Closest and best ski resorts to Denver? (Colorado Springs, Boulder: apartments, lease)

[James9283]

Hello, does anyone know of the best ski resorts to work for with the closest proximity to the Denver metro area? I have been working for a medium-large ski resort in my hometown for the last five years and need to find a job oppurtunity that has a wage that I can survive on for a few months. I just graduated last month and need a transitional job in the area before eventually getting a teaching job this fall, does anyone have any suggestions?, Please help becuase I am getting rather desperate!

[tfox]

The closest ski resort is Eldora, about 30 miles due west of Boulder. It has gotten great snow this year, but is small and not very well thought of by the serious ski/snowboard crowd. There is also Echo Mountain, a terrain-park-only area in Evergreen, just west of Denver. We even now have a rail yard set up in a city park in Denver! (I doubt there's any jobs for that one, however).

[TinajaCo]

Tfox covered the closest ones to the metro area, beyond those the closest areas are 1.5-2 hours from Denver. Winter Park and Sol Vista are about 1.5 hours; Loveland is slightly longer. The Summit County resorts aren't much further, you can generally get from Denver to Keystone, A-Basin, Breckenridge, or Copper in about 2 hours, depending upon traffic (which can be bad during the weekends).

[sunsprit]

At this mid-point in the ski season, it's unlikely you'll find a job paying enough money to be able to afford to live in the destination resort ski areas (Vail, Aspen, Steamboat, Copper Mountain, and so on). You'll need to work several hourly paid jobs to be able to afford a roomate/housemate living situation and eating now and then.

The day ski areas from the Front Range (Loveland, Keystone, Winter Park) will have hourly wage jobs which are also unlikely to provide a living wage.

Given the very low unemployment rate in the Front Range right now, I'd suggest you consider finding work there and then go skiing ... if that's your interest ... when you can.

[James9283]

Thanks alot, how far are some of these area from Colorado Springs area? Is the springs area better located for ski resorts when compared to Denver? I am also wondering what one/two bedroom apartments in these areas range; from $500-700 or is the cost of living more than this?

[sunsprit]

You'd have to go to Denver from Colorado Springs to get onto I70 to head West to the mountains for most of the destination ski resorts. So, you're 60 miles further away at COS.

You should be able to find housing in your price range in COS.

Typically, a small one-bedroom apt in the destination ski areas on a long-term lease would be about $600/month.

Rental apt's will be higher if they're located close to the ski base area; an efficiency studio would typically be $100+ per night, larger units, much more expensive.

Affordable employee housing has long been a major problem for the ski resorts, and many employees commute in from quite some distance away.

For example, most Aspen ski workers commute in from the valley up toward Glenwood Springs. Vail workers commute in from Eagle-Vail, or further downvalley, and a large number commute in from Leadville (where housing is much cheaper due to a depressed mining economy town). What you'll save in housing cost will be exchanged for commute time/expense, but it may be the only housing available, especially during "high season".

[James9283]

Thanks, this is all good to know. I think that working in the city doing something else might be a smarter option for me, do you know of any decent paying jobs around at least $10-15 an hour? I do have a teaching degree if this means anything, and work experience in guest service, customer service, driving/transportation, etc. Please reply, really could use the advice...

[McGowdog]

When I lived in Denver, I liked A-Basin for Spring skiing. You have to cross the Eisenhower Tunnel to get to a lot of ski resorts. We had friends who lived in Breckenridge so we would stay there the night before and send someone over to A-Basin at 5:00am to get a spot on the "beach". You can have a tailgate party right at the lifts and ski right to your car and kick back and barbeque Brats and burgers without having to trudge through the parking lot. It gets kind of windy at the top though.

Winter Park and Mary Jane are awesome and aren't too far from Denver.

If you are a teacher, become a ski instructor and live up there!

If you live in Colorado Springs, can't you head towards Divide and go over Hoosier Pass to Vail?

[sunsprit]

If the roads were reasonably passable, Hoosier pass would still be a poor choice of a route to get to Vail. Especially since you're going to go through Breckenridge to get to Frisco, and then over the pass (past Copper) to Vail.

The I-25 North to I-70 route is generally more well traveled, more frequently plowed to maintain open roads, etc.

Customer service jobs in Denver will pay the low end of your wage scale. UPS and FEDEX pay a little better, and have flexible schedules that might accomodate your skiing a little better.

IMO, if you can arrange to work weekends (shift differential $+) and ski during the week, you'll have a much better skiing experience. Less traffic up and down the hill, easier close-in parking, far fewer skiers on the slopes ... little or no lift lines, and fewer folks beating up the powder when it's a fresh powder day.

In Vail yesterday, the skiers present were a small fraction of the area's capacity under a clear blue and sunny sky ....

Being a ski instructor is a low paying job for the first few years. You'll need a good foundation in the fundamentals and decent skiing skills before taking classes to be able to teach beginners for a few years. When you get to teaching advanced students and pivate lessons, then there's a little more pay and tips ... but it's still not a lot of money for the majority of instructors. Many teach as a way to get out on the slopes and get in-trade discounts, etc. The best PSIA instructors do a lot of other things to survive year 'round.

[Mile High Denver]

The closest ski area to Denver is actually Echo Mountain - about 30 to 35 miles from Denver and about 30 to 35 minutes. I wouldn't call it a full ski "resort" - since it is labeled as a terrain park. It is geared toward snowboarders, but skiiers are welcome. It doesn't have a lot of runs, but it's the closest and does have night skiing.