The Ultimate Ski Bum Aspen’s Chris Tatsuno. www.christatsuno.com
The decision of what to do after high school is rough for lots of people. For a someone really passionate about skiing it can be even tougher. The hard core skier has likely been watching MSP, TGR and PBP movies over and over and over for years and they want to get in on the action. Whether you have dreams of being a pro, or if you just want to get out an ski every day the idea of spending another 4+ years in school while knowing that others are out there getting after it is troubling. Unofficial writer and TGR star Griffin Post has written an article about this dilema for ESPN.com. Here is one more funny guys opinion of how the ski bum game works...I think he is dead on! This post is my two cents as well.
If you are aspiring to become a pro and are already doing well in major competitions (Tater Torin Wallace) or you already have a major film segment or two (Sean Petit a year or two back) then skipping school and going for it might be the answer. If you dont have these things going for you already it might be time to re-assess your chances of making a living off an industry that is light on dough. Most “Pro” skiers I know still hold down one or two jobs just to pay the rent. Remember that you can’t pay rent with free goggles and you can’t eat that sweet beanie for dinner.
As bad as hitting the books for another 4 years may sound it does not have to be so terrible. If you choose your institute of higher learning partially based on proximity to the ski hill you might get in more play time than you think. If you go to school at the University of Utah, Western State in CO, University of Nevada in Reno, Western State in Bellinham, University of BC in Vancouver, Montana State in Bozeman or one of the many schools back East in VT and plan your schedule well, you can easily ski 4-5 days per week. I was always a big fan of the Tuesday/Thursday Stack, where you only take classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays leaving 5 full days for skiing. That sets you up for about 100 days per year while going to school full-time. That sounds pretty good to me! Can you add any more schools to this list?
While most of these schools do not have the sexy image of say UC Boulder, Arizona State, or USC what they lack in the party scene they make up for in adrenaline filled days in the mountains. What is your priority, skiing or partying?
College is not for everyone, but if you are planning to go at some point I recommend going right after high school and knocking it out. Unless of course you have a room full of x-games medals or plans to go shoot in AK for 4 weeks next year with MSP. Hopefully you will get loads of turns in while you are in school and then even more once you graduate and become a full blown ski bum. The choice is yours, take some time to plan it out so you can maximize your education and your ski time.
PS. There are way more girls at any college than there are in any ski town….
UC Davis… Robb Gaffney went to med school there and I’m pretty sure he ended up a pretty good skier
He went to the University of Colorado for med school, not UC Davis.
You’re right, I miss read the degree in GNAR. Nonetheless, davis is a solid choice for a ski/school combo
Yup. CSU Sacramento would work too.
As a Colorado native who went to a Colorado school I would recommend AVOIDING any school in this state if you like skiing (CU, DU, Metro, CSU). The people who go to these schools like breck way too much and suck at skiing.
And Colorado skiing kinda blows anyways.
How about Fort Lewis College in Durango? Far from the I-70 BS
or Western State in Gunni, CB is sick!
what about colorado college?!?
As a begrudging DU student I say FUCK CC! But serious, If you want to come to CO, go to Fort Lewis or Western State. The i70 resorts all suck balls (besides you Loveland, and Abasin).
CC is the shit. except its two hours from skiing. but a great school. i go here and still bagged 50+ days this season.
CU Boulder is a great school. Unfortunately it recieves a lot of crap for being a party school. We have 2 nobel laureates and get the most funding from NASA than any other state school in the nation. The only reason we get a bad rap is because of 4/20. But, hey its Boulder, what do you expect?
The only reason CU Boulder gets a bad rap is 4/20??? Really, please explain. I think it has more to do with the smug entitled assholes that populate Boulder…
Whoa a real native american!!!
Yes, people at the schools you mentioned in Colorado like Breckenridge a lot. Although there is a large student body population between all of these schools combined providing the opportunity to network with people sharing the same interest, great skiing. If you are an extrovert you can meet people to ski with at alternative locations that interest your skiing “appetite” rather than Breckenridge.
As a graduate of a Colorado University, I can attest to the fact there are people here that seek skiing at not only other resorts but other terrain throughout the colorful state of Colorado. If you are such an enthusiastic skier and proclaimed Colorado native, you should know there is other great skiing around the state if truly seek the great lines to be had.
