The New Blog

ok peeps, I have made this official! This will be my last post here because I have moved over to my own domain. Please follow it at the new the link:

www.skitoworkorworktoski.com 

I am still working on it so give me some time to get the look of it down, but the posts will still be legit! Enjoy.

The First Snow

Today’s date is December 1^st and appropriately I am experiencing my first snow in Silverton. It has been snowing consistently since about 9am. I headed up to the mountain today to get ready for Silverton Mountain’s opening weekend (December 3) and it was awesome seeing the snow fall. I thought to myself, “Finally winter has arrived!” With the last couple of days feeling like spring the snow and cold weather is welcomed by all. The forecast is calling for snow for from Wednesday (1^st) thru Friday (2^nd) and it is getting me extremely excited for skiing on Saturday! I hope you all can make it out this week/end for shredding at some resort, pass, mountain and enjoy what nature has provided. I will be out on Saturday at Silverton Mountain for sure and if I don’t see you there I hope you get some good turns in elsewhere. Just remember it doesn’t matter where you ski/board, just as long as you are getting turns, enjoying yourself, and it lets you forget about your real life. LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW!!!!!

The first of three days of Snow

2nd night of Snow

My Old Creepy House

So shortly after arriving I had to start unloading all my stuff into my house and get my room set up. I have been told that the house is about 100 years old and the extension is about 50 years old. We have two wood fire burning stoves, a huge living room for tuning our equipment, and big kitchen with everything four ski bums could need! The house is haunted from the father of the landlord (haven't noticed anything yet but will keep you all posted). The house is quiet just like the town, and my roommates are very laid back. One is from the northeast, one is Gunnison, CO, and the last one is from Evergreen, CO. They all have been working in the ski/outdoor industry for the majority of their lives.

I feel that I stick out because I am the city slicker who has never lived a small town ever in my life! Though I have not lived in a small town ever in my life I am looking forward to the change. I love the fact that at night I don't hear a thing but dead silence. No dogs barking, no car horns, just dead silence. It very relaxing and it is a huge change of pace, but I am looking forward to finding new things to occupy my time with, and new people to add to my life. Everyone I work with all have the same passion in life which is SKIING, and I am hoping my passion for skiing is at the same level as them. Being a small remote town does have its benefits though. People know you by your name, bars aren’t packed to the gills, you can walk everywhere, and on clear nights all you want to do is stare up at the sky and look at every single star in the sky (it is quite magical). The atmosphere in a small town is something else, no one is in a rush and everyone is willing to shoot the shit with you no matter time of day it is. That is probably one of my favorite things about Silverton… Everyone is so nice and open! If you have not been to Silverton or a small town for that matter, I highly suggest you take a second out of your life and try to experience it. You won’t be disappointed. 

The New Adventure Begins

Beautiful!

On Thanksgiving day I embarked on my new adventure, new life, new town, and to hopefully find the new me. I left Denver with just what could fit in my car, and I hit I-70 with Silverton, CO in my sights. I didn't know a single sole and the closest person I know lives 2 1/2 hrs away. While driving here I had butterflies the whole time, and I didn't have a clue on what to expect once I arrived. While leaving Grand Junction I started to see my destination in front of me, and the butterflies started to become more prevalent. I flew past wonderful Delta, CO and the sped through Montrose, CO, and finally I came up to Ouray, CO which is the Switzerland of Colorado. 

Fun Stuff right!!!

At this point I am only 25 miles away from Silverton, but I have go over Red Mountain Pass... Which is 23 miles of switchbacks, narrow roads, no guardrails, and avalanche paths, YEAH!!! Lucky for me I was doing this on a bluebird day with no snow on the road. Now if you have never driven Red Mountain, the only way I can describe it is.... Narrow as hell and scary as hell, but if you can get past the scariness of the road it is one of the most beautiful drives you can do in Colorado. 

Pop. >500

Finally, I navigated down Red Mountain and was pulling into Silverton with a total drive time of about 5 hours and 15 minutes (Denver to Silverton). I knew how big Silverton was but after pulling in and trying to find my house, I realized how small it really was. I got lost within minutes because my GPS doesn't work and by the time I  realized my GPS didn't work I was already leaving the town. I ended up driving down all three streets, and I had finally found the place I was going to be calling home. Welcome to Silverton, Colorado boys and girls!

The True Mountain Experience

Over the last couple of posts I have talked about doing what you love to do, and to settle for nothing less. I have done some soul searching the past couple of months and have realized that the office lifestyle is not me... Yet that it is. I looked at jobs that would let me ski or at least be outside for the majority of my day. I originally found a job working up in Beaver Creek working in one the several stores, but I just couldn't make it work financially. I continued looking for jobs within the ski industry and was discouraged with the results. With the holiday season coming around I knew that my chance of changing my life was closing, and I found a job with Silverton Mountain. I thought I would give it chance and see if they would even call me. Within 2 hrs of applying I was having a phone interview. Within a day I had skype interview and had the job offered to me.  I told them that I would have to think about it and see if I could make it work.

After a wole night and day thinking about it, my logical side took control and told me that I couldn't make it work and this was going to set me back. I called Silverton and informed them I was going to have to turn the job down. After a nice 10 minute conversations I hung up and within minutes I had a huge feeling of regret. I kept thinking about it and I thought that I might end up regretting this decision later in life. I was at my sister's house and we were all talking about it and my mom said, "Zach, it's 5-6 months of your life." That really hit home with me! Seriously, what is 5-6 months of your entire life... Right then I emailed Silverton back and the next day I accepted the job, and on Thanksgiving I will be calling Silverton home for the next 6 months.

To give you a little background on Silverton, it is not your typical ski resort or even ski town. It is far from anything that most people experience when they think of skiing. Silverton has a population of no more than 500 people, Durango is the closest town (50 miles) and it is about 6 hours away from Denver if the weather is good. There are a couple of hotels (no Marriott), a couple of bars, a general store and that it pretty much it. Silverton Mountain is the closest thing you can get to Alaska or Canada, and has none of the amenities that your typical resort has. I will be working in an outdoor tent everyday, yea that's right a TENT, not a building or structure, A TENT! I will be in charge of the retail sales, bar, and several other things that I don't even know about yet. The skiing is like nothing else in Colorado, and I will be doing true back-country skiing everyday, hiking up to over 13,000 feet, and enjoying the life of a ski bum.

So stay tuned for updates on a daily basis, videos hopefully on a weekly basis, and a lot more that I can't even think of right now. I am living the Ski to Work or Work to Ski lifestyle, and I will be a totally different person after this is said and done. Stay tuned People!