This month, Ski magazine’s online website posted a slideshow of the Ten Best Jobs in the Ski Industry. They spotlighted Derek Gustafson, a product developer for one of our longest standing clients, Black Diamond. They even chose a photo of a few of our good friends and ski industry writers, Frederick Reimers and Drew Pogge while on one of our media trips to Iceland. 
My good buddy John Beal, the Social Media Manager for Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is even listed.
I will admit, there are a few jobs on the list that are totally out of our league, like heli ski pilot. I can barely drive a remote control car without crashing, so yeah, obviously two thumbs up to those guys. I also lose a cheap digital camera seemingly every few weeks, making me unable to even be in the same category as the professional ski photographers also listed in the roundup.
However, moreover, furthermore, nevertheless, I still think an outdoor industry PR professional deserves to be a part of this story. Lemme tell ya why.
WORK CONDITIONS
The Colorado office has a kegerator, a ping pong table, and fleet of New Belgium cruiser bikes for communal use. The office is also filled to the brim with just about the funniest and most fun people to work with ever. Want to challenge us to a coworker Fun-Off, bring it on. 
The Jackson office has a flatscreen, a sweet back deck, and is conveniently located behind one of Jackson’s best bike shops and the Snake River brewpub.
We even have an annual Kickball Championship, that we invite you to, SKI MAGAZINE.
THE DAILY GRIND
We represent some of the best and most-loved brands on the market. One of our clients invented fleece, another created the first stainless steel water bottle years before BPA had even entered the radar. We work with the first wind-powered brewery, New Belgium, and windpower is just the beginning of sustainability efforts over there. We work with 1% For the Planet, an organization that has helped to put over $50 million dollars back into environmental efforts since 2002. We promote products that save lives, make your life easier and make it possible for you to climb higher or stay warmer or ski faster. We think that’s pretty cool, and it makes for a pretty fun work environment.
PERKS
Being “on the clock” has a whole new meaning when testing gear and making sure writers and editors have a great time while testing it too is your job. Backbone staffers have been to Japan to backcountry ski, the Vancouver Olympics, Iceland to ski glaciers and snorkel during erupting volcanoes, Switzerland, Austria, heli skiing in Alaska (click to see some incredible footage of just what that entails), just to name a few from THIS YEAR ALONE. 
So yeah, I think we have a pretty great setup here. So SKI, if you ever want to come over to Carbondale or up to Jackson and give this job a test-drive, let us know, we will make sure to fill up the kegerator before you get here, and pump up the tires on a cruiser for you, and reserve a ping pong paddle, and have a fresh shot of espresso waiting for you as you walk in the door, because that’s what it feels like to work here… every. single. day.
Great post, Sarah. In principal I agree that your profession deserves consideration as one of the best in the industry. But you failed to make mention of the obvious big negative of the “outdoor industry PR ” job that likely knocked it out of the top 10 consideration. That negative? Having to deal with scads of overly demanding, chronically-procrastinating writers who routinely demand immediate attention from you. That you tolerate us — and even happily support the inclusion of our profession in the Top 10 (of course, Rico is in a class by himself) — says a lot about you and your colleagues. For that, just know what we writers love you guys!
And as one of the folks holding hte #4 spot (ski writer) can I just say: I could never do my job well without the PR gods and goddesses. Plus they are fun to hang out with.