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ski season without a job!!

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Where would you go?

Ok so I have a potential opportunity that in the season of 20/21 i can get a 3 month career break from work. I don't need or want to work in a resort, but need to fond good priced accommodation to base me and the good lady from. We are not party animals but do enjoy some form of apres. We are not banzai super nutter skiers, more like we enjoy a cruising red or blue with the odd challenging black, though sometimes the button lift could be more of a challenge!!!"

Looking for recommendation where to base ourselves that the skiing will offer some great variety or that better variety is a shortish bus ride away.

Thoughts please
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Whistler.
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1. Courchevel 1850 (France)
2. Verbier (Switzerland)
3. Lech (Austria)
4. Jackson Hole (US)
5. Whistler (Canada)
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@Wylie66, We did three months without working in 17/18. We got the Salzburger Superski season pass (excellent value especially if you buy before the beginning of December) and based ourselves in Flachau for the majority of the time, but also spent weeks in Kaprun, Zillertal Arena, Niederau and Westendorf. Had a great time and skied loads of different resorts.
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Wylie66 wrote:

- need to fond good priced accommodation
- We are not party animals
- We are not banzai super nutter skiers, more like we enjoy a cruising red or blue


St Martin de Belleville or perhaps La Tania (livelier and trees in case of bad weather) to access the 3V circuit? Or Morzine to access PdS?
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@Wylie66, And also, having spent seasons in France as well as Austria - we find our money goes a lot further in Austria - the often poor service and high prices in French resorts do get a bit wearing. (The difference between a happy hour French beer at 5euro or full price 6euro plus, compared to 3 to 4 euros in Austria adds up over 3 months!)
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Whitegold wrote:
1. Courchevel 1850 (France)
2. Verbier (Switzerland)
3. Lech (Austria)
4. Jackson Hole (US)
5. Whistler (Canada)


The brief was affordable Whitegold. You forgot Aspen.
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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!
The Austrian mega ski passes are hard to overlook but Bourg Saint Maurice in France a good shout also, loads of skiing close and normal prices in town.
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Austria as it's much easier to get around than France.
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Thanks for the suggestions so far, Austria certainly has a lot of appeal.
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Selle Ronda would seem to fit your skiing ambitions and budget.
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 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.
@bar_shaker now that looks a very good option... heard about it but not really looked at it till now, thanks for the heads up.
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@Wylie66, I did seasons 05/06, 06/07, 07/08 & 08/09 in Tignes without working. I wouldn't have kept going back if I hadn't had a cracking time each season.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Kenzie, +1 going back for my 7th! And lots of happy hour pints at €4 And once you get to know the resataurants that are reasonably priced and where you get good service what's not to like?
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alasdair.graham@hotmail.c wrote:
Bourg Saint Maurice in France a good shout also, loads of skiing close and normal prices in town.


Won't you end up having to pay a lot more for lift passes if you visit several resorts? Is there a region-wide season pass available?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@Kenzie, Did you do it on a budget or did you have deep pockets?
@chocksaway, love the thought of happy hour ANYWHERE Very Happy
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What about basing yourself in/close to Innsbruck so more to do outside of skiing??
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Sounds amazing Wylie. I think I'd base myself somewhere where the season ski pass covered a big area of various resorts. Then you can take advantage of conditions in many places and will almost always be skiing a new place if you so wished.
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I'd vote for the Super Salzburg pass, it covers something like 64 resorts and the beer is quite cheap Toofy Grin
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Wylie66 wrote:
@Kenzie, Did you do it on a budget or did you have deep pockets?
@chocksaway, love the thought of happy hour ANYWHERE Very Happy
l live in the West Riding of Yorkshire, so deep pockets but short arms - definitively on a budget! snowHead
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Scarpa wrote:
I'd vote for the Super Salzburg pass, it covers something like 64 resorts and the beer is quite cheap Toofy Grin
Seconded. Mine arrived last week Smile
Oh! forgot! Austria is rubbish! Don't go! Wink
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@Wylie66, Should have asked, which three months would you be looking at? It can make a difference on recommendations, especially if you are thinking of starting early (Nov/Dec) or finishing late (Apr/ May).
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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!
@Tarquin, Austria rubbish? I never recalled that Very Happy

@Kenzie, more likely after Christmas So Jan, Feb, March. Easter falls on the 4th April in 2021 so would aim to return just before then.

Anyone got pointers how to find cheap accommodation for this length of time?
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@Wylie66, I did something similar about 10 years ago and ended up (deliberately) in the peisey-vallandry end of les arcs. Check on 'lots of skiing', check on 'relatively easy for friends /family to come and see you', and as I was on my own and not working I wanted a 'small resort' so you would get to know other seasonnaires more readily. Ticked most boxes for me
At the time I hadn't done any skiing of the sella ronda, nor in Austria so if I was to go again I would consider both, but you do also want to find places that have some other brits as however good your languages might be it's nice just to relax over a beer and talk rubbish...

