Ultimate Ski Bum

mc_mel23

mc_mel23

New member
The housing crisis has now spread in every ski towns across the nation. Ski bums of this world, what’s the most uncomfortable way you ever spent your winter skiing. Could be a camper/closet/car anything really.

I’ll go first! Decided to quite my job on the east coast last fall and move to Whistler, BC without any housing secured so I ended up sleeping in my car around town for the entire winter. Not having any rent expense I could just live off my savings and ski everyday. Best winter I’ve spent so far

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**This thread was edited on Oct 5th 2022 at 7:17:27pm
 
i want to do this so badly but simply lack the balls. were you constantly cold as fuck? where did you spend your time in between skiing and sleeping? any issues with finding a spot to post up for the night?
 
14467271:Professor-Modelo said:
i want to do this so badly but simply lack the balls. were you constantly cold as fuck? where did you spend your time in between skiing and sleeping? any issues with finding a spot to post up for the night?
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To be honest it wasn’t as bad as I expected. I got a good winter camping sleeping bag before leaving and I dod not get cold a single night. The hardest part is leaving your sleeping bag in the morning.

I spent most of my time not skiing at the public library/restaurants/public places for wifi and at the aquatic center which I had a membership. Pretty useful to get acces for a gym/showers/spa/steam room and sauna in my case.

at first it was stressful to find spots to spend the night but eventually you learn where you can or cannot sleep and at the end I had spots where I could sleep stress free. Definitely a learning curve though
 
Killer setup…how bad did the condensation get? I’ve spent quite a few nights in boot rooms in ski area hotels around euroland….it smells but it’s warm and dry and you can usually score breakfast on the way out the door!
 
Luckily found some short-term housing for my new, more stable job in Killington, VT for right now.

Finding long-term housing with a homie right now in Rutland and it’s so hard to find.
 
14467297:Brule. said:
Luckily found some short-term housing for my new, more stable job in Killington, VT for right now.

Finding long-term housing with a homie right now in Rutland and it’s so hard to find.
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Trying to save this in case I end up camping out of my whip anytime soon to save money.
 
14467295:Freethaheel said:
Killer setup…how bad did the condensation get? I’ve spent quite a few nights in boot rooms in ski area hotels around euroland….it smells but it’s warm and dry and you can usually score breakfast on the way out the door!
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Not too bad to be honest. I tried to get rid of humidity by “drying” my gear inside underground parkings at the end of the day.

Boots would go in the thule cargo box at night to keep the odour out and would try to sleep with a uco candle to create an airflow with cracked windows when weather was

good.
 
14467297:Brule. said:
Luckily found some short-term housing for my new, more stable job in Killington, VT for right now.

Finding long-term housing with a homie right now in Rutland and it’s so hard to find.
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Ah yea tha dirty rut..thankfully rent is hella cheap compared to the other VT "cities". The areas outside of rut are super nice to live but the center is such a dump. You'd think a bigger city 20min to killy should be more bustling with outdoors people but I guess everyone just chills up on the access road and lives in the mendon/chittenden/rutland town area
 
14467302:mc_mel23 said:
Not too bad to be honest. I tried to get rid of humidity by “drying” my gear inside underground parkings at the end of the day.

Boots would go in the thule cargo box at night to keep the odour out and would try to sleep with a uco candle to create an airflow with cracked windows when weather was

good.
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Did ur boots freeze in the roof box?
 
If you're trying to live in your car the west coast is the place to be. 9th Circuit Court ruling a few years back banned criminalizing sleeping in your car. No such protections in the other districts/states, yet....

I spent about 5-6 months skiing out of my van in the past year. Early season in Summit County, main season at home (not in a van), spring at Silverton and then summit again through May, then hood for a couple months in the summer. Leaving tomorrow for a few weeks in the desert before going to Summit for early season again and it starts all over.
 
If me girlfriend leaves me catch me in my q5 in the parking lot of timberline until I die a lonely car death cuz that looks like the dream
 
my brother and I took over our friend's basement in Jackson Wy and got everyone's rent under $400/pp. that was a good winter.
 
=junglemowgli


**This post was edited on Oct 6th 2022 at 1:25:43am

**This post was edited on Oct 6th 2022 at 1:26:25am
 
Im heavily wanting to do this in a season or two. Will probably do it once my resort closes but there's still snow to tour on in April and June. Slept in my car this summer and was super chill but the winter is what kind of scares me. cool to see you weren't too cold. I think a van with insulation and a good sleeping bag should be sufficient and i know its doable, but still concerns me to some level in the back of my mind
 
Spent many nights in a Subaru Impreza…Mammoth, Squaw, SLC/LCC, Hood.

