This is a pretty good article about what's involved being a cat operator at Aspen Mountain.
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20080209...WEEKLY/35657045
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Aspen's Coolest Cats
Started by SkiBachelor, Feb 11 2008 03:20 PM
15 replies to this topic
#2
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Posted 11 February 2008 - 04:06 PM
Yawn........zzzzzzzz 
"Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all pure gibberish—a product of the demented imagination of a lazy drunken hillbilly with a heart full of hate who has found a way to live out where the real winds blow—to sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whisky, and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested . . . Res ipsa loquitur (it speaks for it self). Let the good times roll." HT
#7
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Lift Maint. Manager
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Posted 11 February 2008 - 08:58 PM
Welcome to the high paying employment opprotunities as a highly skilled worker in the ski industry. I sat behind the sticks for a few years along with doing lift maint. Flat track grooming is boring after the intensive learning curve. Most shifts will be in the dark, pay would not be different from swing to graveyard shift. 
"Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all pure gibberish—a product of the demented imagination of a lazy drunken hillbilly with a heart full of hate who has found a way to live out where the real winds blow—to sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whisky, and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested . . . Res ipsa loquitur (it speaks for it self). Let the good times roll." HT
#9
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Posted 11 February 2008 - 10:12 PM
CH3skier, on Feb 11 2008, 07:12 PM, said:
What would be the range of pay for a cat driver? I noticed in the article that Aspen paid $10.50 an hour. Is there more for a graveyard shift vs a swing shift?
Wages for cat operators here start at around $12/hr and top out around $20. It takes forever to get to the $20/hr though. Night shifts get another $0.45/hr, lead hands get another $1/hr :)
- Allan
#10
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Posted 12 February 2008 - 04:32 AM
Snoqualmie guy, on Feb 11 2008, 10:50 PM, said:
What do you mean by "flat track grooming"?
Mowing the lawn, i.e. driving in circles all night. Up this run, down that one. Back up again, back down again. Okay, let's move to two more trails. Yes, the machines are fun to operate, but not night after night doing the same old thing.
Member, Department of Ancient Technology, Colorado chapter.
#11
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Posted 12 February 2008 - 10:22 AM
liftmech, on Feb 12 2008, 01:32 PM, said:
Mowing the lawn, i.e. driving in circles all night. Up this run, down that one. Back up again, back down again. Okay, let's move to two more trails. Yes, the machines are fun to operate, but not night after night doing the same old thing.
I guess that's what happens if your mountain is to small!!!
......... -Flo-
-grooming & trails-
-grooming & trails-
#12
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industry trainee
Posted 12 February 2008 - 02:33 PM
our grave shift doesn't make more than our swing, but I am lucky enough to work at an area that does not pack groom, which keeps things a little more interesting. i still look forward going to work every day, just don't expect to become rich off of the job. It definitely becomes boring at times, but id choose grooming over most other kinds of jobs.
Everything is just loop-de-loops and flibertyjibbit
#13
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Posted 13 February 2008 - 04:58 PM
Getting a grooming job can be easy or hard. Depends on the operation you want to work for. The better the operation the harder it is to get your foot in the door because of low turnover. Some crews have little turnover because of the quality of company they work for. Then there are those that fall into the "other" class of operation. I groomed for two years before I went to a good operation and learned more about grooming in a month than I had learned in two full seasons prior. It's alot more fun to work with folks that care about the job they do, and are stoked to be there.
#15
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Posted 14 February 2008 - 05:35 PM
Hi Lift Kid and Snoqualmie Guy,
I take it that you are both looking to get into the ski industry. Good call. You will likely never become rich but, there are other rewards that are not quantifiable.
If you are still in high school take advantage of what your school offers. Science, Math, Shop, ect. If you have the ways and means go to college. Even if you have to be on the 8 year program and work full time while going to class. At a ski area of course. Take classes that intrest you. The knowledge, skills, and abilities you develop are things that you have that no one can ever take away from you.
If you can visit the ski areas that you would like to work at in March. That is a time when employee burnout is at it's peak. Is everyone you come into contact there, still chipper or all grumpy? That is a really good indicator when choosing the team you want to play for.
If you want to get into mountain ops get a job as a liftie first. Everyone that works at a ski area needs to experience that. Grow from there.
Be prepared to have a good summer job. River guide, forest circus, construction, ect.
Be willing to scrub toilets.
If you get into grooming realize that the learning part is challenging and hard. Take pride in your work. After you have mastered it though it can be pretty boring. If you can, become a grooming specialist working in the terrain park or preping lift ingress-egress areas. And if the area you end up at has a winch program learn to use it if you have a chance but, don't volunteer to run it all the time. Trust me that rope is your friend but, you will learn to hate it.
I take it that you are both looking to get into the ski industry. Good call. You will likely never become rich but, there are other rewards that are not quantifiable.
If you are still in high school take advantage of what your school offers. Science, Math, Shop, ect. If you have the ways and means go to college. Even if you have to be on the 8 year program and work full time while going to class. At a ski area of course. Take classes that intrest you. The knowledge, skills, and abilities you develop are things that you have that no one can ever take away from you.
If you can visit the ski areas that you would like to work at in March. That is a time when employee burnout is at it's peak. Is everyone you come into contact there, still chipper or all grumpy? That is a really good indicator when choosing the team you want to play for.
If you want to get into mountain ops get a job as a liftie first. Everyone that works at a ski area needs to experience that. Grow from there.
Be prepared to have a good summer job. River guide, forest circus, construction, ect.
Be willing to scrub toilets.
If you get into grooming realize that the learning part is challenging and hard. Take pride in your work. After you have mastered it though it can be pretty boring. If you can, become a grooming specialist working in the terrain park or preping lift ingress-egress areas. And if the area you end up at has a winch program learn to use it if you have a chance but, don't volunteer to run it all the time. Trust me that rope is your friend but, you will learn to hate it.
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