Button-pushing and tumbling thru my first week as a ski lift operator

I just finished my first few work days as a ski lift operator in California.

What I’ve learned so far is that some people have a lot of trouble figuring out how to sit in a chair. To be fair, the chair moves towards you, and I think that’s what throws people off.

I had a few jobs at the ski lodge to choose from, and one week in, I’m glad I chose to be a lift operator. It’s not insanely difficult to load people onto the chairs and make sure they don’t fall off, but it is also not monotonous, because inevitably people fall all over the place and that requires quick-thinking to push the button that prevents catastrophe.

The toughest part is waking up at 4:45am to catch the 5:45am bus to the mountain. At least the commute through the Sierra Nevada mountain range is drop dead gorgeous. Then I have about a half an hour to drink my coffee in the near-empty lodge at my unofficial table near one of the big windows that looks out onto the ski trails.

Then I put on 4 or 5 layers of clothes (depending on the weather) and head outside. With all those layers, I’ve managed to avoid freezing to death or losing my fingers and toes to Raynauds!

When people start showing up, I stand in line and make sure everyone has a valid ski lift ticket- no “fraudsters” allowed! One of my coworkers caught 4 fraudsters last weekend, but people move through so quickly I’m not confident that I’ll be able to catch any. That, and I’m a total pushover- confrontation is a no-go for me.

A little later, I get to work the buttons or load kids onto the lift.

The weekends are a totally different story, they put me on one of the beginner chairlifts and I had to slow or stop the lift for 4 out of every 5 chairs. I swear, it was like a human bowling alley. People sliding and tumbling all over each other, laying on the ground in what I assume is shock or defeat.

Really folks, it is okay. That will be me when I go to ski school next week. You just have to move out of the way so you don’t get run down by other skiers.

People are also really nice here. My coworkers are spectacular and are helping my shy-self to get to know everyone. My fears about making friends are slowly but surely flying away like a person who successfully boards the ski lift. Woosh.

The guests are nice too. Some of them throw candy at you like you’re a silly little circus animal or at a parade. I love it. One guy even gave me a can of beer. Of course I stashed it away for after work- I’m not crazy! One guy told me he loved me as the ski lift took him up the mountain. No thank you and good riddance.

Working in California in general has also been a nice change. Having subsidized housing + higher state minimum wages means I’ve been saving A LOT. The constant flow of snacks that seem to be provided also offset the cost. I almost always have a couple of things for dinner to take home with me. I also get two 15 minute breaks per shift, which I usually use to ride the lifts up and down since I can’t ski yet. It’s so much fun, and so, so quiet. J’adore.

Overall, I like where I work. It’s tiring, and I always want to go to sleep by 8pm. But it’s also a lot of fun, there’s always something new and exciting happening here which is a lifestyle I love. I think it will be even more fun when I can ski or snowboard. It’ll be even better when my coworkers and I can hang out after work.

Anyways, that’s the week! I know the flow of this post isn’t great because there is just so much to talk about.

Keep ya posted

-WTB