Terrain Park Manager

Don't get into it for the money. There isn't a ton to make in the field. Even at larger resorts/corps that usually means the area will have crazy high cost of living.

As a park manager you're going to be in a position to do a little bit, and in most cases, a lot a bit of everything. Grooming, building/shaping, snowmaking, welding/fabricating, events, social media... It's good to be proficient doing all those things but it's just as important to build a team that is as well. You need to be able to go home and sleep and not worry about if things are being done right while you're away from work.

Emphasize to the person interviewing you that you'd be eager to learn as much as you can across the mountain operations departments. Your goal as a mtn ops department manager should be to build a competent, cohesive, professional team that will put the resorts best interests and safety first.

T.L.Don't get into it for the money. There isn't a ton to make in the field. Even at larger resorts/corps that usually means the area will have crazy high cost of living.

As a park manager you're going to be in a position to do a little bit, and in most cases, a lot a bit of everything. Grooming, building/shaping, snowmaking, welding/fabricating, events, social media... It's good to be proficient doing all those things but it's just as important to build a team that is as well. You need to be able to go home and sleep and not worry about if things are being done right while you're away from work.

Emphasize to the person interviewing you that you'd be eager to learn as much as you can across the mountain operations departments. Your goal as a mtn ops department manager should be to build a competent, cohesive, professional team that will put the resorts best interests and safety first.

Thanks for the input here. I'm definitely not thinking of it because of the money lmao, but I think it would be a dope seasonal job for me a college kid. I'm practically there at the park almost every day during the season so getting paid for something similar to that would be ideal. It almost seems like a dream to me to manage a park.

I guess the only concern here is getting burnt out. (Assuming you were one) Did you enjoy skiing less because you were a park manager? I just feel like I could get burnt out from learning the insides of the industry and slaving away on days I don't even feel like it.

Thanks again, kinda hard to find testimonies on a job like this.

**This post was edited on Oct 30th 2022 at 3:09:52pm

Yeah def try and cross train as much as possible like Tom said. You moght not need to make snow for the parks ever yourself, but knowong how it works will help you get your guns set up right, know how much anow you need, whats realistic for temps etc.

Also just being able to do a few different things makes you much more valuable to the mtn.

If you want to do summers can get into running some equipment for the mtn, mtn biking, snomaking, whatever. You can do it as a seasonal job too.


Def don't do it for the money, but i think thats obvious. Pay is actually getting better in the ski industry though which is good to see. Not great but better.


Def can't stress the team thing enough. Its good to have good people around. We have s small crew at the mtn Im at now but been more solid every year. I fucked up my leg and missed a bunch this fall. Just started work. One of our guys who was new to parks last yeat but a good worker did 3/4 of rail refab with me. He was able to get in and do a bunch of stuff while I was gone. I didn't stress it. He knows what he's doing.

Def if people are good workers teach them shit, give them new chances. Some places I work wouldnt teach anybody. They didn't want people to get better. Other places will teach you anything, those places usually do better and the staff is more hyped.

Have you run a snow cat at all? Def worth getting in and doing some ridealongs if not. Good to learn and also help show the person where you want things.

Would be a while before you were useful grooming the park if you're new but it helps to learn. I mean why not learn. Also like snowmaking helps with making requests to know what goes on out there. And building a relationship with whoever does groom for you.

It's a cool gig and you can have a big impact on the parks at the mtn.

Good luck!

theabortionatorYeah def try and cross train as much as possible like Tom said. You moght not need to make snow for the parks ever yourself, but knowong how it works will help you get your guns set up right, know how much anow you need, whats realistic for temps etc.

Also just being able to do a few different things makes you much more valuable to the mtn.

If you want to do summers can get into running some equipment for the mtn, mtn biking, snomaking, whatever. You can do it as a seasonal job too.


Def don't do it for the money, but i think thats obvious. Pay is actually getting better in the ski industry though which is good to see. Not great but better.


