Ski Fanatics Schuss To Schweitzer Mountain Jobs Employment At Resort Really Secondary To Skiing, Snowboarding, Many Admit

Heads bowed over the table, Matt Blackburn and Travis Levi diligently penned answers to questions on the job applications in front of them.

Cook, custodian, heavy equipment operator - they’ll take any job. Pay? Whatever they can get.

To be honest, they said, work is the second thing on their minds as they filled out applications for Schweitzer Mountain Resort.

“The main goal of why we’re getting jobs up here is so we can snowboard,” Levi said, a grin spreading across his face. “Hopefully this winter will be huge.”

The two 20-year-old Coeur d’Alene men weren’t the only snowboard and ski junkies dreaming of big powder as they hunted for employment at Schweitzer’s annual job fair Saturday.

Applications were snatched up in dozens by people hoping to become ticket sellers, lift operators, bartenders and dishwashers at one of the region’s most prominent resorts.

Schweitzer jobs are coveted. By noon Saturday 200 people already had applied for the 151 full-and part-time jobs available. Last year the mountain received 479 applications for 134 positions, said Jill Black, human resources director.

Most applicants point to one big reason for wanting to work at Schweitzer: Free skiing.

Those who work 20 hours or more receive a free season pass. Part-time employees get a free day of skiing for every eight hours they work.

Brandy Carpenter, 18, of Sandpoint, wants to be a desk clerk at the Green Gables resort hotel. But she wants to work there at night, “so I can snowboard during the day.”

Schweitzer employs about 500 people during the winter. Saturday’s job fair was a chance for prospective employees not only to fill out applications but also to talk to department heads about what it takes to be a Schweitzer employee.

“You have to have just a ton of patience,” said Tom Kingsland, ski school director. “Skiing can be very frustrating. You have to be able to deal with people’s frustration and still keep them motivated.”

Schweitzer applicants are a mixed bunch. There are retirees looking for a fun job to occupy their time. There are college graduates who haven’t yet settled into their careers. “This is their one last fling before they’re grown-ups,” said Deanna Harris, assistant general manager.

There are the construction, forestry and other seasonal workers whose summer jobs are petering out and need something to get them through the winter.

Ski patrol and grooming jobs are the most coveted - and nearly impossible to get, Black said. Lift attendant jobs are more attainable. Twenty are currently open. But loading hundreds of people on and off chair lifts isn’t easy.

Lift attendants brave freezing temperatures and bone-chilling winds. They spend five hours at a time on their feet.

Levi and Blackburn moved from Boise to Coeur d’Alene earlier this year hoping to work at Schweitzer.

“I’m not expecting a high-paying job,” Blackburn said.

“Just a pass,” Levi said.

Schweitzer officials know their employees often have skiing and snowboarding on the brain. They don’t mind as long as it doesn’t interfere with work.

Kingsland said his best teachers are the ones who spend most of their free time on the mountain. “If they didn’t want to ski, I probably wouldn’t be real interested in them.”

, DataTimes MEMO: Cut in the Spokane edition. This sidebar appeared with the story: OPENING? Schweitzer employees hope to open the mountain for skiing by Thanksgiving. They’ll need 30 inches of snow at the base. Saturday, they already had a foot.