SLEEP

0 degree rated bag even if you don’t plan on camping sub freezing. Sleep with base layers, socks, beanie either on your body or in the bag otherwise they will be cold and/or wet by the morning. Pee before you turn off the car for the night. Chapstick & face lotion right before bed. Make sure your phone is charged and sleep with it in the bag. Run the heater not at full blast, but to a comfortable sleeping temp right before bed. Crack a window right when u go to sleep, cuts down on condensation + you won’t be able to conserve heat with windows up for long enough to make a difference. Sleep with your head uphill.

FOOD

Don’t eat or assemble food in the car. I keep 2 coolers stocked…1 cold with ice & and 1 warm to keep stuff like bread pb&j from freezing. Be as resourceful as you can making your own food. If the weather is decent I’ll whip out the camping stove in the parking lot and meal prep right after skiing before it gets dark. Quick easy to assemble meals are the move… granola, bars, green juice, smoothies, veggies and dips, salads, grain bowls, soup. Be resourceful…some lodges have microwaves, even some hotel breakfast rooms will have a mic if you’re sneaky about it

CAR

This should go without saying, but do everything you can to keep your car in good running shape. Keep it clean and organized too. Keep a jackery or other external battery capable of jumping your car. Charge that mfer too. Limo tints ftw. I have never needed any kind of extra heater or insulation panels (down to 5 degrees), but some may prefer to run a space heater, but this can be dangerous and tricky to power.

CAMP

Scout your spots. Sno parks, BLM are chill. Try to get setup before dark unless you’re familiar with the spot. Large public lots like grocery stores generally work if you get there late. Other sneaky spots absolutely require you to be low key with a non beater car with tint. Resort garages ie Snowbird, hotel/motel lots, church parking lots, schools, but don’t be jerry about it and lay low.

NON SKI TIME

Gym/spa membership! May be your only chance for a hot shower. Utilize public spaces like, coffee shops, villages, restaurants, libraries. There is absolutely no shame in checking into a cheap motel away from the resort if you need to regroup.
 
I lived in Incline Village in Tahoe and had my own room for $420/month. It’s doable if you know people and have connections

14467361:snomaster said:
my brother and I took over our friend's basement in Jackson Wy and got everyone's rent under $400/pp. that was a good winter.
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14467282:DeebieSkeebies said:
Threads. Cuz honestly? Paying over 2k/month for a shithole 2bedroom in SLC is really starting to chap my ass.
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Jesus that's awful. Rent is absolutely absurd, especially when it outpaces inflation. That's the #1 reason I bought a house cuz my rent when up 10% in 2018 and I was like nope, fuck this...my mortgage is lower for 3 times the space and all the freedom. Hope this market starts to cool down so y'all can find some permanent housing. Even trailers are expensive these days.

14467297:Brule. said:
Luckily found some short-term housing for my new, more stable job in Killington, VT for right now.

Finding long-term housing with a homie right now in Rutland and it’s so hard to find.
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Dude just buy a shit hole and slowly fix it up. As long as it's safe to live in with no major structural damage and if you have average man skills, you should be able to make it liveable. Then when you eventually wanna leave, you can sell it for a fuck ton more to some rich schmuck. Depending on your income, you might even qualify for an FHA loan, and if you don't qualify then you probably have the ability to put down on a 100k house.

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Op I wouldn't call your situation a housing crisis. It's more like going somewhere without a plan for work or funding. Glad you did alright though. I thought of two more tips: 1) for condensation, get one of those big tubs of damp rid. It will keep your rh to 55% and no frosted windows. Each tub should last 2-4 weeks at least depending how much water you get in your car. 2) Don't forget about truck stops for showers.
 
Doing my first real ski bum winter this year and couldn’t be more excited. Have enough saved up from the summer where I should only have to work a day or two a week on the weekends. Live in Leadville so will be at Copper Monday-Friday. The dream.
 
Planning on doing something like this up north. Get a topper for my truck spray foam the topper and the bottom of the bed foam bord the sides stick my chainsaws and gear on one side and my skiis in the middle with a couple Matt's and a sleeping bag on the other side ?
 
