that they are mostly trustafarians?

[core2]

Skiing is an elitist white people sport. The bums died out long ago or got jobs as dentists.

[SumJongGuy]

Skiing is an elitist white people sport. The bums died out long ago or got jobs as dentists.

I laughed, and cried because it's true.

[schindlerpiste]

No doubt. But, with a little good parenting, they will follow in the footsteps. The apple does not fall far from the tree

[babybear]

if you live in a ski town you know they still exist. but kids these days make terrible ski bums anyway- they only care to do things so they can instagram it
the pure ski bums for the love of it are very few and far between (like djongo)

[Foggy_Goggles]

Yeah, it is very possible. It ain't easy but it never has been. As always, you can't have it all. Some people call that sacrifice. I call it choice. Those that are good at being a bum would be good at anything that they put their mind to. Funny like that.

[stuckathuntermtn]

RIP Tone.

Damn, too real.

[Djongo Unchained]

i still got some of the same ski partners
since 84 minus one, RIP so blessed

You're fixing to have a new one this BBI19.

Looking forward to meeting your ski family.

Some fucking brilliance in here. Helps my sanity. Funny TanFlan post, BB.

Foggy - Choice...Indeed. agree 100%

There are a lot more hardcore skiers out there than some here might think.
Regular guys and gals who can crush it. maybe not bums, but rippers. I likes dem da most. Like Warthog, I bet he's the rippingest skier from the gulf coast of florida. Brock Landers, thefrush and his crew, Nest and his special lady friend all leap to mind.

And FWIW, being a ski bum or Pro or dirtbag or whatevs, if you're a skier, what else really matters?

I'm really getting stoked to ski.

And I meant what I said about feeling fortunate, lucky. But some smarts, adaptability, willingness to go without, work ethic, sense of independence and a healthy embrace of risk are likely gonna be required somewhere along the way. All for your passion, our passion.

I doubt I would trade my life for any of yours. ( it occurs to me that you're laughing, thinking the same about me.)

But maybe, some of you seem super rad.

None of you could possibly think I'm a TFB...

[raisingarizona13]

Couple observations here.. Very few skiers come from poverty level families. It's nearly impossible to grow up being a really good skier without strong family financial resources. Dropping out of college, or a good job to go ski for a decade or forever might be called ski bumming, but a lot of people who do it actually have a safety net available if they ever decided to go grab it, reconcile with their wealthy parents or whatever.

There are also genuine hard luck stories where people manage to support the ski habit delivering pizzas or tuning skis. And, there are people who are good enough to teach or patrol, but again those are usually people who got good mileage on the slopes growing up thanks to a fortunate family situation. Some don't have the safety net, some do. But, it's definitely possible to get a job at a resort or nearby where the job includes housing.. Apartment manager, maintenance man, etc.. It's still working though. I'd consider a true "ski bum" someone who gets their gear out of a dumpster, hikes for turns or somehow gets free lift rides, begs for food money on the corner, and either lives out of a broken down vehicle or is somewhat homeless, couch surfing.

Having a cheap rope tow hill 5 miles up the road worked for me. Those feeder areas are dying though and maybe that's part of "the death of the ski bum" or maybe it's alive and well and we're just being dramatic? Hard sayin not knowin.

[raisingarizona13]

if you live in a ski town you know they still exist. but kids these days make terrible ski bums anyway- they only care to do things so they can instagram it
the pure ski bums for the love of it are very few and far between (like djongo)

Say what you will B-Bear but from what I can see on the Instagrams I wouldn't mind one of those public figure/life coach gigs. #blessed