Ski jobs: is this the best job in the world?

Gabriel    bestskiholidays     heli skiing, ski jobs, Skiing, Skiing Holidays, skiing jobs snowboarding, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays, snowboarding jobs

What’s the best ski job? Well, others might disagree, but I think it could be the heli-ski guide. When it boils down to doing what you love, heli-ski guides love what they do because to them it is the best job in the world. But I can’t be the judge of this – I’m just a professional tour guide and ski instructor: I know they’ve got one of the coolest jobs around!

Ski Jobs: we think we've found the best job in the world Image:Flickr/ kentgoldman

So, answer the following questions and see how your job matches up. Time for a career change? Or just a skiing holiday to see for yourself? This could be one of the best jobs in the world – if you’re not jealous now, you soon will be!

How big is your office space?

Heli-ski guides’ offices are about 2.2 million acres and have an average annual snowfall of 25 meters. Getting to the copy room might be tough, but then again, we don’t make copies. Heli-ski guides have earned a 360-degree corner office, with mountaintop views. The only time they see a “cube” is when they drop them to the bottom of their tumblers and pour a drink over them.

What’s the work dress code?

Heli-ski guides wear sports jackets all the time but without the choking tie… jackets are triple insulated, and come with plenty of pockets, radios and other cool gadgets. Pencils and pocket protectors have gone out with skinny skis. The only “straight-edge” they use is the one they’re carving on. And they don’t do dress-down Fridays because they’re already dressed down Saturday through Thursday.

How far is your commute?

Most people travel about 40 kilometers in bumper-to-bumper traffic on fossil fuel. Heli-ski guides travel with no gridlock, straight downhill, in fresh snow, on pure adrenaline.

It could be you...Image: Flickr/ The Marmot

Is there any office tension?

Maybe all of that internal office strife disappears through sharing a common hobby or interest, such as origami afternoons or book club weekends. Heli-ski guides already have their common thread: they like to ski.

Everyone in their ‘office’ likes to ski, so everyone gets along. In the evenings, they have a few drinks and talk at dinner about how much they like to ski (do you see a pattern here?)

Do you work for the weekend?

Heli-ski guides start living their weekends on Monday, or is it Wednesday? What day is it anyway? Forget it, who cares?

How much vacation time do you get?

They have a two-week vacation that lasts about five months!

How is the communication between departments?

Heli-ski guides get on-the-spot updates from helicopter pilots and the lodges. Every night they tune-in to the following day’s weather conditions and discuss departure times and pick-up zones with the pilots. Then they chat with everyone in the group.

A heli-ski guide leads an exciting life and everyone wants to know more about it. With a ratio of one guide to every five clients, you don’t get dropped memos or a missed emails. In the lodge there is a lot of chatter and laughing, but out in the snow, communication is reduced to one-syllabled “Wheeeeeees” and “Wows.”

It should be you! Image:Flickr/Alex Grechman

Is your work environment boring?

Boring? What’s that? Nothing is ever boring in ski jobs, especially not  in this ski job.

What’s the possibility for career advancement?

Peaks in British Columbia top out at about 3,000 meters above sea level: You can’t get much higher than that!

About the author

Gabriel Del Rossi wrote 10 articles on this blog.

Gabriel is a professional tour guide and ski instructor. He has mountain-biked most of the trails in the French/Italian Alps and in New England in the US. When not outside, Gabe can be found writing for various on-line publications.

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Related posts:

1. Heli-skiing in British Columbia
2. ‘Riding the World’ – 5 Mountains, 5 Continents, all in 5 Days?
3. Ski the Vallee Blanche

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