Member of the Month

theabortionator
May, 2025

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

Ideas for gap year

profile picture
hb_laz
Posts: 246 - Karma: 1,897
next year im taking a gap year and was wondering if yall had any cool jobs/ ideas I could try. right now I'm looking at trying to get a job doing lodge help in alta, bc they provide housing for employees. any thoughts on this? anybody done something like this in the past. I'm graduating highschool this year, I'm already in my top choice for college. I just want to take a year to mess around and have fun. any ideas to add to my list would be pretty sick.
5 months ago
20 0
profile picture
freeballer
Posts: 737 - Karma: 1,077
If you love shredding pow, do the Alta thing. I'd do that in a heartbeat if I were in your situation. The one thing I can think of that would be even better would be to head to the Alps for a season. I don't know how that works in terms of work visas and stuff, but Austria, Switzerland or France would be a life changing year for you. But the pow at Alta is life changing too.
5 months ago
19 1
profile picture
hb_laz
Posts: 246 - Karma: 1,897
freeballerIf you love shredding pow, do the Alta thing. I'd do that in a heartbeat if I were in your situation. The one thing I can think of that would be even better would be to head to the Alps for a season. I don't know how that works in terms of work visas and stuff, but Austria, Switzerland or France would be a life changing year for you. But the pow at Alta is life changing too.


love the powder, but im also an east coast park guy. got snowbird for that ig?
5 months ago
9 0
profile picture
freeballer
Posts: 737 - Karma: 1,077
hb_lazlove the powder, but im also an east coast park guy. got snowbird for that ig?


You can ski park anywhere, but you can't consistently ski deep, dry, steep pow pow anywhere. Alta is the shit and truly life changing. Wish I had spent a season there when I was younger. If you know, you know.

Good luck in whatever you choose though. Hope it's a great year for you.
5 months ago
15 0
profile picture
Getshifty
Posts: 363 - Karma: 2,231
hb_lazlove the powder, but im also an east coast park guy. got snowbird for that ig?


there's usually no park at snowbird
5 months ago
7 0
profile picture
SlushSeason
Posts: 1177 - Karma: 8,987
hb_lazlove the powder, but im also an east coast park guy. got snowbird for that ig?


Snowbird doesn't build a park anymore (aside from special events). You'd have to go to brighton, solitude, or PCMR for that which wouldn't be easy if you're living at Alta
5 months ago
6 0
profile picture
hb_laz
Posts: 246 - Karma: 1,897
Getshiftythere's usually no park at snowbird


wait im i just an idiot. thought snowbird was with woodward
5 months ago
2 0
profile picture
hb_laz
Posts: 246 - Karma: 1,897
freeballerYou can ski park anywhere, but you can't consistently ski deep, dry, steep pow pow anywhere. Alta is the shit and truly life changing. Wish I had spent a season there when I was younger. If you know, you know.

Good luck in whatever you choose though. Hope it's a great year for you.


very true. might just become a powder skier for a season.
5 months ago
1 0
profile picture
BallClapper
Posts: 3704 - Karma: 16,804
nz for the summer could be lit. For now Alta is banging. Lot of ns folk there so good info n stuff.
5 months ago
5 1
profile picture
SlushSeason
Posts: 1177 - Karma: 8,987
hb_lazwait im i just an idiot. thought snowbird was with woodward


Snowbird's owned by the same company as Woodward, but POWDR Corp. won't build a park at Snowbird anymore for some reason
5 months ago
6 0
profile picture
thewayshego3s
Posts: 216 - Karma: 1,765
Ski Butlers. They have multiple locations around the US and overseas. Super flexible schedule for skiing (morning shift is from 6:30-4ish and night shift is from 4-10ish). You get an epic pass and make really good tips - the most I made in a night just off tips was around $600. The only con was that my supervisor was not pleasant to be around, but this is unfortunately common in most fields of work.
5 months ago
9 1
profile picture
partyandBS
Posts: 5862 - Karma: 91,473
you should make a gap year edit where the gaps of all the sends get progressively bigger as the video goes on.
5 months ago
19 0
profile picture
MichiganCatFart
Posts: 1556 - Karma: 24,202
You should accidentally have a kid, I’ve heard that really makes the best of your gap year between high school and college (construction job if you have the kid)
5 months ago
12 0
profile picture
_money
Posts: 188 - Karma: 1,402
thewayshego3sSki Butlers. They have multiple locations around the US and overseas. Super flexible schedule for skiing (morning shift is from 6:30-4ish and night shift is from 4-10ish). You get an epic pass and make really good tips - the most I made in a night just off tips was around $600. The only con was that my supervisor was not pleasant to be around, but this is unfortunately common in most fields of work.


