{"id":15093,"date":"2025-12-26T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/rising-costs-fewer-stable-jobs-make-ski-bum-lifestyle-tougher-in-durango\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:45:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:45:21","slug":"rising-costs-fewer-stable-jobs-make-ski-bum-lifestyle-tougher-in-durango","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/rising-costs-fewer-stable-jobs-make-ski-bum-lifestyle-tougher-in-durango\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising costs, fewer stable jobs make \u2018ski bum\u2019 lifestyle tougher in Durango"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Carson
Carson Roithmayr works Dec. 16 at Ski Barn in Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A beanie perched atop shaggy, grown-out hair. A near-permanent goggle tan. Money tied up in eight pairs of skis, with a faint scent of reefer hanging in the air.<\/p>\n

The ski bum has come to represent a modern form of freedom long associated with the American West. For years, the term served as a counterculture label, describing a lifestyle that prioritized personal freedom and connection to the outdoors over material goods.<\/p>\n

In its early days \u2013 when Purgatory Resort was still finding its footing and Silverton\u2019s backcountry remained a little-known secret \u2013 Durango attracted this subculture.<\/p>\n

Today it still exists. Durango\u2019s 20-somethings continue to chase powder, but the practical reality of making it work has shifted amid rising costs of living and rapid growth in the ski industry. That shift mirrors broader challenges facing younger generations: steep housing costs and an uncertain job market.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the winter, it\u2019s pretty much all skiing,\u201d said Carson Roithmayr, a Fort Lewis College student.<\/p>\n

Exactly how much time he devotes to the sport is difficult to quantify. Roithmayr spends hours each week at his job in a ski shop, as well as untold hours tuning his own equipment.<\/p>\n

Last year, he clocked 50 days of skiing \u2013 nearly two months on the snow. For perspective: Purgatory was open roughly 5\u00bd months for skiing in 2024-25, or about 44 weekend days with lifts running.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always tell people, if I didn\u2019t work at Ski Barn, I wouldn\u2019t be able to ski,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Working in the ski industry has long been the best way to maximize time on the slopes and afford the famously expensive sport. But in Durango \u2013 and across Colorado \u2013 rising costs have outpaced hourly pay.<\/p>\n

\u201c(It) was a lot easier back in the day,\u201d said Brian Buerger, former freeride ski director at Durango Winter Sports Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe generation before me would say it was even easier than before,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Buerger would know \u2013 he\u2019s dedicated his life to the sport. After graduating from high school in Indiana, he beelined to Colorado in pursuit of the skiing he\u2019d only heard about.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just seemed natural to make that move, you know, there\u2019s something about skiing that kind of grabs you, and I didn\u2019t see a future without skiing,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I did everything I could to make sure that was my life. There\u2019s a lot of sacrifice that went into \u2013 I guess you can call it ski bumming \u2013 family relationships, housing stability, food.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t easy \u2013 Buerger lived in a 200-square-foot shack without running water for a decade \u2013 but affordable housing was easier to find back in the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the \u201990s and in the early 2000s \u2013 up until recently \u2013 I would consider myself definitely a ski bum,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd its like, you could do a part-time job and still pay rent and afford to eat and pay bills fairly easily.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Avery
Avery Wickes in her 400-square-foot apartment on the north side of Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In comparison, Avery Wickes, a recent FLC graduate, is doing the infamous \u201cDurango tango\u201d \u2013 juggling three jobs to afford her 400-square-foot apartment and keep up with the bills.<\/p>\n

Though she grew up with a ski resort practically in her backyard (Hesperus), she didn\u2019t start skiing until about six years ago, when she gained more financial independence. Her family couldn\u2019t afford it when she was a kid.<\/p>\n

She experienced the rush of hurtling downhill on skies while working as a lift op at Hesperus. That first job in the industry, she said, served as a pipeline into more expansive terrain \u2013 and broader knowledge.<\/p>\n

Now, she works at Ski Barn, a local shop where employee perks help keep the sport \u2013 and lifestyle \u2013 affordable. Workers receive season passes to Purgatory and Telluride, as well as discounted gear.<\/p>\n

Her two other jobs \u2013 an online marketing job and stable house sitting gigs \u2013 allow her to pay rent and build a savings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to be a homeowner. That\u2019s like, top of my list right now, and so I\u2019m just at the place now where I have enough jobs, where I have income, that I can save for future me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A culture shift<\/div>\n

To some, the ski community has changed along with the economic realities.<\/p>\n

Buerger described Summit Valley\u2019s ski scene decades ago as a tight-knit community, brought together almost entirely by the love of skiing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll we wanted was to be surrounded by people that like skiing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Personalities, backgrounds and experience didn\u2019t matter \u2013 so long as they shared the desire, above almost anything else, to be skiing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was easier in that way too, because there was more of us, I felt like, making it happen,\u201d Buerger said. \u201cAnd there was kind of like this community of ski bums and passionate ski enthusiasts and snowboarders and even like ski bikers that, you know, we were just all hanging out together and ripping together.\u201d<\/p>\n

That culture still exists, he said \u2013 but it doesn\u2019t feel quite as strong anymore.<\/p>\n

Wickes agrees.<\/p>\n

To her, it seems the culture has shifted from what it was before the rise of modern technology and social media.<\/p>\n

It seemed friendlier and more focused on the joy of being outside, on sticks. Wickes hypothesized social media has pushed the focus toward gear \u2013 new jackets, setups, boots \u2013 instead of skiing itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have nonstop conversations about this in the shop, just like, what are we going to do to keep this community alive? What does it look like for our futures?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For her and her peers, one of the ways to make the lifestyle sustainable and carry on the culture is through a career in the ski industry. But it\u2019s not a safe bet.<\/p>\n

There was a three-year period when Wickes was dead set on living a lifestyle like the one Buerger pulled off. But now, she said, that seems less and less realistic.<\/p>\n

Most entry-level jobs in the industry don\u2019t provide health insurance, and climbing the ranks can feel exhausting and uncertain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want this to be a career, you will spend years climbing that ladder,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

According to her, the industry is oversaturated \u2013 a sentiment echoed by Buerger.<\/p>\n

The upper-level jobs that pay well and have stability are few and far between. In many ski towns, the staff is a revolving door of college students and short-time residents.<\/p>\n

\"Carson
Carson Roithmayr works Dec. 16 at the Ski Barn in Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Nearing 50, Buerger recently left his job in Durango to coach in Aspen, where he will receive benefits like health care.<\/p>\n

Wickes and Roithmayr have seen the sacrifices made by the generation before them \u2013 and anticipate an even steeper climb ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure that I\u2019m willing to keep doing it \u2013 like it\u2019s exhausting, it\u2019s exhausting,\u201d Wickes said. \u201cSo do I consider myself a retiring ski bum? Yeah, maybe. There was a time that I was dead set on living out of my truck and doing the backcountry stuff \u2013 but I cannot maintain that kind of lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n

jbowman@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Avery
Avery Wickes in her 400-square-foot apartment Dec. 17 on the north side of Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Workers say ski industry jobs help, but low pay and weak benefits challenge lifestyle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[378,11,28,994],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-15093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-alpine-skiing","tag-economy-general","tag-headlines","tag-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15093"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19416,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15093\/revisions\/19416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15093"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=15093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}