Best ski resort

barbarianinvade

i am thinking of going on a skiing trip and maybe work over there for a while...

can anyone recommend any good destinations and when would be the best time to go to secure a job for the season ...bar work or something along those lines? thanks

cerebus

I guess it all depends where you're interested in going...

Europe:
You should find lots of great skiing in the Alps. France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy - all have some cool places to check out. Don't know how comfortable I would be looking for work without knowing the language - there should be loads of english-speaking tourists, but living someplace for an extended period of time you might feel a bit isolated if you don't speak French/German/whatever.

In terms of good destinations, I've always liked Val d'Isere. Val Thorens has some great skiing, while Chamonix is a pretty cool place. Switzerland has fabulous skiing but it is quite expensive. Not sure what the chances of work are if you just turn up mid-season, but I would imagine there must be bar work on the go. Maybe in one of those Irish Pubs that seem to be everywhere these days

N America:
Has the benefit that everybody will be speaking English. The best skiing is mostly out west (my opinion only!) You could try finding work in high-class/expensive resorts like Vail or Aspen in Colorado, and Whistler in British Columbia (Canada). These mountains usually hire staff for the season around September/October, so time is running out for this season. Lots of Australians/Kiwis/Others working for the year, and even some Irish. Don't overlook smaller resorts though - a buddy of mine just started working in Fernie (Canadian Rockies) and plans to be there all winter.

Elsewhere:
If you are interested in going further afield, don't forget to look at New Zealand as a possibility - maybe tie working at a resort for the winter into a year abroad.

daveg

I've only ever been once and that was to Andora. Class place and the duty free shopping is excellent too. Highly recommend it. Not supposed to be great for advanced though?

Imposter

Getting decent work in Europe is quite difficult as most places tend to have seasonal staff who keep coming back. You might get a job like collecting glasses or working in the kitchen though.

Time to go would be just after first snowfall as that's when the season starts but that isn't known until at most a day or two beforehand. Take for example last year the season (in Austria at least) didn't start until the first week of January instead of the norm of sometime before christmas.

Have fun, whatever you do!

Moonbeam

Andora is great:)

theres a few ski resort jobs advertised on nixers.com atm

barbarianinvade

Cheers guys. Will check out nixers.com now and see what's around. Seems Andorra is the most recommended for begineers

ToxicPaddy

If you're looking to work in Canada, then the best resorts are in the rockies around Banff, Jasper and Whistler as well as being the best known.

Banff has 3 main resorts, Banff, Lake Louise and Sunshine village.

Information on each can be found here:
Skibanff.com
Skibig3.com.

They usually start recruiting around End of September up until middle/end of October.

Information on Jasper can be found here:
Skijaspercanada.com
Skimarmot.com

Information on all the Rockies resorts can be found here:
Skicentral.com

A lot of Aussies and Kiwis usually work the mountains, I was there last october and the buzz around the place, especially Banff was amazing. The hostels do great deals for job seekers staying there for a few weeks while they find their feet and they are really comfortable.

cerebus

Originally posted by ToxicPaddy
If you're looking to work in Canada, then the best resorts are in the rockies around Banff, Jasper and Whistler as well as being the best known.

<pedant>

Whistler isn't in the Rockies - it's just north of Vancouver in British Columbia's Coast Mountain range.

</pedant> (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Of course, that means the snow tends to be wetter, and there isn't quite as much fluffy powder...

Johnny_Fontane

Even better is the okanagan which is between the rockies (seriously cold) and Whistler (v.crowded). We went to Silver Star in February, beautiful fluffy snow and lots of it.
www.silverstarmtn.com/

Its only a 40 min flight from vancouver (and you can get ryanair prices with Westjet).

For the ultimate snowboarding its gotta be Mt.Baker just a two hour drive from Vancouver in the cascades just over the american border.
www.mtbaker.us

The nearest places to stay are about 10 miles away, but they hold the world record for most snow in a season.

Don't you need a visa to work in Canada. As far as I know they arent easy to come by unless you are a student.

ToxicPaddy

Originally posted by cerebus
<pedant>

Whistler isn't in the Rockies - it's just north of Vancouver in British Columbia's Coast Mountain range.

</pedant> (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Of course, that means the snow tends to be wetter, and there isn't quite as much fluffy powder...

DOH!!!! Very true.. my apologies...

ToxicPaddy

Originally posted by Johnny_Fontane

Don't you need a visa to work in Canada. As far as I know they arent easy to come by unless you are a student.

Yeah you do, but afaik they are fairly easy to get if only planning on working for short periods of time, such as a ski season.

Dont hold me to that though as most of the people I talked to were either Scottish, English, Aussie or Kiwi so they being from a commonwealth country would have no probs getting into Canada to work as they dont need a visa from what I recall.. but there were a few irish guys who had visas and said they got them easy enough but they had been working the mountains for a few years and had jobs there waiting for them each season.

Johnny_Fontane

yeah i dunno. My brother lives in Vancouver and has his own visa but his girlfriend doesnt have a visa. She has had alot of difficulties finding work . When I was over, she had already tried to get work in the 'locals' but because she didnt have a visa, there was no chance.

The funny thing was though, i found this today. Has anyone done this?

http://www.usitnow.ie/countries/ireland/work_abroad/canada_non_student/non_student.htm

How new is this?

ToxicPaddy

Jeez thats a good idea ya know that...

They should advertise that more...

cerebus

Originally posted by Johnny_Fontane
For the ultimate snowboarding its gotta be Mt.Baker just a two hour drive from Vancouver in the cascades just over the american border.
www.mtbaker.us

Ah yes, you've got to love Mt. Baker - old school skiing, none of those fancy padded high speed lifts. And lets not forget the incredible amounts of snow.Here's a picture from Baker last year. Sunny day in May, hiking up above the lifts for some fresh snow (that's Mt Shuksan in the background).

I'd second the Okanagan recommendation - great skiing. Unfortunately, a lot of the resorts in that part of the province run the risk of going up in flames this summer - lots of wildfires. I think Silver Star hasn't been touched, but there was one burning pretty close to Sun Peaks.

If somebody is coming for a year looking to party and have a good time they might prefer the larger resorts like Whistler and those around Banff - more nightlife and things to do.

So what's your brother doing in Vancouver?