Wrote it up on here - https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=46330&start=253
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@Wylie66,
For those 3 months you won't be restricted on choice of resort/area.

Make a list (in order of preference) of ski areas you would like to spend 3 months in.
Work out your budget for accommodation (and what type of accommodation? Self-cater or catered) and lift passes.

Decide how you plan to get out to resort - own car, fly, snowcoach, train.

Ask on the relevant resort/area threads in the Snow Reports forum after long term accommodation prices, and prices for food/beer/entertainment etc.
For accommodation also try asking on relevant Facebook groups - eg https://www.facebook.com/groups/670519632962525/
For the two above you can also ask about getting to resort - costs, feasibility etc.

Use resort/area websites to find lift pass prices - also remembering that ski areas have different rates for local and area passes - which would you want.

Go down your preferential list of ski areas until you get a few within your budget and investigate further.


As you are looking at Jan, Feb, March you will probably have to pay for a full season's accommodation (especially for self-catered). If you were going the first 3 or last 3 months of the season you may have had more negotiation room - this is because of the difficulty in renting out an apartment for a few weeks in December & a few weeks in April as opposed to December & January or March & April.
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@bertie bassett, Just read your write up, cracking source of information. Though interesting to note how things like internet and phone use have changed substantially since you wrote up.. I find whatsapp a godsend when working abroad for home or foreign colleagues. Mobile providers scrapping roaming charges, and unlimited data, text and phone usage along with good coverage in the mountains make communication easy. One interesting point you mentioned, the exchange rate, seems it isn't that much different today rolling eyes

@Kenzie, Great tip about the accommodation, travel wise we will probably drive just so we have some freedom of movement if we need it, but as its very early planning stages anything can change.
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 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.
@wylie66 we met a family last year when were at the Kitzubuhel weekend. That's what they were doing, I think they thought it was a great base but said they had struggled to get long term accomodation. I think they said it was difficult to get a short term let in Austria so something maybe to bear in mind.
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 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
@Wylie66, Hate to mention the Brexit word but...… by Jan' 2021 we could be "out". A great deal of what we take for granted in Europe now could be lost. No roaming charges, EHIC access to health care, freedom to come and go as we please. Just saying..
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
My friend also had great difficulty finding accom in Kitzbhuel last season but he managed to get a nice double room in a shared flat, 500euro pm so it is doable
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@GeorgeVII, January 2020 if Johnson is returned with a majority next month.....☠️
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Poster: A snowHead
@GeorgeVII, The B word is banned in this discussion. It is not a problem just a solution waiting to happen Smile
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I think VolklAttivaS5 rented an apartment in St Johann im Tirol last year, so he may have some advice on how he found it.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
@sugarmoma666, she..
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For those that have done this before.. would you mind giving me a ball-Park figure for how much this cost for the season? Including accommodation, food, socialising, liftpass etc....
my wife and I have this as a in-retirement goal, but need to have an idea of the budget. £5k, £10k, £20k?
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@jamescollings, JanetS and I did 3 months in Salzburger Superski in 17/18. Costs were as follows:

Accomodation - £3000
Lift Passes - £1250
Transport - £500 (own car, approx. figure)

Apart from that food and beer which we would have bought at home anyway, and we did not keep accurate track of that.. Beer in Austria is the same price or slightly cheaper than at home, supermarket food a bit more expensive but we tended to eat a bit more simply than at home so probably did not spend much more. This though is living in the alps to go skiing - it is not holidaying with loads of meals out etc.

Remember this is for the two of us.
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@Wylie66, I'd be more than happy if the B word was banned permanently but heyho. I'm retired and did a 5 month season in Tignes 18/19. The uncertainty surrounding said word is what stopped me from repeating that exercise this year.

You have to commit to a certain amount of expenditure quite early in the year if you want to nail down accommodation etc in a popular resort. At the time I would have been securing a studio let the £ was at euro 1.07.

Pound has recovered (1.16 'ish at the moment) but it's not improbable that it could tank again. My point is simply that you may have to factor in some margins for your outlay.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
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@jamescollings, I will send you a PM.



SENT......


Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Sun 24-11-19 13:11; edited 1 time in total
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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!
@RobinS, Where did you stay when you did your three months in Salzburger Superski?
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A snowhead who has an apartment in Flachau no longer commercially rented out let us rent it for the weeks she or friends were not using it on a "do all the cleaning and leave it ready for use" basis for a reasonable rent, the other weeks when she or friends were using it we looked around for cheap apartments in other random smaller resorts - we paid between 250 and 350 euros per week for these.
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@RobinS, Ok thanks for that.
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