my work (first one)

our downtown shop and neighbor ice-wall and mt Rundle looking over it all

Couple of days ago I went to our head office to get an important paper stating that i work in Banff/Alberta and are therefore proper resident applicable for local healthcare. On that paper my job title was “rental agent“. Now that doesnt sound very cool. I was always thinking that i’m working as a ski technician, but bureaucrats know better, right ;)

So what do I do, do be do be doo...

I work in a ski shop that's modestly called ’Ultimate ski&ride’ we sell ski equipment and related stuff and we rent skis, snowboards, skates etc. 

My first days were filled with getting to know everything about skis and snowboards and boots and how to set up ski bindings ...

   Remark: Downhill skis have bindings that are supposed to open up and release your boot if there is too much tension, that should prevent braking legs or other pieces of body in case of accident. Tolerable tension limit can be adjusted according to skiers parameters like weight, height, skiing style and so forth. Hence for         

   every rental you have to adjust bindings according to skier and equipment.

... so I got smart and i even got certifications to prove my wisdom with Head/Tyrolia, Marker, Nordica, Dynastar, and Salomon bindings.

In practice big part of my work is finding customers the best suiting equipment, adjusting it, and handling the money/paperwork. But there is also lotsa other stuff like taking care of returned equipment, waxing , restocking , selling retail stuff, tidyng up shop and doing everything else that has to be done.

We have 2 locations/shops where we are working in 2 week schedules in 2 shifts . 2 weeks in one place and next 2 weeks in another. Morning and evening shifts are also rotating. Morning shifts start at 6:45 and evening ones end around 21:30. And of course there are 2 free days per week.  

This kind of timeframe allows to go riding at least 4 days in a week. And lets not forget that riding a mountain is main reason why i’m working here at all 

If asked am I skier or snowboarder I would choose latter but considering quantity and quality of ski’s surrounding me and available for trying out, I inevitably ski a lot too.

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Main ski brands we are carrying here: Head, Salomon, Kästle, Dynastar, Liberty, Nordica. We also have Salomon snowboards, rossignol x-country skis, k2 skates and louis garneau snowshoes, and lotsa other stuff, like clothing and backpacks and body protection and helmets and goggles and whatnot.

 There are some extra benefits about working in place like this, I can get tasty discounts for everything we sell and free ski lessons if there is availability. Also, for staff rentals are free, therefore main problem is to decide what model of skis to take out next

One our shop is just in downtown and about 5 min walk from my house but the other shop is on far end of Banff so I usually take my bike and get there also with 5 minutes :D

Technology is progressing, you know. I have read in old books that in capitalist world workers used puch cards to mark beginning and end of their work time. This is past now – there are no cards anymore. Now there is a big smart machine on the wall to punch and mark start and finish of your shift. And to make sure you are you it has fingerprint scanner to scan your youity – cool and funny. For me its not very understandable coz i have different history with no punching cards. Not very european thing it is, probably started with industrialization and work management picking up in north- america in beginning of 20th century... started and still survives in its mutanted way...