Alta is a great idea but definitely do not sleep on this Ski Butlers suggestion, my friends here in Steamboat have each made $2000 in tips from one weekend of tourists and they all love their job. They ski a ton and party even more. It is actually mind-blowing how much money they make and how much they are able to ski.

Spending a full season at Alta is once in a lifetime and you can always make the trip over to Brighton to scratch the park itch, but you will fall in love with 'real' skiing once you really experience it. I spent an entire season learning how to actually ski with poles and goggles and it changed my life (I grew up skiing Vermont so I had no idea what I was doing when outside of the park) and now Alta and Snowbird are my absolute favorite places to ski.

No matter your decision, just go out and do what makes you happy every single day and you will have zero regrets. Stoked for you to have this opportunity!
5 months ago
11 0
profile picture
BradFiAusNzCoCa
Posts: 7529 - Karma: 66,936
I’d do southern hemisphere in NZ or AUS on a whv then go do northern hemisphere out west. Thats just me.
5 months ago
6 0
profile picture
bennwithtwons
Posts: 1748 - Karma: 17,153
Head to NZ or Oz as soon as you graduate. Then come back and do Alta for northern hemi winter!
5 months ago
6 0
profile picture
dognutsdogfart
Posts: 2623 - Karma: 35,038
i lived in nz for my gap year over their summer and it was the best thing ever. but no skiing. nz is a better country than the states or canada in every way imo lol
5 months ago
2 1
profile picture
OregonDead
Posts: 7072 - Karma: 26,618
Travel to the base of Alta and then go to Chads gap. Report back when you know how to get to Chads gap from the base of Alta
5 months ago
12 1
profile picture
Jibbcore
Posts: 438 - Karma: 828
You should spend the season in Bräntberget
5 months ago
0 0
profile picture
bradwalters
Posts: 391 - Karma: 3,153
I would aim for something internationally to mix it up. It's a great experience to do at your age and really eye opening and helpful for the rest of your life. Hard to explain but the culture shock is super helpful and a great life experience during a gap year!
5 months ago
3 1
profile picture
jompcock
Posts: 1577 - Karma: 11,738
Norwegian Folkhogskole. Get a season of guided touring with room board and food for like $12k. The program I did was more backcountry focused but there are a bunch of different options.

https://www.folkehogskole.no/en/about
5 months ago
1 2
profile picture
joog
Posts: 141 - Karma: 1,167
100p apply to a few places at Alta, mountain ops, goldminers, a lodge and rustler def got housing for you. Currently in year two up here and would do this forever if I could
5 months ago
0 0
profile picture
jonthore_
Posts: 6 - Karma: 120
freeballerIf you love shredding pow, do the Alta thing. I'd do that in a heartbeat if I were in your situation. The one thing I can think of that would be even better would be to head to the Alps for a season. I don't know how that works in terms of work visas and stuff, but Austria, Switzerland or France would be a life changing year for you. But the pow at Alta is life changing too.

Did a season in innsbruck austria and it was super nice. You could work illegally at bar or something(they usually pay cash). You get visas for 3 months at a time so you’d have to leave and come back every 3 months, but i know a guy from the us who just overstayed his visa and it was all good(as long as you dont have a habit of running into the police for stupid shit this should be okay)

**This post was edited on Jan 11th 2025 at 5:11:30am
5 months ago
1 0
profile picture
Celery
Posts: 2118 - Karma: 26,573
I did a ski instructor cert program called snowskool, you get housing, instruction, and 10 meals a week. It was about 10k and I'm wicked glad I did it. I was able to save enough and just ski while I was there. I was in Banff but they have other places as well.
5 months ago
2 0
profile picture
tommy_salami
Posts: 277 - Karma: 557
hb_lazlove the powder, but im also an east coast park guy. got snowbird for that ig?


The kids who throw down the hardest at Alta are all ex park rats from Maine or Vermont lol.
The mountain itself is a park. Your skills will translate there, and you'll meet lots of like minded homies and genuinely have the best time ever. trust me
THEN- in the spring you'll go to the desert and Hood, and then you can go to NZ and work park crew at Cardrona in the summer. Bang
5 months ago
3 0
profile picture
50Kal
Posts: 2836 - Karma: 5,541
Alta would be a sick.