Appreciate life.
Hey, I just wanted to add a couple of universities to your list. In BC, I would highly recommend SFU (Simon Fraser University). It is the second biggest university of BC right after UBC and offers good programs. Also, for people wanting to stay abroad, I’d recommend the university of Innsbruck in Austria, right in the Alps, the University of Bern In Swizerland (where the cheese comes from yeah yeah), close to many well reputation resorts and the university of Lausanne, about an hour of train from Verbier and other cool resorts too…
You and your cheese!
No need to choose between school or skiing. Do both by getting a diploma in Ski Resort Operations and Management. https://www.facebook.com/bob.dodge2/posts/270737883016615#!/selkirkcollegesroam
and then work your way up the ladder like everyone else.
Great option for many, who doesn’t want to go to school in beautiful Nelson while learning from the best?
Please have that movie available to view asap..
College will always there, and you’ll probably be better prepared and motivated to succeed once you know first hand what life is like on the bottom rung of the economic ladder.
Taking a few years off between high school and college, to live in Telluride, was definitely the right decision for me. Being a ski bum was all I had wanted to do with my life since I first watched Blizzard of Ahhs when i was 11 or 12 years old. After actually doing it for a few years, I realized that being a ski tech/bike mechanic/dishwasher wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I went to community college in Durango, climbed a ton, transfered to CSU, skied a good bit of backcountry at Cameron Pass, and eventually got a Master’s in hydraulics engineering.
Those years in Telluride were some of the best years of my life, and I wish i could go do it again. Bottom line: if you want to do it, do it.
I would agree with this post 100%. I took several years off from school to have fun and it was awesome. also it taught me first hand that I needed to get an education which equals a career that starts at 50k+ per year. skiing 4 or 5 days a week in the winter and taking 12+ credits, AND graduating in 4 years will be hard to do. if you drag out your education to 5 years or crank out summer sessions credits it’s possible. either way the bottom line is if you have some money saved up and want to ski everyday for a winter or two don’t wait. once you graduate you’ll want to get into the job market. once you start a career it will be difficult to take winters off. just my two centavos
My thoughts/plans exactly.
I went to CSU too. And i would too advise going out and bumming and then going back to college. I went straight of high school to college and definitely regret not following my dream of working at a heli operation up in Alaska.
We’re living older these days. Have fun while your young. Just don’t be afraid to bust some ass, go back to school and get that bad ass degree.
I am finishing up a master’s right now. I would definitely say you are WAY more motivated to work hard at school once you’ve struggled a bit. I fucked off in my undergrad and definitely regret it.
Go fuck off and then go get into the most prestigious you can. Do the hardest degree you can. Get the best grades you can. One day you will own that ski resort.
Or after college take a few years and work in the ski industry at a place you like. I did that for 6 seasons although I wasn’t any place glamourous, just a small ski northern Wisconsin area….but I did ski 5-6 days per week and gathered a responsible position as Ski Patrol Director. I made the choice to return to the work world rather than continue to purse professional ski patrolling with a move out west. I ended up working in IT. I was poor for a long time while doing the ski thing but iI would do the same. I met tons of super people had great experiences and helped a few people ski another day. It worked out for me in the long run and now I make enough to take several trips to places I always wanted to go. My shredding days are behind me but I’ll still make turns on the steeps with anyone. THe post college ski bum life might work out for people who were more into the liberal arts majors….where jobs simply are waiting for you post school. Life experience and your education become more valuable as time goes on. I say somewhere pre-35 take a few years and be a bum. But do get an education somewhere in there….
correction in my post above “where jobs aren’t waiting”….there aren’t jobs waiting for liberal arts majors like more specialized engineering or professional degrees.
take a year or 2 off and bum then do the skool thing. have skied 60+ days every winter at UVM plus there is no shortage of quality poon in burlington unlike most ski towns
Do whatever you need to do to be happy – without taking out a huge school-loans. School is great if that’s what you’re in to but who want’s a huge debt following then around for the next 20 years.
University of Utah = Snow Bro/Hoe Heaven! ! !
McGill University in Montreal – best of Quebec and New England skiing.
