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Quitting our jobs for a season in Bourg St Maurice

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Gear_Junkie wrote:
For ease I will just type out our budget. Its not that sophisticated anyway.

Accomodation/bills 4500-5500
Flights/transfers 400-500
Living costs/food 2500-3000
Lift passes 1600-2000
Insurance 250-500
Gear/hire 2000-3000
Lessons/trips 250-500

Total 11,500-15,000

How does that sound? Unrealistic? We have already sorted accomodation. So are happy that will come in budget.


As you are staying in BSM, consider the train or snow express coach for getting there & back - may take a bit longer, but you would be able to take more kit & they'll likely be cheaper than flights & transfers. Also, when are you aiming to arrive & leave BSM?
Boots are best bought in resort - it means you can go back & get the fittings adjusted at any time (they can take a few ski days before you have a comfy fit - you DON'T want to spend a season wearing boots that hurt your feet).
Re transfer rep job - it would also mean missing the quietest day(s) on the slopes - something to consider.
For both you & GF get some hours in at an indoor slope or dry slope - at the start of the season you'll want to be ski ready (you'll get ski fit as the season progresses).
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@johnE, according to the map pin on google and the advert on our accomodation we are a 5 min walk to the funicular. I am not sure what the building is called. Hopefully that is tolerable.

@Gämsbock, Your season sounds like a lot of hard work! Hope you got a lot of time on the mountain. I am jealous that you now live in Switzerland it is such an amazing country. We did look at working as a chalet couple but decided we shouldn't work too much on a career break.

I was begining to think I was looking at the wrong sites when people were saying we could be kitted out for £100. Maybe we could shave a bit off the budget but looking the part is the most important thing right? Hahaha

Do all the seasonnaires still wear fluorescent colours? I hope so because other wise I am going to look quite silly.

@TQA, the rep job sounds ok. But from the link you posted it looks pretty full time. How would I get just a day and a half of work?
ski holidays
 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
@Kenzie, we like the idea of taking the train if we end up leaving the car at home.

Maybe stupidly I have already bought boots. I have horrendously wide feet. I think i was 111ml wide when i got measured. I got the Atomic hawk magna 110 flex. I had them custom fitted with insoles. They do still seem very tight while i have had them on round the house. I am going to use them at the local dry ski slope, then keep going back to get the fit adjusted.

I think i may need also need a heel lift as i have very tight achilles tendons.

Has anyone else ever needed or used one of these?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
@Gear_Junkie, as your girlfriend hasn't skied before, it might be worth investing in a week away in the summer to one of the glaciers, it's going to be different weather but may give you the chance to see if if it's going to work, your potentially spending a lot of money for the season, and need to make sure it's the right thing for both of you.
As for budget on clothes, buy budget stuff now from decathlon etc, and top up out there if needed.
snow report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Afaik most [extra] transfer reps work a day or a day and half. They get the departing guests on to the coaches. Sort them out in the airport. Greet the new cattle [oops sorry] guests and get them onto the right coaches. During the transfer they flog passes ski school etc On arrival they make sure the right cattle get dropped at the right accommodation.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Gämsbock wrote:
We have discussed hypothetically if we would do it again, and have come to the conclusion that we'd probably not work if we did it again, or not running a chalet at least.


After a couple of seasons that's the conclusion I came to. Better not to work and do it properly.

I couldn't ski every day these days, well not how I like to ski, so my job is good for bad weather days, resting etc. With the last few years poor snow it has not been a bad thing.

If I were doing another season I would have more of a plan of what I wanted to get out of it, of having some objectives. It could be a simple thing like passing slalom tests (not ET or TT) but having an objective means that you will focus more, I find.
ski holidays
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Gear_Junkie Learn some (more) French and make friends with the locals. Many of the instructors / resort workers will live in BSM and other valley towns and you could make some useful contacts, e.g. to share a car to other resorts, get some technique tips etc. Even better if have anything (practical / knowledge) you can offer in return.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Any advice on how to learn french?

I have been using duolingo but have found it helps with vocab but not how to talk/form sentences.

