Ski Area Operations Curriculum.

Degree Requirements.

The Ski Area Operations Program requires a minimum of 60 credit hours for graduation. 49 of these credits are required courses described below. Of these 49, 7 credits are earned during a paid, on the job, cooperative work ski resort experience. Typically, this work experience will occur during the 3rd and 4th semesters. For additional information concerning the work experience contact a member of the SAO faculty.

The remaining 11 Ski Area Operations credits are chosen by the student to meet his/her individual career goals. The elective groups are: Slopes and Trails, Patrolling, Ropeway Operations and Maintenance and Ski Area Management. Students may choose electives from any individual or combination of elective groups.

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Special Transfer Agreement
Ski Area Operations is an occupational program, designed to train you for immediate employment in the industry. Along the way, you may discover that you want additional training in business. To provide a four-year business degree option, Colorado Mountain College has signed a special transfer agreement with Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado. When you take transfer-level general education courses as part of your Ski Area Operations program, and complete an extra semester of required courses, you can transfer to Western State's bachelor degree program. You will enter Western State as a junior in business administration. This combined program provides well-rounded training in both technical and business practices in the ski industry. Most of the courses in the Ski Area Operations program are occupational. They are not designed to transfer to four-year colleges (except Western State) and will only be evaluated for transfer by each receiving institution.

Ropeway Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship
In partnership with the Rocky Mountain Lift Association and Vail Resorts, Inc., Colorado Mountain College offers a separate Ropeway (Lift) Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship program. This program will teach you the technical expertise to properly maintain and repair ski resort ropeways. To participate in this program you must be a registered apprentice working in an appropriate position with a company that has an approved lift mechanic apprenticeship program. Both the company and the apprentice will be registered with the U.S. Department of Labor's Apprenticeship Training Program. Students who complete this training will receive a Certificate of Occupational Proficiency in Ropeway Maintenance Technician.