Def can't stress the team thing enough. Its good to have good people around. We have s small crew at the mtn Im at now but been more solid every year. I fucked up my leg and missed a bunch this fall. Just started work. One of our guys who was new to parks last yeat but a good worker did 3/4 of rail refab with me. He was able to get in and do a bunch of stuff while I was gone. I didn't stress it. He knows what he's doing.

Def if people are good workers teach them shit, give them new chances. Some places I work wouldnt teach anybody. They didn't want people to get better. Other places will teach you anything, those places usually do better and the staff is more hyped.

Have you run a snow cat at all? Def worth getting in and doing some ridealongs if not. Good to learn and also help show the person where you want things.

Would be a while before you were useful grooming the park if you're new but it helps to learn. I mean why not learn. Also like snowmaking helps with making requests to know what goes on out there. And building a relationship with whoever does groom for you.

It's a cool gig and you can have a big impact on the parks at the mtn.

Good luck!

Don’t have the time to give a fully reply rn but have you ever ran a snowcat? I can run a skid pretty well but never a snowcat, would you happen to know if they’re similar? I doubt it’s rocket science.

TimbyDon’t have the time to give a fully reply rn but have you ever ran a snowcat? I can run a skid pretty well but never a snowcat, would you happen to know if they’re similar? I doubt it’s rocket science.

Kind of. I think Tom ran a skid steer a bunch before junping in a cat. I think I'd ran one like once.

Any piece of equipment helps. Ski steer def helps. It's going to be a lot different snd a lot of stuff going on

It's not necessarily hard as much as complicated and there's a lot of shit going on. Just takes time to get comfortable with everything so you can focus on the job.

I'm in a cat primarily these days. I like it. Running the park as well but in a cat all the time at night. I like it. Not for everyone but I like it.

TimbyThanks for the input here. I'm definitely not thinking of it because of the money lmao, but I think it would be a dope seasonal job for me a college kid. I'm practically there at the park almost every day during the season so getting paid for something similar to that would be ideal. It almost seems like a dream to me to manage a park.

I guess the only concern here is getting burnt out. (Assuming you were one) Did you enjoy skiing less because you were a park manager? I just feel like I could get burnt out from learning the insides of the industry and slaving away on days I don't even feel like it.

Thanks again, kinda hard to find testimonies on a job like this.

**This post was edited on Oct 30th 2022 at 3:09:52pm

Collage plus skiing is way different then college plus park manager that would have bent me over while I was in school. Not that you won’t enjoy it but how much will you be able to reasonably ski instead of working outside of school while in that position? Late nights in a cat and snowmaking doesn’t sound to bad but with a 8am class no way. Really it comes down to how much time you have to allocate to school depending on how difficult a major or year in school you are. Good luck with the interview.

theabortionatorKind of. I think Tom ran a skid steer a bunch before junping in a cat. I think I'd ran one like once.

Any piece of equipment helps. Ski steer def helps. It's going to be a lot different snd a lot of stuff going on

It's not necessarily hard as much as complicated and there's a lot of shit going on. Just takes time to get comfortable with everything so you can focus on the job.

I'm in a cat primarily these days. I like it. Running the park as well but in a cat all the time at night. I like it. Not for everyone but I like it.

hope your groomer is tricked out with coat hangers to give the snow your signature style as you paint momma nature's powdery mountains of magnificence

Make a map of the park on paper or in 3d graphics software to visualize where to place features. Then you can make mock ups to show management and post to build hype. It helps to study the ground when there's no snow so you know where the hills and valleys are and any big rocks or creeks on the run, and any changes in the pitch.
Don't build anything super complicated unless there's an event that requires it. Simple features are the best for people to learn tricks on. Small/medium flowy lines with multiple ways to hit features tends to work best for the most people. You have to keep average skiers in mind as well as the park rats and build progression in to the park- features that are an obvious next step after the beginner features.

focus on the flow of the park and make sure lips are built correctly and maintained.

PsychicMigrationCollage plus skiing is way different then college plus park manager that would have bent me over while I was in school. Not that you won’t enjoy it but how much will you be able to reasonably ski instead of working outside of school while in that position? Late nights in a cat and snowmaking doesn’t sound to bad but with a 8am class no way. Really it comes down to how much time you have to allocate to school depending on how difficult a major or year in school you are. Good luck with the interview.

