Some on-the-snow employees are showing ingenuity in finding work in the days of lagging snowfall, but say their alternate ways of making ends meet aren't why they came to Summit County.

One ski area employee said he's able to use his connections to tap into jobs that produce a paycheck, but he'd rather be working on the slopes.

“There are plenty of ways to make money in the county,” he said. “It's just not what I want to be doing.”

The story is much the same for other workers, including those who can rely on their workplaces to shuffle things so everyone gets paid.

Municipal snowplow drivers fall into that category, though they're often full-time employees of the municipal public works departments who are used to execute assigned projects.

“When there's lack of snow, there are other projects to do,” Frisco public works director Tim Mack said.

In fact, sometimes no snow means more work in other areas, like keeping culverts from freezing and managing residential surface water lines, which aren't insulated and can be more affected by cold temperatures.

So, in short, “we do have work during these dry snow times,” Mack said.

In Breckenridge, workers who might have been removing snow from streets at this time last year are busy keeping an eye on drainage issues, keeping roads swept to maintain air quality and removing trees felled in the recent windstorm, spokeswoman Kim Dykstra-DiLallo said. Workers at the Gold Run Nordic Center are spreading snow and ensuring as much terrain is open as possible. Currently, it's at nearly 100 percent.

“There are endless projects we have with the town,” Dykstra-DiLallo said. “If they're not plowing the streets, there is work for them to do.”

Even though it's possible to keep people occupied and even catch up on work that's put to the side in heavy snow years, Mack said no snow is “not a good thing for anybody. There's little good to be said about the lack of snow.”

Finding hours for seasonal employees like lift operators, instructors and patrollers is a bit harder at the resorts, where some employees lament shortened hours or no work.

It's difficult, but Arapahoe Basin has adapted, spokeswoman Leigh Hierholzer said.

The small ski area has put affected employees to work doing something else or they're placed elsewhere when jobs open up.

“We're definitely putting people to work in other departments,” Hierholzer added. The ski patrol team has been more highly affected, with some finding work outside the ski area as they wait for on-the-snow duties to begin. However, it helps that they are often returners who know and can manage the ebb and flow of resort work based on snowfall.

“They know what to do and how to make this work,” Hierholzer said.

Patrol director Tony Cammarata does his best to look out for his team, too.

“The guys and girls love being here and know they are here to do their job at the highest level whether it's a record snow year or a poor snow year,” he said. “This extra time gives them an opportunity to do additional training. We even bring in people to train that haven't started full time yet. It's the staff being flexible, loving what they do and making small sacrifices to make it work.”

At Copper, which manages its staff based on volume, salaried staff works several days in places like the rental shop front line to limit the need to expand the workforce during peak times. Spokesman Pete Woods said the resort's volume-based hiring makes it easier to ensure employees have a paycheck during slow times and non-peak periods.

Still, the lack of snow has its impact, such as on snowcat operation guides like experienced patroller, Chicago Ridge guide and Summit County Rescue Group volunteer John Reller, who eagerly waits the start of tours.

“We're working around the clock to make snow, continue to open more and more terrain and facilities, offer other fun winter activities and events and staff according to the high levels of service we're known for providing our guests,” Vail Resorts spokeswoman Kelly Ladyga said.