Other places in the US if you’re looking to stay in country, all the big name Colorado ski resorts usually offer a housing option with entry level jobs. Copper, Keystone, Aspen, telluride and (ugh) Vail.

Going international would a super rad time and experiencing a whole new culture alone would be better then what a lot university’s offers. It might seem even scary to move to a country you don’t even speak the language of but anywhere you go in Western Europe will have like 50% of the population will speak English. Especially in a ski resort town.

Honestly I wish I would have traveled to other countries when I was younger, had more time and freedom.

Now that I’m older, I’m more focused on a career and can only travel when it works with work. Plus I’m trying to save enough to buy a house in a high cost of living area.

So yeah go international.
5 months ago
0 0
profile picture
50Kal
Posts: 2836 - Karma: 5,541
Also this website is great for finding ski resort/gap jobs in the US.
https://www.coolworks.com/
I use to apply to jobs all over the place using this website.
If anyone knows of an international equivalent post please.
5 months ago
1 0
profile picture
Dlonetti
Posts: 1999 - Karma: 21,461
50KalAlso this website is great for finding ski resort/gap jobs in the US.
https://www.coolworks.com/
I use to apply to jobs all over the place using this website.
If anyone knows of an international equivalent post please.

https://jobs.youngmountain.com/l/en/

yea! found this from someone else on here and planning on doing it in future seasons. they partner with resorts all over the alps and have mainly park focused jobs. the one that would be perfect for me is shaper + posting features on social media
5 months ago
1 0
profile picture
theabortionator
Posts: 52609 - Karma: 174,418
I have a gew good friends who worked and live at Goldminers daught. They loved it. One of them took a break for a while and went back to do lift maintenance and live up there again. I also enjoyed snowboarding there a few times in the spring. People get hella butthurt it's classic.
5 months ago
2 0
profile picture
Non_State_Actor
Posts: 5094 - Karma: 18,652
Gap decade.
5 months ago
9 0
profile picture
egirl.ski
Posts: 379 - Karma: 4,745
hb_laznext year im taking a gap year and was wondering if yall had any cool jobs/ ideas I could try. right now I'm looking at trying to get a job doing lodge help in alta, bc they provide housing for employees. any thoughts on this? anybody done something like this in the past. I'm graduating highschool this year, I'm already in my top choice for college. I just want to take a year to mess around and have fun. any ideas to add to my list would be pretty sick.


Honestly, doing the alta thing is so hard to beat, but if you are living up canyon, you're more than a little stuck up there; you might be able to grab a day a brighton occasionally with friends heading that way, but almost all of your skiing will be at alta. but lowkey alta is just laid out like a park, the ho always has sick hips and there are almost always big windlips or shovel built lips all over the wildcat drainage.

Alta also has an incredible scene, the people are amazing and you'll basically never have to ride alone if you don't want to.

I would rather work at the GMD or the rus, they have the best skiers that work there, but the peruvian lodge, alta lodge, and snowpine all should offer housing as well.

ps, in the spring there might a PVC setup a lot of nights if you are getting an itch to hit some rails.
5 months ago
5 0
profile picture
hug.yourhomies
Posts: 31 - Karma: 320
HYH rail jams coming soon
egirl.skiHonestly, doing the alta thing is so hard to beat, but if you are living up canyon, you're more than a little stuck up there; you might be able to grab a day a brighton occasionally with friends heading that way, but almost all of your skiing will be at alta. but lowkey alta is just laid out like a park, the ho always has sick hips and there are almost always big windlips or shovel built lips all over the wildcat drainage.

Alta also has an incredible scene, the people are amazing and you'll basically never have to ride alone if you don't want to.

I would rather work at the GMD or the rus, they have the best skiers that work there, but the peruvian lodge, alta lodge, and snowpine all should offer housing as well.

ps, in the spring there might a PVC setup a lot of nights if you are getting an itch to hit some rails.
5 months ago
1 0
profile picture
egirl.ski
Posts: 379 - Karma: 4,745
hug.yourhomiesHYH rail jams coming soon


egirl.ski appearance at HYH rail jams coming soon

luv u dano
5 months ago
3 0
All times are Eastern (-4); Currently it's 8:22PM