Deborah became a ski bum when she was 18 years old (the 1980/81 season). After being accepted to North Adams State University (the closest Massachusetts state school to Killington), she decided to defer a year instead of jumping right into college. Her mother encouraged her to take the year off; her older sister had spent a winter at Waterville Valley just before going to college and felt like it served her well. Deborah wanted to stand out. She wanted to be different from her older sister. Instead of going to Waterville for her winter between high school and college (like her sister had done), she thought about going to Killington for her winter between high school and college. She nonchalantly mentioned the idea to two of her friends, Mary Ann and Elaine, and they were immediately on board. This idea that she had quickly became the plan, and Deborah was quickly becoming a ski bum.
One autumn weekend, the three headed up to Killington in Mary Ann's station wagon, in search of jobs and a place to live. They walked into an inn at the base of the mountain, called Chalet Killington, and told the manager that they were looking for a job for the winter. This sight was nothing rare to the manager. These were three young women who want to spend the winter skiing at Killington, and they were willing to be "worked to the bone." After being hired, that is exactly what happened. They worked the breakfast and dinner shifts at Chalet Killington that winter as servers. The only servers. This meant they all worked split shifts everyday. The morning shift started at around 6 and lasted most of the morning. After a few hours to themselves, they had to return to the Chalet for the dinner shift. It was a lot of work, but they all felt that it was exciting and adventurous.
Working at Chalet Killington makes being a ski bum easier for three reasons:
1. They pay you.
2. Split shifts everyday means that you are guaranteed at least a few hours of skiing on a daily basis.
3. The "Ski Bum Pass".
The "Ski Bum Pass" is a season pass that the stores, restaurants, inns, etc. at the base of Killington sell to their employees at a very reduced rate. They include blackout dates, but they were during school vacations. This prevented ski bums from skiing while the mountain was covered with little kids and Joeys who drove up from Jersey for the day to do a bit of shreddin' (or fallin'). Most of the people who worked by Killington and had a "Ski Bum Pass" didn't mind the blackout dates; they got to ski the rest of the season while the mountain is empty, and make huge tips while the vacationers were staying at the, ever-so luxurious, Chalet Killington.
After finding employment, the girls got themselves an apartment. They found one for rent at a good price, and at an even better location. The apartment was just off the access road to Killington; an 8 minute commute to Chalet Killington, and a 12 minute commute to the chairlift. This allowed Deborah to go take a few runs whenever she wasn't working, and go home. For her, going up to the mountain didn't take much effort whatsoever, which is not the case for most skiers. She didn't have to drive an hour to get there, and feel obligated to ski all day because of the amount of work it took just get to the mountain. If Deborah only wanted to ski three runs one afternoon, she could get a shuttle bus, drive the car that the three girls shared (if it was around), or hitch a ride to the chairlift, where she could take her three runs, and head home, in no time at all.
Deborah got to ski from mid-morning through the afternoon, Monday through Friday, for the whole winter of 1980/81. She also had a season pass, which meant there was no waiting in line for lift tickets. Another advantage to having a season pass is that even without her discount through Chalet Killington, season passes cost exponentially less money than buying individual tickets. Deborah, Mary Ann, and Elaine took a shuttle from work after their breakfast shift, skied all day, and took a shuttle back to Chalet Killington to feed all of the hungry vacationers their dinners. It was exhausting, but they were living the life.
For these girls, being a ski bum wasn't just about skiing. To them it was a life changing learning experience. They were learning how to live on their own for the first time in their lives, and looking back on it, Deborah describes that winter as being "eased into adulthood." Killington, as a resort, feels enormous. With six connecting peaks, a 4,235ft summit elevation (2nd highest in Vermont), and a 3,050ft vertical drop (2nd largest in the East), it is one of the biggest ski areas on the East Coast. Killington, as a community, feels microscopic. Once the girls' boss knew that they would be living right on Killington, he gave them phone numbers for almost all of their necessities. Fortunately, Deborah and her crew needed firewood, food, to have their driveway plowed, and not a whole lot else. Again, they were living the life.
Once the season was over, Deborah headed home and got ready to go to college. She attended North Adams State that fall, but Mary Ann and Elaine had different plans. Elaine ended up falling in love and marrying Ken, from the kitchen at Chalet Killington. Mary Ann got a serious job at Killington and stayed there for about 10 years. Deborah got to go back to Killington during winter vacations off from college to stay with her old roommates, escape the college environment, earn some money working at the inn, and relax by the mountain for a few weeks, but it wasn't the same. Deborah would go back to school after breaks with a clear head and a stack of freshly earned cash, but she missed the freedom and independence of being a ski bum. To her, that one winter before college, where she got to work her tail off at a minimum wage job, live in a tiny apartment with a bunch of other people, and ski like there's no tomorrow, helped her define what it means to be truly free.
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