UKC

Hello,

Has anybody worked a ski season? Any suggestions/information on how I can go about looking for work?

I'm interested in taking a bit of a career break and heading to somewhere like Austria.

Any info would be appreciated.

Cheers

In reply to zarathustra:

I'm sure somebody who's actually done this will be along soon enough, but in the meantime try having a look at natives.co.uk

In reply to zarathustra:

Bump im interested too.

In reply to zarathustra:

Natives was a good port of call for jobs when I did it about 10 years ago. There was a huge number of jobs from bar work, chalet hosting, hotel work. I opted for the night porter option to board all day!

Check out the big tour operators like Crystal, Esprit/Total etc as a start. I dare say you could probably get a job now as some folk drop out part way through the season.

I you let us know what you want to get out of it / what job you fancy I may be able to give you other pointers.

In reply to zarathustra:

Natives is good as is Snowheads for information on ski season opportunities.

A, genuinely, friendly word of advice though - when posting on either forum try and provide as much information as you can ie. what age are you (will dictate whether certain rolls are available), can you ski/board, what languages do you speak (German?), what skills do you have (handyman / chef, accountancy etc), what relevant work experience do you have (you say you're on a career break), where do you think you would like to work (chalet, ski shop, hotel, bar), do you have means to support yourself while you look for work out there or do you need something before you go with accommodation provide, do you have a preference on location ie. you want a jumping party town or you'd prefer something traditional.

All these things and many more will help people narrow down their comments so you get more relevant responses you can use rather than scatter-gun replies from other posters.

Good luck & enjoy it if and when you get there!

In reply to zarathustra:

Ditto what Bootsy said.

Theres a myriad of options and ways to do a season, so decide what kind of place you'd ideally like and what kind of job you could do best. Theres 4 things to do on a season - work, sleep ski and party and most people have the energy for 3 of them. You have to work and sleep so decide whats more important and go from there.

IE working in a bar til 4 in the morning isn't very conducive to getting 1st lifts very often. But if you worked in a restaurant you'd be done much earlier.

Its the best thing ever though - my first couple seasons running a chalet I skied 11 - 5 6 days a week once I got organised.

And addictive, I'm still here 8 years later teaching skiing and running a business in the summer.

In reply to aligibb:

Good advice. I'd advocate working in a restaurant, waiting tables, evenings only, as the best job going. You get to ride all day long, can grab a beer or two after work and get laid, can live on tips and avoid heavy spending (since you're working during drinking hours) and you get lots of exposure to foreign culture (your boss will likely be a local and the customers will come from twenty different nations).

Ski guiding can be enjoyable too but it can be a drag counting heads at every ski lift and always riding slowly on pistes you may not find challenging. And the pay is paltry. Go with my first suggestion.

In reply to zarathustra:

To add to earlier advice:

Nearly all resorts have a facebook group like "Tignes 2013-14" or "Val d'isere seasonaires"

Pick a resort you fancy, and maybe search and post all over facebook, at this time of year jobs do pop up in resorts... if you're flexible then you'll find something.

In reply to zarathustra:

when i first did a season i just rocked up in chamonix as ya do!

i just walked into the shops bars hotels etc until some one gave me a job,

but then i did go with 4K in my back pocket and went their to ski and not to work,

i was never short of work, circulate your number around and people will phone as ski bums are notorius for not turning up to work!

In reply to zarathustra:

contact some of the companies they are desperate for good, reliable staff although they don't let on straight away.

crystal for example

http://www.jobsinwinter.co.uk/crystal/default.htm

I've done two seasons as a chalet host, the first time was the best time of my life the second was the best time of my life!

can you cook? look at chalet hosting, I consider this the best option, other don't.

rep. second best option.

bar work seems fun at first but sucks the soul from you and you will barely get any riding done. hangovers are mandatory.

hotel slave is mind numbing but okay.

apres ski band. no just no

ski instructor. in france forget about it, anywhere else most 10yr olds are better skiers than you.

nanny. don't do this.

kitchen work. not for me others liked it.

In reply to zarathustra: It's important you know what you want when you get there.

Do you want to be able to make first lifts on a powder day? Or are you happy with 3 hours from 11:00 to 14:00?

If the latter, a chalet hosting job could be good as you can often get out every day if you are organised.

Depending on the resort, transfer driving is a good option. I do a bit of that here in Chamonix and the full time drivers only work 4 days a week, so have 3 off. If you get early or late runs you can also get out on "work" days.

Honestly, the best job you can do is anything flexible and/or online. Web/graphic design, online sales etc. etc. But you obviously need skills and contacts before you go.

What is your current occupation?