It’s that time of year again. Timberline, Meadows and Skibowl are hiring lifties, bartenders, repair technicians, store managers, mechanics, baristas, parks crew, instructors, cooks, patrollers, dishwashers, groomers, cashiers and more to get ready for the 2013-14 winter season.
There are more than 100 job openings on Mount Hood, and as always, the biggest incentive is not so much the pay as the free season pass that comes with the job.
Timberline is holding a job fair this coming Saturday, October 19 from 9 am to 3 pm in the Kids Club Room on the first floor of the Wy’East Day Lodge. Timberline has 40 open positions listed on its website including ski patroller, retail store manager, terrain park attendant and magic carpet operator. Most of the jobs pay at or slightly above the Oregon minimum wage of $8.95 (increasing to $9.10 per hour in 2014).
Timberline employs over 500 people in winter, making it the second largest Mount Hood employer behind Mt. Hood Meadows.
Meadows employs 1,000 people at the peak of the season and has 48 posted job listings as of this morning, ranging from accountant to bus driver to terrain park crew.
Dave Tragethon, executive director of marketing, sales and communication for Meadows, says there are actually fewer openings this fall than in past preseasons because workers are staying around longer. “We’ve been doing a much better job at retaining our employees,” he says. “Also, we are still feeling the effects of the recession. It’s still a pretty tough job market, and people are more willing to stick around instead of just passing through. The quality of job candidates is very high.”
Skibowl is also hiring for its rental shop, tubing hill, Olympic Ski School and several restaurants and bars in Govy.
Skibowl runs the Collins Lake Resort, the Ratskeller Pizzeria, the High Mountain Cafe and the Mt. Hood Adventure wilderness guide service and has diversified into everything from cosmic tubing and downhill mountain biking to corporate picnics and weddings. Open positions include shuttle driver, barista, mechanic and graveyard laundry operator.
Skibowl employs about 400 people over the course of the year, with more than 200 jobs at the peak of the winter season.
The industry standard for skiing and snowboarding resorts on Mount Hood and elsewhere is to offer great on-the-mountain benefits such as season passes and shop and restaurant discounts, but no health insurance (by far the most valuable benefit). That standard may or may not change. It is still unclear exactly how Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act will affect large companies of mostly seasonal employees. But that’s a different story.
Last modified: October 16, 2013