Good point. Had a pre-interview today and the interviewer brought that up. I'm thinking of taking a lower class load to accomodate this, because I think this is a huge opportunity for me.

TimbyGood point. Had a pre-interview today and the interviewer brought that up. I'm thinking of taking a lower class load to accomodate this, because I think this is a huge opportunity for me.

True. I guess it really depends on the size of the mtn and the park program. Some places totally doable, some places def not.

Hopefully if it's not too wild and you gst time to ski and can work out. Getting in a cat can be tough when doing school shit but it's always cool to pick up a bit, maybe on the weekends or something.

Idk if you weld but that's def something you can pick up as well doing rail refab and new builds.

It's a cool gig, just figure out what you want and how to balance your time so you don't burn out.

Park manager is dynamic. You have at minimum 16 hours of daily operations under you. Some parks have swing and gravy operators for 24 hours of employees working for you. You will need to rely how you plan to handle that while going to school. Furthermore, park groomers are typically advanced drivers. I think driving a skid steer means you could be a first year groomer but def very skeptical you could just hop in and craft a jump line.

sell yourself on leadership. How are you going to manage your team? How do you earn the respect and trust of your team members? What do you know about maintaining features daily, monthly, seasonally?

TimbyGood point. Had a pre-interview today and the interviewer brought that up. I'm thinking of taking a lower class load to accomodate this, because I think this is a huge opportunity for me.

School is also important though and taking few less credits can impact a lot more. You don't want to pay out of pocket for summer or winter term especially out of state. Depending on how difficult your degree is plays in a lot to this. If you really want to to use it then this probably isn't something you want to ditch out on taking normal amount of classes for. we're young man enjoy the hill as a skier and have more time to ski. There's plenty of time to do this sort of work the rest of your life. On the other hand if you really want to go for it then do it. my experience in school was that overshooting what I thought I could do was stressful and made for lot less free time to focus on school and skiing myself as well as staying in a good head space. That time is important to your mental state.

PsychicMigrationSchool is also important though and taking few less credits can impact a lot more. You don't want to pay out of pocket for summer or winter term especially out of state. Depending on how difficult your degree is plays in a lot to this. If you really want to to use it then this probably isn't something you want to ditch out on taking normal amount of classes for. we're young man enjoy the hill as a skier and have more time to ski. There's plenty of time to do this sort of work the rest of your life. On the other hand if you really want to go for it then do it. my experience in school was that overshooting what I thought I could do was stressful and made for lot less free time to focus on school and skiing myself as well as staying in a good head space. That time is important to your mental state.

Thanks for the reality check. I talked to some close people of mine and they say the same. Some say to do it because of my passion but the other contingency is my schoolwork, as it is paramount that I keep my GPA high as I am planning on law school. I've been playing with the concept of becoming a park manager because it just sounds so dope. I've been obsessing over the idea the last couple of days and its made me nervous about receiving an offer, so this really helped calm those nerves. Thanks man.

**This post was edited on Nov 1st 2022 at 12:23:15pm

TimbyThanks for the reality check. I talked to some close people of mine and they say the same. Some say to do it because of my passion but the other contingency is my schoolwork, as it is paramount that I keep my GPA high as I am planning on law school. I've been playing with the concept of becoming a park manager because it just sounds so dope. I've been obsessing over the idea the last couple of days and its made me nervous about receiving an offer, so this really helped calm those nerves. Thanks man.

**This post was edited on Nov 1st 2022 at 12:23:15pm

Realistically it may not be worth it. Especially if you're trying to go to law school. Might be best to just work a mote casual park job with less responsibility. Still get some of the same stuff out of it, ski a bunch without as much commitment.


Especially if you're going to be doing years of school and taking s different path.

theabortionatorRealistically it may not be worth it. Especially if you're trying to go to law school. Might be best to just work a mote casual park job with less responsibility. Still get some of the same stuff out of it, ski a bunch without as much commitment.


Especially if you're going to be doing years of school and taking s different path.

