Best US resort/town for a gap year (or two)

[AmyPJ]

Another consideration: does she know where she wants to go to college, or at least study? She can always move to a state with great skiing AND a school she's interested in, or one that has a major she's interested in, so she can gain residency.

 

[ScotsSkier]

.....

Just because someone has reached majority by 18 doesn't mean they are an adult. I can think of plenty who still aren't adults who are decades older.

hey, I resemble that remark!!!!

 

[Mendieta]

PS if anyone can tell me how to edit the thread title, I pressed return and posted it when I meant to press delete.

Thanks to whomever for the fix!

Do you still need help with this, Danny? Please PM me the title you want and I can edit it. Thanks!

 

[Mendieta]

I'm writing for some friends whose daughter might want to take a gap year (or two!) after high school and work in a ski town, possibly as an L1-2 (to start) instructor. I'm familiar with the scene in Whistler and Banff and that would be perfect except she's a US citizen so I imagine the work visa situation would be tricky. So what I'm asking is what US town or resort is similar to that?

I think Deer Valley could be a good spot. They have year around activities and it is family oriented, if the family is concerned about that aspect (but there is still youth/vibe in Park City to have some fun).

 

[Frankly]

I think Deer Valley could be a good spot. They have year around activities and it is family oriented, if the family is concerned about that aspect (but there is still youth/vibe in Park City to have some fun).

But you're not going to be a ski instructor at Deer Valley right out of High School unless you're one of Stein's illegitimate ski bunny babies....

I'd ask if you want to be a good ski instructor or if you just want to go get a service job and free ski?

If she's serious about being a ski instructor then working hard at a small to medium "small-town" hill and getting lots of actual teaching time will pay off a lot more than taking kids to the potty in the Deer Valley - Aspen - Whistler Ski Wee program.

Kids teaching part time at the local hill get 6-12 hours per week teaching times 15 weeks, that's nearly 200 hours and you'd have a great start.

 

[coskigirl]

Yeah, I just sent my 18-year-old daughter off to a large public university last year, and I'm pretty sure ski towns are no worse in many ways, better in some. That said, it kind of depends on why you want to do a gap year. Sometimes people do that because they are not ready for college, in which case maybe that means a little more supervision is required? Or not? Which, in the end is why I said it just depends on the kid and we don't know her…

I did a gap year in Boulder between my freshman and sophomore years of college. I came from a small, east coast women's college and thought I'd continue at CU Boulder after a year to figure out what I wanted to do. Essentially, I realized that I didn't want to do what I always thought I wanted to do so I needed a time out. This was during my little interest in skiing period. As it turned out I finished undergrad in southern New Mexico.

 

[stan51]

My oldest daughter graduated HS at 17 and decided to disappoint a bunch of D1 coaches and take a gap year (tho they didn't have a name for it back then). We agreed under two conditions: 1) she had to have been accepted into a college (though we didn't insist that she would have to attend that school), 2) she couldn't stay at home. She planned out the first half... an 8 week NOLS trip in Alaska (which we funded) and several months in Lima, Peru (for which she raised the money) with a small local NGO working with kids. She then got herself a winter job at the Peruvian Lodge in Alta, and used the connections she made there to get an apprentice river guide job in Moab, UT for her final summer.
Our biggest concern about the gap year was whether she would be able to adjust to the restrictions of college life after living essentially on her own for a year. Those were real concerns. After living and working with 20 and 30-somethings and being treated as an adult, being put in a freshman dorm with kids who were getting their very first taste of life away from home was hard for her to take. For instance, she drove herself to college from Moab (we lived 2000 miles away and weren't part of this move), and was told freshmen weren't allowed to have cars. If she hadn't discovered an academic program that interested her, I am not sure she would have put up with what she felt were the petty restrictions of college life.

