Listen to the Interview with Heather and Lindsay
Living in a Ski Town Has Its Perks and Pitfalls
The opportunities offered each season compel many people to call towns like Steamboat Springs, Colorado and Vail, Colorado home. With an array of outdoor activities, there is always something to do. The only down side to mountain living might be the fact that a ten minute commute to work could turn into a few hours trek through a snowstorm if the weather’s bad.
“I really have enjoyed growing up in a ski town. It’s just a really beautiful place that’s up in the mountains secluded from everywhere. The closest big city is Denver, and that’s two and a half hours away,” says Heather Wilhelm, a Steamboat Springs native.
Heather (far right) age 10, rides with her Grandmother and other family members
Steamboat Springs, otherwise known as “Ski Town, USA”, located north-west of Denver, Colorado, boasts about 11,000 residents that live in the town year round. That number fluctuates each season as tourists come and go. During the ski season, the population nearly doubles. In the summer, tourism drives the town with Triple-Crown events like soccer and softball.
Colorado State University graduate, Lindsay Hill, has been living in Vail, Colorado for four months. Vail is located two hours west of Denver and has a permanent population of about 4,700 people. Though Hill has lived in Fort Collins since 2006, she still loves living in Vail.
“My favorite part about living in Vail would have to be waking up every morning and seeing the mountains and knowing that I’m right there in the Valley and that there’s a river right there; there’s hiking, biking and rafting,” says Hill.
Though Hill loves the mountain atmosphere, there are a few pitfalls she’s discovered along the way.
“There are not quite as many things to do and you have to drive if you have to get something simple at Wal-Mart or Target you have to drive. Wal-Mart is like 15 minutes away and Target is half-an-hour, 45 minutes away. Supermarkets are probably where I’ve noticed the biggest difference and I know that rent is really expensive compared to Fort
Lindsay Hill on the Strawberry Fields lift at Beaver Creek, Ski Resort
Collins,” says Hill.
Hill must confront these minor inconveniences, but Vail life has its perks. Vail Ski Resort is a 15 minute bus ride away, so Hill has gotten good use out of her season Ski Pass.
The Mountain Town Experience
Like most ski towns, the day-time activities seem never ending. At night however, things slow down a bit. For Hill, twenty-one years old, the night life can be highly accessible. The bars in Vail and the surrounding towns host concerts and bar-crawls on a weekly, even nightly basis. Growing up in a small town however, might find a minor in a very different situation.
“It’s pretty lame,” Wilhelm says with a laugh, “but you just hang out with your friends and find things to do. It’s not super exciting,” she says of living in Steamboat when she was younger. With the Steamboat Ski Resort just minutes away, night-life might not be such an important thing.
Despite the “lame” night-life for minors, Wilhelm doesn’t regret growing up in Steamboat Springs. She has enjoyed lifestyle and employment opportunities that she knows she wouldn’t have had if she grew up in a bigger city.
“When I was 14, I got a job at Lyon Drug which is a locally owned family drug store. I feel like if I had been in a bigger town, I probably could have gotten a job at a small shop like that, but I may not have had the same, kind, people owning it. I guess it might have been more corporate. They wouldn’t have been such good people to work for in such a good environment that I’d want to come back,” says Wilhelm.
Heather racing at the 80th Winter Carnival in Steamboat Springs, "Ski Town, USA."
Currently, Wilhelm works as a Certified Pharmacy Technician in the pharmaceutical branch of Lyon Drug. She will be returning for her eighth year this summer at the end of the CSU semester. Wilhelm hopes that the certification and experience she has gained from working at the Pharmacy can be a back-up plan if she ever needs one.
The job opportunities aren’t the only perks of living in a mountain town. The laid back and carefree lifestyle that each town promises draws visitors from all over the world. Hill, after working at West Vail Liquor for just four months, has met people from multiple countries.
“Vail is an interesting place in the winter especially because there are so many tourists. You have people from pretty much all over the world that come. I’ve met people from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, The UK, a ton of people from Mexico, people from all over Argentina, Chile, and South America, pretty much everywhere,” says Hill. “I spoke more Spanish in the first weekend I was there than I did when I
Lindsay and friend out side of Lindsay's Condo in Vail, Colorado
studied abroad in Chile last year,” Hill says.
As the 2009-2010 Ski Season comes to a close, Hill looks forward to a summer full of contests and festivals. She predicts that things will simmer down and she will get to enjoy the many outdoor activities that Vail Valley has to offer when there isn’t any snow on the ground.
Wilhelm knows that she will always return to life in a small town, most likely Steamboat Springs. But after she graduates from CSU with a Marketing Degree, she will inevitably be living in a large town. Contrary to popular belief, Wilhelm believes that living in a ski town has helped her.
“I don’t think I am any less prepared for the real world because of living in a small town. I actually think that it’s probably helped me in a lot of ways than living in a big city because I have that strong tie to community,” says Wilhelm.
Life in a small mountain town may not be for everyone. If you find yourself more comfortable in front of the T.V. than hiking in the back country, you might never be at home in Vail or Steamboat Springs. However, if you find yourself itching to be outside all day long, maybe you should detour to life in a mountain town.
