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Imagine waking up and watching the snow gently meandering down outside your bedroom window. You stretch, get up and after a cup of coffee throw on your ski suit, put on your ski boots and walk out your back door where your skis are waiting for you. You ski to the base of the chairlift and within a few minutes you are at the top of the mountain and skiing down powdered, virgin snow. You have the ski hill practically to yourself. No line ups. No crowds. Just you and the mountain and the gentle swishing of your skis as you cut fresh grooves in the freshly groomed runs. Forty minutes later and it's back to your cabin for a sauna followed by a scrumptious home-cooked breakfast in front of the log fire. What could be more perfect?

There are many perks to living on a ski resort. Some are measurable such as the amount of time you save travelling, the cost of gas you would spend on car trips, savings on ski passes. Others are more subjective. The convenience and accessibility to the runs are obvious. You don't have to worry about a long drive home after a full day's skiing. You can just relax in your hot tub, or kick back on the sofa with your favourite bottle of wine. On days when you don't feel like skiing you can snowshoe or try cross-country skiing. Or head down to the lodge for a pizza and beer. Also, you don't have to worry about packing all your ski gear into the car every time you want to ski. It's all right there.

Ski resort residents don't have to worry about getting up at the crack of dawn to drive and hour or more to ski. They can lie in or get up early and take advantage of the first runs of the day before the hoards arrive.

As a resident of a ski resort you will have a say in how the resort is run and can become a member of the ski resort committee. You also get to know your fellow resort residents very well - like a big family.

You don't have to just love winter sports to live on a ski hill, although that helps. During off-season periods there are wonderful hikes to take advantage of, wildlife to observe, festivals to celebrate (such as the Huckleberry picking festival at Castle Mountain ski resort in southern Alberta), and just the tranquility of being in nature and away from the madding crowd.

Learn more about this author, Jacqueline Price.
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