 

[tch]

^^^ This story above resounds with me. I took a year off b/w HS and college 45 yrs ago (there was no "gap year" vocabulary then!). I had sort of the same deal as Stan's daughter...except I was completely on my own financially. After a year taking care of myself and acting as an adult in facing a variety of difficult circumstances, it was pretty hard coming back into college. Luckily, I went to a school where there were a large number of independent, preternaturally-responsible, and self-directed students. If I'd been in a freshman dorm with a bunch of "normal" 18 year-olds, I might never have made it. As it was, I had a pretty strong antipathy for the group of overly-privileged and juvenile upper-middle class kids that also attended.

 

[Frankly]

^^^ This story above resounds with me. I took a year off b/w HS and college 45 yrs ago (there was no "gap year" vocabulary then!). I had sort of the same deal as Stan's daughter...except I was completely on my own financially. After a year taking care of myself and acting as an adult in facing a variety of difficult circumstances, it was pretty hard coming back into college. Luckily, I went to a school where there were a large number of independent, preternaturally-responsible, and self-directed students. If I'd been in a freshman dorm with a bunch of "normal" 18 year-olds, I might never have made it. As it was, I had a pretty strong antipathy for the group of overly-privileged and juvenile upper-middle class kids that also attended.

A whole bunch of people did that before you, in cool places like Normandy, North Africa, Italy, the South Pacific, Korea, Vietnam....

Sans war, it's shame we don't have programs for kids to spend a year or two in the service or doing good deeds - or running the DMV - as it'd be a benefit for everyone. (Except those pokey clerks at the DMV.)

 

[pais alto]

My first run at college right after high school didn't work out for one reason or another, so I dropped out quickly. I dropped back in after a year and a half with a clear purpose and focus. That time off was the best thing ever for me. At that time there were tons of Vietnam vets n the GI Bill in colleges all over, so I didn't stand out for my age in the least, like @Frankly said. Things were perfect for non-traditional attendance in the 70s. And I believe that the high percentage of 'experienced' students was a good thing for everyone.

During my time off I'd started fighting fire for the forest service, and when I went back I changed to a forestry major. Right out of high school I had no idea of doing such a thing, but it sure ended up working out for me. The college I went to was on the quarter system at the time, and I usually fought fires for five months and went to school for six months (one month for fun stuff). It took me longer to get my degree, but the money I was making working allowed me to pay my own way and get through debt-free. And I had a job when I got out.

So, I certainly had tons of 'gaps.' I don't know if such a thing is common or possible these days, but like I said, it was the best thing ever for me.

 

[SBrown]

A whole bunch of people did that before you, in cool places like Normandy, North Africa, Italy, the South Pacific, Korea, Vietnam....

Sans war, it's shame we don't have programs for kids to spend a year or two in the service or doing good deeds - or running the DMV - as it'd be a benefit for everyone. (Except those pokey clerks at the DMV.)

Do you mean mandatory programs? because those things do exist (eg, Americorps); just don't know exactly how well used they are.

 

[Jerez]

Cake and eat it too? Enroll in a ski industry program like a certificate in "ski & snowboard professional guide" at Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat?

Or if she's really interested in becoming a professional instructor, there are instructor programs like www.nonstopsnow.com/Ski-Gap-Year‎

But if it's a real gap year (or two) why not go somewhere she can really grow and see something different? Like the Alps? there are lots of websites that match seasonal workers to ski jobs. Maybe not instructing, but being a native English speaker may help. Here's a website from a young woman who did the live-in-work at a hotel (like Rustler idea) in the Alps and became fluent in French. http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/shortterm/articles/live_in_hotel_work_abroad.shtml

There are resorts in France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic. Much more 'educational' than hanging out with the KIWIs in Breckenridge. (which by the way does have down-unders and a lively party scene.)

 

[Frankly]

Do you mean mandatory programs? because those things do exist (eg, Americorps); just don't know exactly how well used they are.

I think you need to be post undergrad to do Americorp though? Not sure, the local I know who did it had a good experience. But I am supposing you need to be able to offer some knowledge to get stuff done.

 

[Brian Likes Pow]

Learn how to Bartend and find the right bar to sling and you will live good so long as you don't party too hard.

Edit- yes some states are 18. Colorado happens to be one of them.