A holiday destination became home

Luke Nichols said he was suffering from a quarter life crisis, but his life changed dramatically after a working holiday

Luke Nichols, the new owner of Purcell IT, came to Golden for a skiing holiday and never left. — Claire Dibble photo

Luke Nichols went to Kicking Horse Mountain Resort for a working holiday, but he never left the Golden area.

Nichols, 31, had previously completed a diploma in system administration for computers and spent a few years working as a qualified horticulturalist in Australia.

“I don’t like working outside in 40-degree heat with 50-degree mulch—shovelling two tons' worth of mulch per day wasn’t my idea of fun,” said Nichols. “I switched back to computers, and then I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll have a break and then come back and settle down.’ ”

Nichols travelled from Perth to attend a job fair in Melbourne, Australia, so that he could get information about working abroad. He decided to spend a season at the ski resort just outside Golden, and while he was there, he met Sara, a girl from Saskatchewan who had planned to do something similar. The two were employed as lifties (lift attendants) at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and Nichols renewed his working visa every two years while they were dating.

“I worked as a liftie for a full year, but I also did a bit of IT work up there as well,” said Nichols. “I was just like the grunt man up there, running around and fixing little problems.”

Nichols didn’t go back to Australia, instead settling right into Golden. Last year he and Sara got married, and Nichols made the decision to use his computer skills once again. He began working various jobs, and settled into a position with Purcell IT for three years. Nichols happily accepted the offer to become the owner of Purcell IT in January 2012, and he maintains a healthy working relationship with previous owner Bob Ball.

For more information about the company, visit the Purcell IT website.