Anyone Worked a Ski Season?

[motorsportbeng]

I'm sure like many other petrol heads I'm an adrenaline junky and enjoy anything that allows me to go fast, so somewhat naturally I got into skiing and fell in love with the whole mountain life style.
Every time I have had to prise myself away from the Alps at the end of my 1 week away there a year I find my self dreaming of doing a ski season!

I've recently decided to leave my job without another job to go to, as of yet. I will finish in the second week of Jan 2016 and thought that this might be as good an opportunity as I will get to spend a prolonged period in the mountains as I currently have no real other commitments or responsibilities.

I appreciate that if you were to work a full season properly that you would be heading out to the Alps round about now but I'm also aware that there still will be around 3 months left of the season that I could commit to. From what I've seen a lot of the British Ski season workers that make the trip to Europe are from well-to-do families and for many it's their first experience of being independent and away from mummy and daddy - surely a lot of these don't last the full 4/5 months and will need replacing?

Can anyone advise as to what type of jobs are available and if there are dedicated methods of contacting the companies that offer these roles?
The idea is not to make money from the trip but just to cover the costs, I assume that this will be possible?
I want to be able to ski for a significant portion of the day so I assume evening/night work is my best opportunity?

I have worked for and therefore represented a high end brand's motorsport division so I was hoping that this would work in my favour and possibly allow me to get a rep type job in the more luxurious companies/locations of the ski world - I'm thinking Courcheval/Meribel type of resorts. Do you think this would actually be the case or am I just dreaming?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated!

[Buster73]

With respect I think you'll be too late for this season , no harm getting in touch mind.

[NordicCrankShaft]

As above probably too late. I did it a few years back as a chef and I know guys still doing it.

Most of, if not all companies start recruitment before the summer and then sow of them keep waiting lists once all the positions are filled.

Depending on what job you want to do you won't really spend as much time on the snow as you think you will. For example. I started at 6am and finished at 6 pm by which time the slopes were closed. I did that 6 days a week and only got a Sunday off.

[Digitalize]

Yep, already missed it, all the people I know who do it are already out there, have been since about the start of October I think, definitely November.

[timlongs]

Definitely not too late. I spent the last 2 winters working in the French Alps (Lived in Bourg Saint Maurice, below Les Arcs)

Lots of people drop out after xmas and New Year, these are arguably the 2 hardest weeks of the season so it does takes its toll on some people. Give me a PM and I can link you to plenty of companies work speaking to, I lived in the valley for 18 months so know of most companies out there and have a lot of them on facebook, and regularly see them posting jobs.

Gonna miss being out there this winter.

[Marcellus]

Ok a couple of pointers/myth busters here;
- not all seasonaires are middle/upper class
- not all seasonaires are teenagers
- most seasonaires arrive in resort between now and mid december
- some are home before christmas
- some quit after new year
- not all seasonaires survive

If i were in your shoes i would;
- sort out my accommodation (you will probaly have to pay the full seasons rent plus a damage/utilities deposit in advance).
- don't get fixated on a specific resort, go where yiu can get a home.
- once you've sorted that out between now and then start looking for work in that resort and getting yourself known in the community through things like Facebook Groups.
- work out who are "employers" and who are "seasonaires" build on the relationships with the employers.
- when you get to resort knock on doors on the 1st day, on the 2nd day knock on doors and again the the 3rd day.
- eventually someone will give yiu something to do, they may not actually pay you but they may feed you.
- once you have your 1st bit of work your 2nd bit will be easier as all employers talk, they may appear to be competitors during the season but in the summer they're BBQ buddies.
- if you're good (ie turn up, work well, don't look hung over, don't whinge) then everyone will know, conversely if you're crap (eg turn up late, reeking of beer, with a monster hangover, and basically scive) then everyine will know and you'll find work really hard to come by.

Hope this helps, to find your home www.livetheseason.com may be able to help more (and that's my only plug)

[miniman]

My brother has just started his third (fourth?) season in Meribel for Purple Ski. He tends to contract in London for a year or so, then go and spend 6 months in the snow. Happy to ask him if they have any vacancies.

[ChasW]

Judging by the attrition rate I have witnessed there must be opportunities throughout the season.

[Marcellus]

ChasW said:

Judging by the attrition rate I have witnessed there must be opportunities throughout the season.

Ah yes but the operators know this, plus that the seasonaires productivity will go up throughout the season as they learn/share the tricks of the trade so they knwo they won't need as many people for half term as they needed for Christmas!!

[wildoliver]

I've always wanted to do this too, the lack of wages has always been the issue for me, I've often wondered if you could scrape a living being "self employed" and being down at the main lift area/meeting area in the morning with a big sign offering ski guiding for say 30 euros a day if you would pick enough people up to scrape by.

[Marcellus]

wildoliver said:

I've always wanted to do this too, the lack of wages has always been the issue for me, I've often wondered if you could scrape a living being "self employed" and being down at the main lift area/meeting area in the morning with a big sign offering ski guiding for say 30 euros a day if you would pick enough people up to scrape by.

Hate to say this but if you're thinking France, but unless you are Fully Qualified (including Eurotest) then forget this idea, you'd not only be having to fund you ski season but also your legal bill when you get locked up!

You can cover your seasons cost without too much difficulty if you're sensible and reality is that if you're that sensible most people could save for it, I reckon it could cost sub €7,500 all in.

[iphonedyou]

motorsportbeng said:

From what I've seen a lot of the British Ski season workers that make the trip to Europe are from well-to-do families and for many it's their first experience of being independent and away from mummy and daddy - surely a lot of these don't last the full 4/5 months and will need replacing?

They're the ones that do really well. It's the ones working crappy chef jobs for minimum wage (that they absolutely need) in a poorly kitted out chalet 14 hours a day with one zero visibility half day off every week that come home.

[Janosh]

My advice would be to steer clear of the tour operators and plan to find a job once you're out there.

The biggest cost and challenge will be finding accommodation. Once that's sorted, approach all the shops, bars, transfer companies, etc.. and get a job that pays by the hour and not one requires you to work all hours to justify your accommodation and ski pass.

If this is going to be a career break for you, make sure you make the most of it and don't get sucked into working 16h days for next to no money.

Good luck!

PS. I did 12 years of living in ski resorts so be prepared to never come back!