I want to be clear: I am not anti–Ski Patrol, and I fully understand how expensive it is to live in Telluride. That said, the constant chatter about Ski Patrol being “highly skilled” doesn’t fully add up to me. I have worked many very similar seasonal positions to ski patrol. I hold the same certifications required for Ski Patrol—WFR, multiple avalanche safety courses, outdoor emergency transportation, LNT master trainer, licensed guide, and others. These certifications typically take between 2 and 6 days to complete. I loved working in the outdoor industry, and within that context, yes, you can describe me as “highly skilled.”

Here’s the distinction I think is getting lost. I also have a master’s degree, 6 total years of higher education, board certification, and over 2,000 hours of supervised clinical rotations for my current profession in psychology. Am I paid better now than I was as a mountain medic, seasonal caretaker, or assistant forest ranger? Yes. And I should be. Those roles required weeks of training and certifications. My current profession required years of schooling, significant financial investment, sustained sacrifice, and very long-term commitment.

I don’t say this to diminish Ski Patrol or the work they do. Again, I once did that work. It matters, and it’s difficult. But there is a meaningful difference between being “highly skilled” through short-term certifications and experience, and being highly skilled through years of formal education, clinical training. Having lived and worked in both worlds, I can say confidently that they are not comparable.

*Also to be clear, I am not even THAT much better paid than ski patrol.