• Fresh out of college, I took some time to live the ski bum life in Vail, Colorado. • Then, I moved to Japan, where I taught English to students. • Japan is a wonderful place with friendly people, but I couldn't live there forever.

"I can't believe they pay you to do this!"

I'd hear that a few times a week, usually on a sunset tour after riding snowmobiles to the top of Vail Mountain in Colorado. Looking out over the white-turning-pink peaks of the Rocky Mountains, I'd agree — I couldn't believe I was getting paid for this, either.

Our tours, run by Vail's Adventure Ridge arm, were on the actual ski mountain itself. We couldn't work while the mountain was open. I was free to hit the slopes all day, grab some heavily discounted food, set up the snowmobiles around 2:30 p.m., and then

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