The flaw in this either/or question is the long outdated and unquestioned assumption that college is the essential path to personal success and the ultimate panacea for a life of poverty. The truth is that college is neither of those things.
College tuition has consistently outpaced inflation by a 2/1 for well over a decade, and a student loan is the only debt that you can’t get out from underneath…it’s yours until you pay it (principal + interest).
And once you have the $30,000 in student loans (instate tuition), then you have to get a job to pay it off when you’re done, and if you need a job you better have a car (loan), and you’re sick of paying your landlords mortgage so you’ll want a house of your own (loan), and oops… a couple kids.
What did you say? No one is hiring English Lit Majors? You’re sick of your desk jockey data entry position? Maybe you need a more applicable degree… back to school you go. Maybe a lawyer, they make good money… right? You’re already out $200,000 and whats another $120,000 in debt?
It’s an INVESTMENT in the future. haha.
Seriously, go ski while you can. The future will meet you later… it always does.
epic post
anything but an epic post. working at a ski resort, i’m surrounded by dumb bros who seem to think they are gods gift to this world, yet they can hardly read or write! I had a guitar major trust fund kid make fun of my history major once. ha what a pathetic kid, oh but he posts videos to unofficial, so he must be worth while!
college= debt these days, but so does being a little ignorant ski dick.
It doesn’t make much sense this argument. unless you’re a trust-fund kid you will need a job. such is life. also you will eventually buy a car, house, etc with or without a degree. the difference in lifetime earnings is substantial between workers with a degree and those without. I agree about getting in too much debt though. better to work part time and get your undergrad to minimize the amount of loans you need.
poverty’s ultimate panacea? you are spot on, there is no such thing. Also I agree to ski bum it for a year or 5 but it’s a mistake to discount what a college degree will do for your earning potential in the long term. been there, done that.
No, if you’re a trust fund kid you will end up out of school with no debt and will be free to do whatever you want. Ultimately everyone is going to need a job and a place to live regardless of what mommy and daddy makes.
I did two years at school, one at a four year university and one at a community college. Got a real job for a minute, was laid off, and moved to Utah to be a ski
Bum. At the end of the season I had significantly more in my bank from waiting tables and skiing seven days a week while living in employee housing.
X2 on everything above about dropping money on school, figuring out its not what you want to do, and having to start over.
At this point I’ll probably be going back for a tech degree. But back to school as a mechanical engineer still isn’t out of the question.
^ win
Lived in Innsbruck, wouldnt reccomend that College imo… Kids there are more about Partying than skiing, and Those that do kinda Suck….
How about coming to Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado? I am a marketing and accounting double major there in my senior year and skied 70+ day seasons the past four years. Course offerings let you set a heavy fall semester and an easy winter semester. Set up all your classes on Tuesday/Thursday and ski 5 days a week. Do a ski movie premier make a grand or two in the fall, get a night job at a bar and do your Couse work in between. FLC costs about $3000 a semester for CO. residents, has good business and geology programs. DMR is located 20min away, T-ride 2 hours (fun weekend trip), Silverton 1 hour and some of the best backcountry in the world in between. College and ski bum covered!!!!!
Southern Vermont College! Check it out. I have Snow, Okemo, Stratton, Bromley and Magic mountians 30 – 45 minuets away. I took my full schedule Tuesday and Thursday’s for the spring semester. 80+ days a season and I finished college before fully immersing myself into ski bummery. Living the live in Tahoe now
“living the life in Tahoe”
I can see the education worked
work at a ski shop, be a full time student, take out loans, get season passes. It may take 9 years to graduate but its well worth it!
No Colorado Mountain College? There are something like 9 campuses all across Colorado so you can pretty much make your pick for whatever town you want to study in. I chose Steamboat for the Ski/snowboard guiding program. Check the blog out at http://steamboatlivin.wordpress.com/.
go right after high school……I was a lifter for three years and then went back…….so hard to leave……damn
In my 4th year of carrying a full course load and skiing 50+ (Good cherry picked) days a season. Doing well in school, and living my ski bum dream. Its very possible.
chico state, an hour away from mt lassen, 2 hours from tahoe, don’t believe a non college grad on the pitfalls of getting an education. . .they don’t have one, therefore they lack. . . . . . . . . . .