Good points all around, only thing is I just feel like this opportunity is limited. I don't really see myself ever getting a job like this in the future, so I obviously don't want to miss out on it.

TimbyGood points all around, only thing is I just feel like this opportunity is limited. I don't really see myself ever getting a job like this in the future, so I obviously don't want to miss out on it.

Yeah I feel you. What difference does it really make if you're hand crew or the park manager.

Also what mtn is this, or even how big is it. How many park staff employed?

Working park crew is sick af. It's not really that much better to be manager other than more of a time suck, more responsibilities, more paperwork.


If it's a small hill with a couple staff it could def work. But still. Even with the most minimal responsibilities it moght be better to just work day staff. Also then if you need to cut down hours if something comes up for school it'd be way more seemless.

I guess I'm just trying to say thay being park manager is cool and all but not that cool. Being on day staff when you're college age is mad fun. I met a lot of cool people, had fun building, and got plenty of laps in.

I think you'll get plenty of what you want out of thay without as much time commitment. Especially if you're trying to go to law school after this. If you were going down the resort path for a while I'd say send it and use it as a stepping stone but you have a career psth in mind it seems which is good, you just don't need a park manager job to get there. If you're doing serious schooling, stay serious about the schooling.

What draws you to want to be park manager so much more than normal day staff btw?

theabortionatorYeah I feel you. What difference does it really make if you're hand crew or the park manager.

Also what mtn is this, or even how big is it. How many park staff employed?

Working park crew is sick af. It's not really that much better to be manager other than more of a time suck, more responsibilities, more paperwork.


If it's a small hill with a couple staff it could def work. But still. Even with the most minimal responsibilities it moght be better to just work day staff. Also then if you need to cut down hours if something comes up for school it'd be way more seemless.

I guess I'm just trying to say thay being park manager is cool and all but not that cool. Being on day staff when you're college age is mad fun. I met a lot of cool people, had fun building, and got plenty of laps in.

I think you'll get plenty of what you want out of thay without as much time commitment. Especially if you're trying to go to law school after this. If you were going down the resort path for a while I'd say send it and use it as a stepping stone but you have a career psth in mind it seems which is good, you just don't need a park manager job to get there. If you're doing serious schooling, stay serious about the schooling.

What draws you to want to be park manager so much more than normal day staff btw?

Its just a local tiny local hill here in the midwest, nothing crazy at all. the only notable feature they have is the park, as it drives of attention.

the only real driver here to want a manager position is the added responsibility. hiring/designing builds/scheduling all seems super fun in the context of skiing. ive just always been a little worker bee, so this stuck out. that question really made me reflect a lot, in a good way. i think just being a build worker / crewmate would honestly be the most sensible decision after reviewing all of this. i appreciate your input here, the prospect of this is a lot less attractive now. ill keep updated with anything relevant.

TimbyIts just a local tiny local hill here in the midwest, nothing crazy at all. the only notable feature they have is the park, as it drives of attention.

the only real driver here to want a manager position is the added responsibility. hiring/designing builds/scheduling all seems super fun in the context of skiing. ive just always been a little worker bee, so this stuck out. that question really made me reflect a lot, in a good way. i think just being a build worker / crewmate would honestly be the most sensible decision after reviewing all of this. i appreciate your input here, the prospect of this is a lot less attractive now. ill keep updated with anything relevant.

Do they have a day staff supervisor or lead role? That could also be an option with more to do.

How many features do you guys run?

Yeah I feel you. I've worked in parks for 20 something seasons so I'm a big fan, just not sure with having so much weight on college if it's the bets.

Ultimately you know you best. If you know the mtn, talked to them about things when interviewing and feel comfortable with it then send it.

I didn't go to college so I can't really relate. I worked park crew my senior yeat of HS but only weekends and holidays. Went full time the next year.

Park crew is sick though. I wasn't trying to discourage you as much as just mentioning that you can be involved in the park in a smaller role and still have a sick time. I think the day staff guys have the most fun depending on the place.

But yeah if not too many features, small staff, and you don't need to work a ton of hours maybe send it of you think you got it.

@arnie_grape