14467413:BradFiAusNzCoCa said:
I lived in Incline Village in Tahoe and had my own room for $420/month. It’s doable if you know people and have connections
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definitely doable a few years ago anyway. my first winter in tahoe was $400/month, second was $300, third was $250!! would be curious to know if anyone in tahoe is still working it out like this. after that, i started living alone and now have a mortgage and my HOA is $375/month alone. however, getting a modest piece of property that means no one can kick you out is worth the extra $$ spent. just important to remember that it is OK to prioritize living in an inexpensive way in order to pursue living the dream. there are many ways of making that a reality
 
14467476:Lippamani said:
Planning on doing something like this up north. Get a topper for my truck spray foam the topper and the bottom of the bed foam bord the sides stick my chainsaws and gear on one side and my skiis in the middle with a couple Matt's and a sleeping bag on the other side ?
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Tried this on my truck and it didn't really work. I'd say warm sleeping bag is more important
 
I lived in Leadville 09-10 and had the epic pass but I hear copper parks have gotten a lot better than they were. We had some great pow days when I-70 got closed to Vail and we would just go through minturm and up. Have a blast!

14467456:jaxful said:
Doing my first real ski bum winter this year and couldn’t be more excited. Have enough saved up from the summer where I should only have to work a day or two a week on the weekends. Live in Leadville so will be at Copper Monday-Friday. The dream.
Click to expand...
 
14467456:jaxful said:
Doing my first real ski bum winter this year and couldn’t be more excited. Have enough saved up from the summer where I should only have to work a day or two a week on the weekends. Live in Leadville so will be at Copper Monday-Friday. The dream.
Click to expand...

Yo man I just moved to Leadville, first full western winter in 8 years so I'm hyped - usually work standard Mon-Fri but will definitely be trying to hit copper when I can swing it during the week if the snow is good. Always looking for more people to shred with.
 
My first day at Alta I didn’t know where to sleep so I parked on the side of the road up Cottonwood canyon. I woke up to 13 inches of fresh power and spent the next 2 hours watching people race to the mountain while i dug my car out with a skateboard ?
 
14467521:ToddlerBodyBag said:
My worst experience car camping was getting kicked out of the squaw parking lot at 2 am before a big powder day.
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who kicked you out? was it security or the plow drivers who were clearing the parking lot before the 4AM crew shows up?
 
14467540:bennwithtwons said:
who kicked you out? was it security or the plow drivers who were clearing the parking lot before the 4AM crew shows up?
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It was security for the plows. There was about 8 of us in this commune and we all got the boot
 
14467549:bennwithtwons said:
bummer! did you at least go back early and get the goods?
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Yea I got away with a sketchy spot across the street. When you’re camping like that you always have to keep 1 ear open for the sound of your cat getting hooked up to a tow truck.
 
Damn which season did you do this? I did the same thing in 2019/2020 season in Whistler! Dodge Caravan, no heater. I went to the library every day after skiing but it closed at 7pm! Ended up working at the indian restaurant for the food/warmth. Smart of you to get the rec center membership, I should have thought of that!

Stoked to have seen this post, would you do it again??
 
14467672:*steeze_is_good said:
Damn which season did you do this? I did the same thing in 2019/2020 season in Whistler! Dodge Caravan, no heater. I went to the library every day after skiing but it closed at 7pm! Ended up working at the indian restaurant for the food/warmth. Smart of you to get the rec center membership, I should have thought of that!

Stoked to have seen this post, would you do it again??
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I did it last year during the 2021/22 season!

I’m doing it again this upcoming season starting in 6 weeks. Been working as a carpenter full time and bike mechanic doing evening/weekends shift for 6 months now, time to take some time off. New location and setup this year, planning to buy a truck in the next couple weeks and building a truck bed camper setup. Time for a new challenge as I bought a sled this summer that I will be pulling in an enclosed trailer so we’ll see how that goes. I’m moving to Golden, BC to explore around Kicking Horse and Rogers pass as well as working as a freeride coach for lake louise ski club on weekends
 
Think of it whatever you will but I have homies who moved back in to their parents places and get to work/live rent-free and ski a bunch. That is one way of Ski Bumming lol.
 