Took me 8 years to get my undergrad in Business. I took summer quarters almost every summer and ended up graduating at 27 years old. Your parents will think your a bum, your friends will be jealous. Specialized in the green card for travel funds.
You are all missing the obvious choice. Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village. Student Loans = POWDER DAYS.
Just do it. I did. Still paying the bill, but I gotta degree (2 actually) in 7 years and skied over 1000 days in college. Then stayed in Tahoe ski bumming it after that! Working summers. ie GET A Forest Service Fire Fighting JOB! What a life… man. It’s so good. In shape all year around, cash in pocket and a lot of hookups due to the nature of the job…
let them decide. dont post shit like this for kids to read. Like O”D Rules said.
Your place in this world will find you
Personally I am a junior in highschool and would love to take a year off but that’s not in the cards. Some people can pull it off but if I just took a year to be a ski bum, there would probably be no turning back. Instead I’ll probably be headed off to University of Utah, campus is sweet, and I’ve got world class skiing 30 minutes away.
Oh, and I’ve raced all my life, probably wont race collegiately, and thank god. I need some sweet, sweet time in the powder and cliffs.
Which ever you choose, spend a significant portion of that time abroad. Ski bum and/or study in Switzerland, New Zealand, Canada, wherever. Don’t just be a local some place.
For all the high school juniors out there, my advice is to go to college somewhere you can ski. There are plenty listed above and more, so do some research. Taking a year off to ski bum might work for some, but personally I think I would have had a tough time going back after that hiatus. A college degree, whether you choose to use it or not, will certainly benefit you if you decide to ski bum after that. It will open up job prospects that might not present themselves without that piece of paper. I went to college for 6.5 years. After 4 years and a B.A. I wasn’t quite able to hang in a rigorous doctoral program. I’m currently serving tables and paying off student loans. I’m also skiing 100+ days per year, own a home, have health insurance, 401k and a savings account. Not exactly a success story, but the skills I learned in college have helped me to obtain and maintain the ski bum lifestyle I always dreamed of, without so much of the “bum” aspect. My girlfriend actually finished her doctorate and has basically the same lifestyle as me. She’s able to work a M, W, F schedule and ski on her days off. The difference being she makes more money working less. I’m glad we both chose education first (or simultaneously at the right school) instead of just now considering college in our early 30s. If you’re still reading and have questions, just reply and I’ll get back. This is merely my attempt to share my experience with others. I was certainly that confused and conflicted junior in high school not long ago. Best of luck!
If I were a High school junior I would: Go to college. Major in Nursing. The job outlook is great for this profession and the variety of settings you can work in allows for great flexibility. Plus, there’s typically a hospital near most ski towns. Working 9-5 isn’t conducive to skiing a bunch, so work the swing shift. Not many “careers” let you work at night and ski all day, this is why I’m a waiter. Voila!! You’re skiing 100 days a year or more and making $75K in the process. Now come to Tahoe and celebrate with a nice dinner. Tip your server HUGE. He just might be the one responsible for your awesome life.
Maybe I’m reading you wrong… but It took you 6.5 years to finish college, you admittedly didn’t take any time off between school. So 18+ 6.5= 24.5 years old. Now you’re in your early 30′s and waiting tables to pay off student loans, and a mortgage.
So… in the 6+ years since you graduated that debt backed piece of paper has helped you wait tables.
And you’re advocating others do the same? They could do the same thing you are, ski the same amount, have the same exact life…without the student loan debt.
Correct…basically. Most importantly I’m trying to emphasize that going to college does not necessarily mean four years (or 6.5) of not skiing. 22 (or 24.5 as your math dictates) is still plenty young to decide to be a ski bum. Regardless of whether or not I’m using my degree to it’s full potential, the point is that I have one. Don’t be fooled into thinking I’m an advocate of kids spending lots of time and money on college and then becoming a waiter. That’s my story. To a great degree, college provided me with the lessons and skills to pull off the life I have always desired. I may not have achieved the exact career I set out for upon entering college. Instead I took what I learned there and incorporated it into an existence I find equally desirable. If you want a more traditional success story, defer to the example I provided of my girlfriend. I replied to my original post with an additional strategy for aspiring students/ski bums. Doubtless, whatever I feel I gained from college, plenty of high school kids probably had it figured out years earlier. However, when a season-ending knee injury at 40 has them contemplating going to college, my degree will be yellowing on the wall. Maybe I’ll still be serving their dinner. I’m advocating college in general, telling my story, giving advice, and offering possible suggestions. Could someone have the same things I do in life without going to college? Absolutely! Take it for what it’s worth. I’m 100 percent aware of my situation but I always appreciate someone reiterating it for me. Thanks!