I won't be able to afford 1 to 1 lessons so any other options?
ski holidays
 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@Gear_Junkie, do you have a university close by in the UK? I had some 1-1 lessons very cheaply over the summer from a PhD student who was bilingual.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@Gear_Junkie, Babbel is a structured course that gives you the grammar and other info you need. It’s not free, but look around for a discount or offer, or get on their mailing list and they’ll probably send you one eventually. Duolingo is good for vocabulary, but doesn’t give you much else.

Also have a look for a local Tandem group on Facebook. You offer to help someone learn your language in return for help with theirs. It’s free, you just meet for coffee or something.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Je voudrais sept lapins s'il vous plait.


Pretty much all the French you'll ever need right there.
ski holidays
 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Is that

I would like 7 rabbits please??
ski holidays
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@Gear_Junkie, well, you did say you were looking to eat on the cheap!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Gear_Junkie, if you live in a city then for language exchange have a look at meetup.com.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@Dave of the Marmottes, I was at my friend's house some years ago shortly after he had moved in with his French girl friend. She was nipping out to the shops and he asked her to get some lapin for lunch. She clearly understood franglaise and bought some bread instead.

Incidently I did not think buying rabbits in a shop was cheap.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Gear_Junkie wrote:
Any advice on how to learn french?

...


Is this any help? http://www.frenchlearner.com/learn-french-on-youtube/
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I quite like duolingo, not particularly for the vocabulary but I think it's pretty good on getting your grammar right too which has helped me a lot. It definitely isn't aimed at teaching you useful phrases though if that is what you're looking for.

I also use frantastique and again it is pretty heavy on getting my grammar up to scratch. I can refer people for a month of free lessons if anyone would like, so just let me know.

In a similar vein to duolingo, but different enough that you might prefer it is memrise. I use that if I'm going somewhere new and need to get some useful phrases sorted before I go, but I think it will take you much further than that if you stick with it.

To be honest it doesn't really matter which of these tools you use, the important thing is the one they all have in common: daily practice.
snow conditions
 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Does anyone think there's a market for a French language app/website geared towards ski holidays ? Covering things like, travel, restaurants/bars, booking snow sports lessons, and phrases to be used in the lesson etc ?
ski holidays
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Little Martin wrote:
Does anyone think there's a market for a French language app/website geared towards ski holidays ? Covering things like, travel, restaurants/bars, booking snow sports lessons, and phrases to be used in the lesson etc ?

Nope. Most people you meet will speak English and trump your poor attempts to speak the lingo. If you only ever do holidays in France you'll never really learn. And if you ever marry a German, like wot I dun, it will screw up the basic French you never really used in the first place. The good news is she also speaks proper French!

Razz Laughing snowHead Smile
snow conditions
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
johnE wrote:
@Dave of the Marmottes, I was at my friend's house some years ago shortly after he had moved in with his French girl friend. She was nipping out to the shops and he asked her to get some lapin for lunch. She clearly understood franglaise and bought some bread instead.



why?
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
davidof wrote:
johnE wrote:
@Dave of the Marmottes, I was at my friend's house some years ago shortly after he had moved in with his French girl friend. She was nipping out to the shops and he asked her to get some lapin for lunch. She clearly understood franglaise and bought some bread instead.

why?

Pain is masculine, Baguette is feminine.... as a French person why and they'll answer "because it is"
snow report
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
You may already be aware but there are a couple of very good groups on facebook for the area:
what's on in the tarentaise valley and a les arcs seasonaire group.
ski holidays
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
First of all, congratulations. What an opportunity!

If you can avoid working...what about volunteering? Would allow you to set your schedule and learn some French, meet other people.

Lessons: Yes.
French: Up to you, but you can certainly get by without it. It's a hard language to learn -- as someone who's been here for 5 years, it waxes and wanes for me.
Buy cheap gear.
Make all your own food, but don't forget to splurge on a good mountain lunch once in a while.
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You wouldn't normally ask for 'le pain' though, it should be 'du pain'.
ski holidays
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@Hells Bells, Yes I know he messed up on a number of counts. It was just funny at the time.
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