It's called a job yo, I work remote and pay for an apartment/ whatever hotels etc I want. Sleeping in a car just ain't worth
 
14467713:DeebieSkeebies said:
Think of it whatever you will but I have homies who moved back in to their parents places and get to work/live rent-free and ski a bunch. That is one way of Ski Bumming lol.
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Disagree.. not everyones parents are loaded enough/passionate about skiing enough to have a crib in a ski town. This is trustafarian behavior
 
14467413:BradFiAusNzCoCa said:
I lived in Incline Village in Tahoe and had my own room for $420/month. It’s doable if you know people and have connections
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Not exactly advice telling someone they have to know people to get cheap rent. Like yeah duh haha
 
14467751:Notaskibum said:
It's called a job yo, I work remote and pay for an apartment/ whatever hotels etc I want. Sleeping in a car just ain't worth
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Who said jobs are year round? Work construction for 6 months and take the winter off. Imagine saving over 1k a month in rent/ expenses and instead going up on the mountain every day and not having to work. Instead I can use that money saved on rent and put it towards fuel/oil on the snowmobile and do 10+ days a month doing cabin trips in the backcountry. And the best part: not missing a single powder day since you’re free of obligations. Not for everyone but the choice is easy for me
 
14467791:mc_mel23 said:
Who said jobs are year round? Work construction for 6 months and take the winter off. Imagine saving over 1k a month in rent/ expenses and instead going up on the mountain every day and not having to work. Instead I can use that money saved on rent and put it towards fuel/oil on the snowmobile and do 10+ days a month doing cabin trips in the backcountry. And the best part: not missing a single powder day since you’re free of obligations. Not for everyone but the choice is easy for me
Click to expand...

Simple people live simple lives.
 
14467476:Lippamani said:
Planning on doing something like this up north. Get a topper for my truck spray foam the topper and the bottom of the bed foam bord the sides stick my chainsaws and gear on one side and my skiis in the middle with a couple Matt's and a sleeping bag on the other side ?
Click to expand...

A good bag is a must, A Chinese diesel heater will cook you out. I see your from Troll/wild,....If by "up north" your talking norther Wi and the UP,......

Whitecap allows car camping if you park in the back by the machine shed and used to sell a $5 access to use the pool-hot tub-and showers as long as you bought a lift ticket, Not sure if that has changed.

Blackjack used to allow lot camping, not sure now that the Skinner family bought it.

The lower lot at the Porkies is fair game as long as you buy and display a Michigan Recreation Passport sticker in you windshield,.....

And Mount Bohemia is free if your in a normal sized car or truck, 20 a night in a RV, Your ski pass gets you into the Nordic Spa for the outdoor pool,hot tub, steam room, cold plunge and sauna,...

.I know there is some state or federal land near Lutsen that allows camping but I have never done it up there.

**This post was edited on Oct 7th 2022 at 9:03:44pm
 
Sick good to know and yeah thinking about trying to get into a logging crew in the up

14468054:Walleye said:
A good bag is a must, A Chinese diesel heater will cook you out. I see your from Troll/wild,....If by "up north" your talking norther Wi and the UP,......

Whitecap allows car camping if you park in the back by the machine shed and used to sell a $5 access to use the pool-hot tub-and showers as long as you bought a lift ticket, Not sure if that has changed.

Blackjack used to allow lot camping, not sure now that the Skinner family bought it.

The lower lot at the Porkies is fair game as long as you buy and display a Michigan Recreation Passport sticker in you windshield,.....

And Mount Bohemia is free if your in a normal sized car or truck, 20 a night in a RV, Your ski pass gets you into the Nordic Spa for the outdoor pool,hot tub, steam room, cold plunge and sauna,...

.I know there is some state or federal land near Lutsen that allows camping but I have never done it up there.

**This post was edited on Oct 7th 2022 at 9:03:44pm
Click to expand...
 
14467456:jaxful said:
Doing my first real ski bum winter this year and couldn’t be more excited. Have enough saved up from the summer where I should only have to work a day or two a week on the weekends. Live in Leadville so will be at Copper Monday-Friday. The dream.
Click to expand...

14467512:vermontana said:
Yo man I just moved to Leadville, first full western winter in 8 years so I'm hyped - usually work standard Mon-Fri but will definitely be trying to hit copper when I can swing it during the week if the snow is good. Always looking for more people to shred with.
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Ayyy I live in Leadville too if either of you ever want to go hit Copper. I'm normally off Wednesday & Fridays.

My roommates and I have a whole ski shop setup in our house too if you ever need anything mounted, detuned, ect.
 
14467771:DummyBears said:
Spent many nights in a car at killington and mad river glen and then in late may/june mammoth
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where do you camp at Killington I was thinking about doing some weekend trips this years
 
14468653:bogust said:
where do you camp at Killington I was thinking about doing some weekend trips this years
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Legal to camp at skyship base area on the far side of Route 4 which is where I always go. Place is usually pretty empty but spring skiing will attract more people. I also know people that have tried the killington grand parking lot which works if you have a car or something very discrete, but I wouldn't recommend.
 
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