Aspen Skiing Company Reviews

Pros

Free skiing with very decent benefits for the family. Everyone in the family gets a season pass, discounted ski-school and I get a free meal everyday. Challenging and rewarding plus you can't beat the view or the valley in general. Need a lot of experience or time in job to rise through the ranks but it it doable. At a certain level you can expect to make 6 figure salaries but most are not.

Cons

Expectations can be absurd and sometimes top level management seems to be arrogant. Culture around the ASC sites can be good ol' boy nepotism. Sometimes great employees and peers are let go quickly. Have heard the term often "Higher slow and fire fast" around this place. Salary can be paltry compared to the rest of the US and is shocking considering the cost of living here. Things are worn and tired behind some curtains and the capital dollars often go towards ski-lifts "yay" .....but those same dollars often don't go toward other useful upgrades. Communication can be abysmal.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen more to employees on what we would like to see changed.

Pros

One of the most beautiful places in the Rocky Mountains to live and work.

Great place to ski/ride.

The majority of the guest/students are great to work with.

The company has tried to hard to maintain a decent benefits package to it employees in an increasingly difficult economic environment.

The company, particularly in the Ski School, does not give new managers/supervisors enough education/train when they are elevated from with in.

Seasonal Work

Cons

Wages have not kept up with the cost of living

It is difficult, but not impossible for a few, to find an affordable place to live, that is not:
-so small U may need to open the door to change your mind
-a dump
-so far away you must commute 45min to an hour each way.

The company, particularly in the Ski School, does not give new managers/supervisors enough education/training in being a manager when they are elevated from with in.

The Aspen Ski Co's IT department seems to be constantly finding new way software that makes job more difficult for the employees and the transaction time for the customers longer. (Although, I must say that last season 10/11 winter, the new ticket scanning system worked so much better than I thought it would! based on my previous experience with SkiCos implementation of computerized systems.

Interdepartment relations/cooperation tends to function poorly. One department does not know what other department is doing. Each department appears to guarding their own turf and/or competing with each other rather than working together enhance the guest experience so the Aspen Ski Co can better compete with the rest of the vacation/leisure industry.

Company/community can be a bit slow/resistant to new trends ie, snowboarding, terrain parks. (This may not be true for "Haute Couture" trends though:)

There can be an "Aspen Superiority Complex" that operates within the minds of many of the long time employees in the Ski/Ride School. It is seems to manifest in the belief that Aspen is so much better than any other ski area that there is not much that could be learned from outside our lovely little valley and that we are somehow inoculated from the troubles of the outside world. This blinds them to new ideas and potential threats.

Seasonal work

Advice to Senior Management

Find a way to make the transaction time shorter for the guest when they r trying to buy lifts tickets.

Lets look at best practices from other companies in order to make ours better.

Pros

Free all-season ski pass to all 4 mountains, paid vacation, paid sick and personal days, subsidized housing, fun environment, interesting people to work with.

Cons

Cold weather, early working hours, low wages considering the size and income of the company, variable working shifts, expensive area with high living cost.

Advice to Senior Management

Managers Aspen Skiing Company should listen and value more the feedback from their employees because they are the ones who have most contact with the customers.

Pros

Industry leading compensation.
Terrific balance between work and life.
Dog friendly workplace.
Strong communication and leadership from senior management.
Solid employee benefits.
Dedicated to employees. Example: During poor economic times, the company did not cut wages, benefits or eliminate positions. Instead, controlled costs and focused on developing new profit centers.
You get to ski/ride for free on the best mountains in North America!

Cons

Be prepared to work your butt off during peak-season.
Company tends to see itself in the shadow of some of its competitors.

Advice to Senior Management

Let's focus more on what makes Aspen/Snowmass one of the most amazing places on the planet and worry less about what's happening over on i70.

Pros

- Being part of the expansive Aspen SkiCo community
- Having access to the training and educational opportunities encouraged by Aspen SkiCo
- Having access to free group lessons and clinics to improve your own skiing.
- Enjoying discounts on gear, restaurants and even lodging in Aspen/Snowmass.
- Being able to take advantage of the Colorado Real Deal, which allows employees to ski for free at such Colorado resorts as Crested Butte, Telluride, Steamboat Springs, Durango, and more.
- Having a job with such a clear path toward advancement: PSIA certifications, gaining rank via hours accumulated, recognition from supervisors, etc.
- Leadership (even Kaplan, our CEO!) is incredibly accessible and interested in your experience.
- Watching your students make tangible progress and their excitement about that progress.
- Working for one of the most environmentally progressive companies in the country.

Cons

- During your first year, you only have the opportunity to work part-time. At $11/hour. That is not a living wage in Aspen, so expect a second or third job to be part of your reality. (That being said, you'll receive at least one, more likely two raises during that first year as you progress in the company.)

Advice to Senior Management

Sometimes the peak seasons seem a bit disorganized. Schedules can change daily (check online EVERY day!) and sometimes you show up to work not knowing if you will have a class that day or be sent home after an hour. I understand why that is (walk-ins, extra bookings, etc), but make sure that work is distributed fairly! (Most of the time, I think that it is!)

Pros

Life and work balance. Lifestyle.

Cons

Tough to advance up the ranks. Nepotism.

Advice to Senior Management

More internal consistency with external posturing

Pros

They hire based on people skills, not skiing ability, which makes for an awesome work environment. If all you have ever wanted to do is teach skiing, this is the place to do it. You start off getting paid around $12 and hour for teaching, but every 75 hours you teach you get about a $3/hour raise, so by the end of the season you are pulling in close to $30 for group lessons. Privates are even better. Sometimes you will go days without a tip, other times you will get tipped over $1,000. If I just wanted to make a living in a beautiful place, I would still be there. Most of the clients are awesome. You sure feel good about yourself when someone is willing to pay an absurd amount of money to ski with you, and they tip you on top of that.

Cons

When it's busy, you are working everyday (which I didn't mind at all). When it's slow, you are free-skiing every day. You only get paid for teaching if you actually get a class. If you get stuck with beginners that don't improve quickly it can make for a long day. Sometimes kids are moved to different classes and that doesn't always workout great - some teachers try to keep their best skiers or their best tippers.

Advice to Senior Management

You guys are doing a great job. More group trips to neighboring resorts (Telluride, Vail, Steamboat) sure help teams grow closer.