The Costs of Being a Ski Bum: April Summary

I love to ski, so it seemed like a great idea to head out to Colorado for a couple of months this winter so I could do more, and better, skiing than I have ever done in a single season in my life. Calling myself a “ski bum” is probably a bit of an exaggeration, considering that I have still been working my butt off while I’m here, but it has been an interesting experience to work on keeping my expenses somewhat low in a country that is not typically cheap to travel around.

Loveland Pass Powder Day

Read my March Summary too!

My goal was to keep my costs under $1,700 per month, though my benchmark for being able to do this again next year was more like $2,000 per month. Note that the expenses listed below do not include any ongoing expenses at home (like rent). This was meant to be an experiment in how much it would cost to truly live out in Colorado for a season while not having to worry about anything elsewhere.

This month was incredible in the cost department. Granted, I also cut my season a few days short with a pretty serious knee injury that required me to return back to Michigan. If every month could be this inexpensive I think I would just do this all the time!

I was able to keep my costs so low this month mainly because I found a really awesome group of people to hang out with. We cooked in a lot, which means that I wasn’t going to expensive restaurants as often, and I also had a couch to sleep on for quite a few nights. During the month of April, I spent 21 nights staying with various friends or family, one night in an airbnb, one night in a hotel, and one night with some family of a friend (on the unfortunate drive back to Michigan).

Spring Skiing in Loveland Pass

Since it was my right knee that I hurt, I also couldn’t drive back to Michigan and one of my friends volunteered to take me back. Included in the transportation costs is his flight back to Colorado.

Overall, I’m impressed with how much less expensive this month was compared to last. Next year I think I’ll be trying to keep my expenses down in this range again! And don’t you worry, I’m definitely going back 🙂

Summit of Quandary Peak – My First 14er!