Ski Area Snowsports Operations Job and Career Training

The Ski and Snowboard Area Operations Program at Colorado Mountain College is the nations most comprehensive training program for a career in the ski and snowboard industry. We combine technical and academic study with practical, on-the-job experience at Colorado's world-class ski and snowboard resorts to provide the skills and knowledge needed to succeed with a job or career in the growing snowsports industry.

This premier ski area management program is located at our Timberline Campus in Leadville, within an hour's drive of eight Colorado ski areas.

Ski Area Operations Classes & Facilities

You will learn management principles in classes that are small. Guest lecturers from the snowsports industry supplement the instruction of experienced, professional faculty and Colorado ski area professionals offer seminars on current trends and practices. Industry growth and activities are monitored through membership and participation in the National Ski PatrolNational Ski Area Association Ski Area Vehicle Maintenance Institute, Rocky Mountain Lift Association, United States Ski Association and Cross Country Ski Areas Association.

Ski Area Operations Equipment and Facilities

The Ski Area Operations building at the Timberline Campus houses the classrooms, mechanics bays, tool rooms, and work areas. Just outside the classroom you will practice snowmaking techniques on Dutch Henry Hill, the training area for local ski racers. Ten kilometers of on-campus cross-country trails provide opportunities to learn Nordic operations. To supplement the on-campus facilities, field trips and laboratory instruction take place at several major Colorado resorts. Work and study on these mountains expose students to a wide range of mountain conditions and state-of-the-art technology and equipment. The following snowsport resorts host our program:

• Arapahoe Basin
• Beaver Creek
• Copper Mountain
• Breckenridge
• Keystone
• Ski Cooper
• Vail

Ski Area Operations Special Transfer Agreement

Ski Area Operations is an occupational program, designed to train you for immediate employment in the industry. Along the way, you may discover that you want additional training in business. To provide a four-year business degree option, Colorado Mountain College has signed a special transfer agreement with Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado.

When you take transfer-level general education courses as part of your Ski Area Operations program, and complete an extra semester of required courses, you can transfer to Western States bachelor degree program. You will enter Western State as a junior in business administration. This combined program provides well-rounded training in both technical and business practices in the ski and snowboard industry.

Most of the courses in the Ski Area Operations program are occupational. They are not designed to transfer to four-year colleges (except Western State) and will only be evaluated for transfer by each receiving institution. See the Colorado Mountain College catalog for program requirements.

Ski Area Internship

An internship is required for graduation and can be completed at a number of ski areas throughout North America.. Students are paid regular wages as interns and can expect guidance and supervision from both ski area personnel and their Ski Area Operations program instructors.

International Ski Affiliations

Colorado Mountain College teachers consulted with Christchurch Polytechnic in New Zealand to develop the first ski industry training program for New Zealand. The result is an international partnership between Colorado Mountain College and Christchurch Polytechnic which allows faculty and students to share the latest developments in ski area technology. Some students have also been employed at New Zealand resorts as a result of these contacts.

Professor Curt Bender recently traveled to Khabarovsk, Russia as a consultant for the National Ski Areas Association. In the town in northern Russia, Curt helped the only snowsports area in the region develop their snowmaking capabilities. Read more about his trip.

Ski Area Operations Careers

The Ski Area Operations program lets you choose the field you are most interested in. You may select from one of four elective group: Slopes and Trails, Patrolling, Lifts, and Guest Services.

The Slopes and Trails, Patrolling, and Lifts options provide training in the areas of mountain operations usually included in the price of a lift ticket.

The Guest Services option provides training in areas of service which are usually provided at a cost beyond that of a lift ticket. This includes ski school, food service, ski rental and repair, events and ticket sales.

Ninety percent of the graduates of the Ski Area Operations program have found work in the field within the first year. Of these, eighty percent have advanced their employment status within the second or third year of their employment.

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