Gogebic Community College and Mount Zion

I went to school there for the SAM Program. I graduated in 2000. The years i spent there were some of the best of my life. Always a good time. As far as Mt zion goes yes its small but was always fun. i'm sure the park stuff there is alright. Plus there are 3 other ski area's with in 15 mins of Ironwood. Blackjack (my Favorite plus i worked there for 3 winters) Indian head, Big Powderhorn. if you have any questions pm i will be glad to answer them. other then that i would go up and take a tour of the college and Talk to Jim Vanderspoel who is in charge of the program.

after I graduated I had plans of moving out to CO. by having my degree i got so many job offers at resorts out west it was so easy. The guy that offered me the Job i took at Vail was a former SAM. I spent two winters Grooming at Vail.

I went to Gcc, graduated in 1997, the years the 'dorms' came down.   It gave me a boost getting into the industry, I was offered a job at my intern location here in MI before the end of my intern. I chose the Mt operations side, my intern and now 14 years experience has me well versed in all ski hill operation...snowmaking, lift/trail/snowmaking maintenance, grooming, park building etc.    Was it a good choice, yes, and no.   Basically if your in the industry, your serving the skiing customer, so if the slopes are open, you are probably  working, not skiing/riding.  I am still in the industry, higher up on the food chain now.   It a lifestyle, but in my position, I choose what I do every day the hills not open, my office is huge and outdoors (sort of), and  I am busy, so busy in the winter.   What else was I to do, sit in a office all day??? You have two smart choices, one the SAM program, or two, chosing something else your intrested in,  get a degree in it, make lots of money, and buy a condo and enjoy skiing when you want.  

Thanks guys for the info. Im really looking to get into the park designing and building more than anything else but ill do whatever it takes to get into the industry. I hope to move out to Oregon after the two year degree and finish college out there or in CO but if there are job offers do you guys reccommend just taking those. Because i would hate to just waste money on more college when it wont be beneficial to what i want to do.
Thanks guys Tom

you mean just be able to find a job somewhere out west. but the Degree helps alot

I am a SAM from 01  and then went to Northern MI university and graduated 03 with a 4yr Bachelors in Ski Area Business Management,  and I will honestly say that the SAM program was the best thing that ever happened to me!
I worked at Marquette Mountain for 6 years as rental/retail manager and the Park Builder/designer and Event Coordinator.    I now own THE COMPOUND ski shop (freestyle skis only)

Long story short-    Having a degree puts you alittle bit ahead of the next "joeshmoe" who wants a job building park.  And the cost for school is almost nothing, i paid $1000 a semester  don;t know what it is now, but you get the point.   Plus since you do your internship where ever you want to, then if you like it you have a job for next season.
The big deal behind the SAM program is meeting former SAMS that are located all over the US and as I did we always higher our own first!

Not to mention you can make your mommy proud by graduating with a degree, and the classes are FRIGGAN EASY,   I was a c-d student in high school, but since I took 70 credits at GO-GO I transferred in a 3.7 GPA,   this let me slack my way through NMU and I eventually worked my GPA down to a 3.1 after my two years at NMU

Thats awesome to hear, im in the same situation at highschool right now in my junior year so thats motivating knowing its not a big deal. Congrats on owning a ski shop thats dope shit.
So you get to chose whereever you want to do your intern? is it during the school year or after? I guess im not familiar with how long the course is and how long your in class for SAM per simester. I really want to get my degree and move out west and ski and build parks asap.
Thanks for the info guys keep it coming! Tom

Its a 2 year program first year is all at Gogebic the 2nd year your only at Gogebic for 8 weeks then your on to your internship for the rest of the school year/ winter. I was soppesed to do my internship at Copper Mountain but then decide to switch it and do mine at Blackjack which by doing that i think i learned more then i would have out at copper.

Yep already read that looks like a really run and interesting program. What im wondering is how much actual skiing did you get in at zion and your intern? Because one of the reasons im doing this is too ski as much as possible as well as get this degree.

during school I skied almost everyday of the week but Monday. Mt. Zion is closed every Monday which it is used as a lab for snow making and grooming. I also bought a Season pass to blackjack every year so i would ski there Saturday, Sunday and once or twice during the week. so there was plenty of time to ski. On my internship i skied when i could a couple times a week if I could.

I had never skied more than 10 days a year until I went to GCC  then I skied 96 days in a season that Powderhorn closed Feb 28th   doing the math I think I missed 7-10 days I didn't ski my freshman year.

Then on my internship I worked two jobs at Deer Valley Utah and  rental shop in Park City and still skied 4 days a week and had season passes to all 3 resorts in PC for free.

As far as doing your internship you can pretty much do it any where, but if they don't take intern's where you want to go, you might have to do a little persuading to the HR department of your proposed resort!, but they almost never turn you down...because..... YOU SPEAK ENGLISH!

Im a senior this yr in the program. I did my internship at Keystone for the 80/09 season. It is definetly the best way to get ahead in the industry. Theres so many randoms working at ski hills doing the " ski bum for a year" thing, that resorts are looking for people who are serious about the industry. I was not only offered to stay at Keystone, but I also got job offers from Mt Rose in Tahoe and LAke Louise through out the duration of my internship.

The course work isnt too difficult, and you learn a TON of cool shit about resort operations . Plus you get to take awesome classes like Snowmaking, Slope Grooming, Trail Mapping, and Industrial SKills where you cut new ski trails, replace sheave assemblies, tear down and rebuild snowcats and snow guns.


Definetly an awesome program, I've totally enjoyed my time and learned some awesome stuff

I skied almost 70 days my freshman yr, 85+ on my internship, and 60+ last winter at NMU