And you forgot to mention that getting an education is simply a good thing. There really isn’t a downside to it. I’ve always thought that money spent on education and travel is money well spent.
There is no Western State in Bellingham, Washington. There is how ever, a Western Washington…
Really enjoyed reading a poorly edited/researched post, by a Finance major….
haha Western State. What Mt do they ride again. O yea the largest base in Continental U.S., then get to kayak the San Juans in the same day!
Western State, Pumping out more college dropouts than you can shake a stick at!
WWU is famous for it’s proximity to Mt. Baker and Liberty Caps in abundance.
I am senior at Gonzaga University in Spokane Washington, and in the winters I have successfully skied three days a week during the week for the last three years of college, not to mention plenty more during Christmas break. I ski at Schweitzer, Idaho, which is about an hour and a half away. Gonzaga is pretty rigorous, depending on your particular program and not to mention expensive. However, if you are an academically motivated person and still want to shred It’s not a bad option. British Columbia is just a bit away and was awesome for three day weekends. I know it’s not four to five days a week, but i was pretty content with the balance I struck between skiing and having a successful academic career. Just a thought.
Oh I earned a B.S. in Biology with a minor in music performance, but there were plenty of dudes here who did the tuesday/thursday overload thing and skied all the time. They were mostly engineering, communications, sports management, broadcasting, and some business majors. I pretty much skied friday through Sunday, and did my homework at night. Just boils down to what you are looking to study and how badly you really want to ski.
A really good choice is junior colleges in ski towns. I went to CMC steamboat and rode 100+ days both seasons. Its way cheaper than a 4 year college and gives you time to decide if school is really the way to go.
Anyone have any feedback or went to UBC in vancouver or okanagan? We just visited there this past week and it was tough to get a feel for what the campus is really like since everyone was getting ready for exams.
Going to UBC Vancouver was the Best Choice I ever made!!
I Just finished my first year and its fucking sick!
WHISJAHHHHH
step 1… go to a school close to skiing like here at Montana State
step 2… pick a major like engineering if you can to make your parents happy and keep them paying the tuition bill and get you a good job after college
step 3… get a big sky, and moonlight pass, and a bridger frequent card since they dont have student discounts
step 4… ski every day of the week all semester and stay up till 2 in the morning doing homework every night
step 5… get a masters degree to put off the “real world” for another 2+ years
step 6… graduate and get a good job so you can afford to go heli skiing every year for the rest of your life
im on step 4 right now and loving life… today is the first day i havent skied for a long time since big sky closed yesterday and i had all my homework done by 6pm… what a wierd feeling
your jump from step 5 to step 6 is about 10,000,000 times longer than you think. not trying to be a buzzkill, but im one of gajillion people attempting that right now, and trust me, were not heliskiing ever year. or ever. eventually sure, unless your plan crashes into a wife and kids.
this is where the billy madison “STAY HERE AS LONG AS YOU CAN” scene comes in. keep going to school after that masters. forever.
yeah i know that was very over simplified… i was trying to make a point that its possible to go to school and ski at the same time and then (hopefully) have a better life and still ski after graduation
my best mentor ever, Dan Egan, always told me if you wanted to ski, don’t work in the ski industry.
i should have skipped school and just gone to work in the merchant marine. sail during the summer/fall, ski during the winter/spring, drink, repeat.
I go to Utah, its a pretty sweet deal. You can definitely combine the ski-bum and student lifestyles here
First of all, it’s called western Washington university and is in Bellingham. Close to mount baker and Stevens pass, only two and a half hours from whistler. Also you are missing Sierra Nevada college in incline village. Five minutes from diamond peak, 20 from Northstar and mount rose, 40 from alpine and squaw.
