Families and young adults in Aspen, Vail and the Roaring Fork and Vail valleys can work with a Blackburn mentor entirely by video. One dedicated mentor meets with each client in Mountain time, weekly or more often, and keeps in touch by text and phone between sessions. Our team is in Los Angeles, and online sessions fit mountain life well because they travel with you.
Mountain towns run on seasons
Anyone who lives between Glenwood Springs and Aspen, or from Eagle up to Vail, knows the year is not divided into months. Ski season runs roughly from Thanksgiving to April. Then comes mud season, when lifts close and many businesses shut for weeks. Summer brings festivals, hiking, rafting and another wave of visitors, followed by a second shoulder season in the fall.
That pattern shapes young lives here. Students who race or train seriously can spend winter weekends on the hill and weeks on the road. Young adults may work two or three jobs in peak season and have almost nothing to do in May. A plan that works in February often falls apart in October.
Planning for the off-season
- Use mud season for something with a finish line: a course, a certification, a savings goal, a trip planned in advance.
- Keep one fixed weekly commitment year round, so the calendar never goes fully blank.
- Set a short list of goals for each season instead of one plan for the whole year.
The ski-town twenties
Plenty of young adults come to the Colorado mountains for a winter and stay for years. It can be a great life. It can also become a holding pattern: shared housing far downvalley, long commutes on Highway 82 or I-70, season-to-season jobs and a vague sense of ‘later’ about a career. Housing near resort towns is famously expensive, and many workers live in Carbondale, Basalt, Edwards, Avon or Gypsum and drive in.
A mentor does not tell anyone to leave the mountains. The work is to make the choice on purpose: what a year-round career here could look like, what skills to build in the slow months, what a realistic budget and housing plan is, and when it might make sense to try somewhere else. See young adults feeling stuck and how to make a five-year plan.
Late nights in peak season and quiet, isolated stretches in the off-season can wear on anyone. If drinking, drug use, low mood or anxiety is part of the picture, a licensed professional is the right step, and a mentor can work alongside one with permission. In a crisis, call or text 988.
Teens in a small, visible community
In a small mountain community, people tend to know each other’s families. For a student who is struggling, that visibility can make it harder to ask for help. A mentor who lives outside the valley, meets by video and is not connected to the family’s social circle can be easier to talk to. With the client’s permission, parents still receive regular updates, and for high school students a parent always joins the intro call and helps agree the goals.
Families who are here part of the year
Some families split time between the valleys and a city home. Because sessions are online, the same mentor keeps the same weekly rhythm in both places, scheduled in whatever time zone you are in. Colorado is one hour ahead of our team in Los Angeles, so after-school and evening sessions are easy to place.
Where a mentor helps
A mentor is a practical guide, not a tutor, therapist or ski coach. For teenagers, see mentoring for high school students. For young adults working out their next step, see young adult mentoring. How video sessions work is explained on our online mentoring page.
Related
- Online mentoring in Denver and Boulder
- Online mentoring in Park City
- Online mentoring in Salt Lake City
- Mentoring for student athletes
Common questions
Do you meet clients in person in Aspen or Vail?
No. Clients in the Roaring Fork and Vail valleys work with their mentor by video. In-person meetings are available in Los Angeles for families who are there.
Can sessions continue when a student is traveling for competitions?
Yes. Sessions happen by video wherever the student is, and the schedule adjusts to the travel calendar.
I moved here for a ski season and never left. Is this for me?
It can be. Mentors help young adults decide on purpose what the next few years look like, whether that is a year-round career in the mountains or a move.
What time zone are sessions in?
Mountain time, one hour ahead of Los Angeles, or whatever time zone you are in that week.
Get started
Want to talk about a teen or young adult in the valleys? Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free intro call.