A New Life: Vicki Puttergill ditched her office job within months of catching the snowboarding bug. Patricia Weston reports
Working in the retail trade for six years doing long hard hours indoors, Vicki Puttergill just felt her life was passing her by. "I suddenly hit the point of working 60/70 hour weeks and I realised that I had no quality of life."
So she took a two-week snowboarding holiday - a holiday that completely changed the course of her life. "I realised there was a whole world out there," she says.
Snowboarding was a sport she always wanted to try and once she did she became completely hooked. "Snowboarding was just something I fancied doing. Little did I know it would be the main reason for changing my life," she says.
After her holiday Vicki became so smitten by the winter sport she decided to take a snowboard instructor's qualification.
"In May 2002 I received a huge financial bonus from the retail company I was working for in the UK. Maybe it was fate but within a week I heard about Peak Leaders, which offer skiing and snowboarding instructor courses," she says.
Vicki signed up for the course and promptly jacked in her job. "Within the week of hearing about this course my deposit was paid and I handed in my notice. It was an easy decision because I decided there was more to life than working 24/ seven and life is too short not to take each opportunity you face," she says.
She headed off to Argentina to do her instructor's qualification and after qualifying made her way to Norway to spend a winter practising on the piste.
"After seven weeks in Norway I decided I wanted to do this permanently and so I set about finding work to remain there," she says.
Vicki quickly realised working in Norway wouldn't be just a flurry of snow and fun. She says: "It's quite hard doing the winter work because you have to find an income for the other seven months of the year. After my first winter searching for work in Norway I had to return to the UK during the summer to work and I hated being back on the nine- to-five treadmill again so I vowed that that would be my last summer."
Returning to Norway in the winter of 2003/2004 Vicki was lucky to find a job managing an after -ski bar in Hafjell, Norway. "I met my current boss and he offered me a great opportunity to manage an after-ski bar and I took it."
She knew she'd have to work hard at her new job but this didn't discourage her. "I work flat out for the whole winter and I have some time off in May and during the summer I run the bar, although it's very quiet. September and October is spent promoting next winter and recruiting staff."
But the hard work pays off and she enjoys her wintry lifestyle. "I love the life, living in beautiful surroundings with sunsets and sunrises and that winter wonderland feeling for five months. Although my work is stressful it's more rewarding because of the benefits of living here and I'm not stuck indoors all day," she says.
Her new job is very similar to her old job but in new whiter surroundings. "Many parts of my job are the same as the last. I have a team of staff, I place orders and do the accounts but I really feel I'm working to achieve something and I feel more valued," she says.
Vicki firmly believes in finding a job you love. She works hard every day but still manages to get out on the slopes to snowboard. "It goes without saying that doing something you genuinely love is the best job in the world. I meet new people, work in a tight, motivated team and spend my free time in the snow," she says.
She also never has any regrets about leaving her home in the UK and living in Norway although she does get homesick. "I get to spend time in the UK between seasons and my friends and family visit me throughout the year. It can be difficult at times, like at Christmas. I left behind a country that I am very proud of, and the comfort of family and things I'm so used to, but the longer I am in Norway the more people I get to know and I feel my life is great in both countries," she says.
Vicki knows she made the right decision. "It has changed my life completely and I am never wondering where the grass is greener because I know it is here."
She's very happy with her new life. "I feel very smug because I have the best job in the world. Who wouldn't want to do what I'm doing. I have relaxing summers with intense winters of friends, partying, snowboarding, skiing and job satisfaction."
And her old job holds no attractions anymore. She says: "I'll never go back, even if hell froze over, but then I'd probably open up an after-ski bar there!"
• For more information on Peak Leaders' courses visit: www.peakleaders.com