PEOPLE
Summer Spotlight: The Valley's Best Jobs and Most Interesting Personalities
Who has the best summer job in the valley, or is a local every visitor should meet? We asked, and you answered.
Ellen Miller hard at work.
We asked, and you answered; the valley's most envy-inducing summer gigs, as picked by our readers.
The Three Most Coveted Summer Jobs
Shane Ward
Founder/proprietor, Turtle Bus & Tubing
When he’s not behind the wheel of his iconic green-hued Turtle Bus driving revelers to and from the valley’s breweries, distilleries, and dispensaries ($115/hour, turtletubing.com), you’ll find Shane Ward in a tube on the water in Dotsero, leading 2-to-3-hour floats (from $41.60/person) down the Colorado. This past winter marked the first that Ward—a valley local for 13 years—didn’t buy a ski pass. Why? “I float every day in the summer,” says Ward. “It’s like a summer powder day.”
Ellen Miller
Trail Running Coach, Vail Vitality Center
The former Colorado Sportswoman of the Year has quite the résumé; she’s the coach and manager of the US Women’s Mountain Running Team, and was the first—and remains the only—American woman to summit Mt. Everest from both Nepal and Tibet. Where she finds her inspiration? Coaching weekend warriors on early morning trail running clinics on Vail Mountain. “We’re an inclusive group, and it’s a welcome class for all ages and ability levels to get to know their backyard,” she says of classes, which have a devoted following and alternate between interval workouts and endurance runs every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 a.m. vailvitalitycenter.com
The Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch welcoming committee.
Scout & Bachelor
Canine Ambassadors, Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch
As the official canine ambassadors at dog-friendly Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, Scout (a 6-month-old Bernese mountain dog) and Bachelor (a 3-year-old St. Bernard) are the stars of Yappy Hour in the hotel lobby, where guests who might be missing their own four-legged friends get their furry fix, and the pups earn belly rubs and treats.
The Local Celeb Most Locals Want to Meet: Lindsey Vonn
A familiar face atop the podium and around the Village, most locals say they’d like to share a brew or two with skiing’s Golden Girl—if they can catch her first.
The Local Fixture Visitors Should Meet: Helmut Fricker
If you can’t clink steins with the valley’s lederhosen-clad, accordion-squeezing, alpenhorn-blowing, yodeling ambassador, do the next best thing: order a $40 bobblehead souvenir from his website, helmutfricker.com
The Vail Pioneer Locals Want to Meet: Sheika Gramshammer
Locals Say: “As one of the founders and first business owners in Vail, I would love to hear her perspective on Vail’s evolution and its future. Plus, I love her clothing store and could always use a few tips on how to be more stylish.”