Graduated high school and been a snowboard bum since then….10 years later…no college and I make over 60k in 6 months and get the winters off!!! Life is what you want it to be……
Someone’s got a scene going
skiing for your soul, however come retirement age u may regret not going to school, being that you may not be able to retire
Middlebury College. The Snow Bowl is 20 minutes away and you can find the fresh for days after the storms. Great Staff, funkiest fall line in the East, cheap as hell
Took me 5 years to get a degree, 15 years in the workforce making great money to only wish i had not wasted the last 20 years of my life!
go Bumming! you WILL THANK YOURSELF IN 20 YEARS !
for midatlantic skiers, east stroudsburg pa is not a bad choice. im a junior here now and its pretty perfect. over 75 days skiing big boulder as a full time student
with only 475 vertical feet at Big Boulder, you would need 75 days to just get your legs warmed up. Stop giving bad advice
You can ski a shit load (i.e. 80 days) and go to school for undergrad and masters, however, it takes commitment to the shred (i.e. going when your feeling lazy) and a place that you can ski easily (not too far away, i.e. night shred). However, there is nothing that compares to skiing every day (from my own experience), you really do just get better that much quicker.
I think the better question is knowing what you wan’t to do. University (while it was in the past) is not the answer to a better life at this time, too many graduates and not enough jobs (in many fields, particularly the arts, business and sciences) has lots of people out of work even with fancy degrees (like a friend whom just graduated from McGill Law aka top 5 in Canada, whom couldn’t find a PAID articling job, nuts). On the other hand, trades industries are in need of new individuals to fill jobs. If your goal is to live in a mountain town, where tourism is an important industry, finding a job that fills that void is a possibility (carpenters, plumbers, electricians for building/maintaining houses etc), establish yourself/reputation and build a company from there.
Thoughts? Im curious what people think of this.
I think (you use) parentheses (TOO MUCH)
Quest university bitches. You get a thousand dollar discount on your whistler pass and youre like only thirty minutes away. Suck it UBC! Plus you only have class 3 hrs a day so you can ski before or after class. I’ve gone to class after shredding 2 ft of pow (should have ditched though.) But yeah ski bum all the way. College is for chumps.
Quest is also double the price of UBC….
Don’t go to a 4-year university right out of high school. It’s a total waste of money. A lot of kids are just stoked to be out of their parents house, go nuts partying and drop out their first semester.
There’s a ton of great community colleges in and around ski towns. Tuition is cheap, and they have night classes so you can ski every day. If you party too much and end up dropping out, at least you didn’t waste $25,000 bucks in the process. It also gives you a couple years to figure out what you even want to study, so you don’t end up switching majors 3 times and having to pay university tuition for 6+ years.
Lake Tahoe Community College is $30 a unit, has several financial aid options and a bunch of night classes. They also have programs where in two years you will be guaranteed admission to several universities and state schools.
I’m hoping to rent a house and ski bum in the B.C interior next year but can’t find anyone to go with is anybody interested in going?
Yes Theo. I know we haven’t met but I think the comments section of this article is a perfect place to find potential roommates.
Colorado Mountain College anyone?
It’s my last 2 weeks of college at Western State in Gunnison CO. I am getting a degree in Outdoor leadership and resort management and a minor in business. I have skied 100+ days a year up until this year, with only 60 or so. Still I managed to party 4-5 nights a week and still get a 3.7 gpa through all this. Next month I will be running my own bike shop not far from where I grew up.
Somehow, in ways I will never understand, it all works out…
your dad bought the bike shop. Can I answer any more mysterious questions of life for ya!
I went to Sac State and still got 30 days a year then moved to Tahoe… graduate college first and THEN move to be a ski bum. You get way more vagine, and you won’t have to be a bellman or bartender for the rest of your life when you start realzing you’re 29 and will never be a pro.
I would recommend any school on the quarter system where you can take swap summer class for winter. I got 14 weeks of skiing in 3 of my 4 years at a California school on the coast.
Trust me just do at least one season. Mine turned into four, then college and now I fly helicopters.
Seriously, if not now, when? If not you, who?
Down vote was an accident. Solid route
FORT LEWIS!!! Silverton. Purg. Telluride. Utah Desert is close. Sick biking!!
I did exactly the Tue/Thursday stack at UNR this year. This guy knows what he is talking about.
learn a trade and get payed. school is overrated!!!!