 Poster: A snowHead
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NickW, yeah. Wot you said.
I'm a punter. A punter. A punter loud and proud. .....
Don't care what the locals/seasonaires call me. I'm a paying customer, and the term "punter" is simply a linguistic turn on the phrase.
I would point out that I can't stand the typical week-long punters who act as if the Alps is their Britain-on-Snow (and all THAT entails...).
And if *I*, as a punter, find them awful to be around for just 1 week, then imagine what it's like to be around them ALL season! Tests the patience of even the best-trained and suited customer rep....
Thankfully there are also plenty of British skiers who don't conform to that awful image. I like them. I imagine other punters and resort workers like them too. It's just that the nicer kind of punter (precisely coz they're not being awful) doesn't draw attention to him/herself. The squeaky wheel gets the oil an' all that.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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When I am a punter I hope I'm a nice one.
I hate to say but I reckon many 20-somethings have a bit of an "attitude". In my day (sic) some of my "co-workers" were quite scathing about the paying guests. I also recall bawling out one of my staff for referring to one guest as a punter in front of some other guests.
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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?
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
| I also recall bawling out one of my staff for referring to one guest as a punter in front of some other guests. |
I once overhead, while in the hotel's bar, one staff member talking to another staff member about a guest who they thought was a "stupid f***ing punter". Delightful...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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We are as patronising as we can be. However that's with everyone, not just the tourists. We just love taking the P!ss. 
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SMALLZOOKEEPER, you know, you sound so convincing it's almost as though you really exist. I know you don't though.
What do you reckon to naxo 21s on a pair of stormrider XLs then? Seem like a reasonable all mountain uphill and downhill rig?
Sorry, was that all completely hors-topic?
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David Murdoch,
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Sorry, was that all completely hors-topic?
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Shame on you DM 
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David Murdoch, Are you swiss? All good kit, i'd push you a little lighter and maybe slightly fatter.
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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.
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snowbunny, suitably sheepish, me.
SMALLZOOKEEPER, not for big randos just for those short hops to the summit once off the top chair. Fatter? DP Pros then? Or those Asteroids I keep harping on about?
Swiss? With a name like "Murdoch"? Although we are relocating to Geneva...how could you tell?
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David Murdoch,
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suitably sheepish, me.
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Baaa, fat chance of that. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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snowbunny, cheek!
SMALLZOOKEEPER, I'm very light and not at all fat. Or phat.
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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.
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I'd rather be a "punter" than as we are known by the TOs / budget airlines as "Self loading luggage"...
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JimW, worse, I think we're actually known as "Self Loading Freight"!
Although, extending that suggests that all pilots are cargo pilots and none of the BA drivers I know would like that!
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You know it makes sense.
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"I fail to see what a bunch of semi-professional toilet cleaners on 2 quid an hour for three months a year so they can ski on the two afternoons a week they're not hungover have got to be clever about  "
LOL! You pay peanuts you get 'resort workers'.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Most of them ski six days a week. And in addition to cleaning toilets, lots of them cook four-course dinner-party meals every night.
I'm hearing "I wish I could do it but I haven't got the balls to ditch my dull but comfy life." here.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I hope they wash their hands in between.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Lizzard wrote: |
Most of them ski six days a week. And in addition to cleaning toilets, lots of them cook four-course dinner-party meals every night.
I'm hearing "I wish I could do it but I haven't got the balls to ditch my dull but comfy life." here. |
That was my comment that Tim quoted. You can be 100% sure I don't want to do it.
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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?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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boredsurfin,
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Lizzard, I did it years ago, son!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Lizzard,
I could be wrong but don't think you make toast by boiling it. 
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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.
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DB, you could have the makings of a chalet host!
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I used to be able to 'make' toast but lost the recipe.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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So there are four catagories...
Local
Seasonnaire
Ski-bum
Punter
I'm a Punter, and couldn't give a toss what the other three think of me.
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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.
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don't think you make toast by boiling it
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Dammit, knew I was doimg something wrong.
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| Lizzard wrote: |
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don't think you make toast by boiling it
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Dammit, knew I was doimg something wrong. |
Easy mistake, it only dawned on me when the bread wouldn't fit in the kettle.
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You know it makes sense.
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DB, well it's safer than boiling water in the toaster! 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Lizzard wrote: |
Most of them ski six days a week. And in addition to cleaning toilets, lots of them cook four-course dinner-party meals every night.
I'm hearing "I wish I could do it but I haven't got the balls to ditch my dull but comfy life." here. |
I think that it's more to do with not being prepared to do a sh!tty job for sh!tty pay, just for the privilege of living in a ski resort. As seen on this site, many contributors are prepared to ditch their old lives to be closer to the mountains, it's just that they seem to have done it on a rather more considered basis.
I'm afraid that unless you own a business in the alps, or are very high up in the management structure of a tour operator, then you've not made a "life" for yourself in the alps, merely an extended leave of absence from the real world. Any business where it's considered a perk if your benefits are enough for you to afford a bedroom of your own, must be considered as providing below subsistence level wages IMO.
I think that when someone has a job that pays them enough to provide for a car, a mortgage, sick pay, holiday benefits, pensions, savings, utilities, supporting a family, and the rest of the bare minimum necessities in life then they can say that they've made a life for themselves over there, otherwise it's just a sabbatical IMO.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Kramer, your analysis sounds about right to me.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Kramer, spot on.
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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?
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Kramer,
your post is spot on - working multiple seasons for an employer is an extended gap year - nowt wrong with that but it's not making a life for yourself.
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or are very high up in the management structure of a tour operator,
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even that doesn't count because the chances are you would spend more time in head office than in the mountains.
I'm seriously thinking about how to spend more time in the mountains but the difficulty of earning sensible money means that I'm favouring the good job in London/second home in the hills route.
J
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| jedster wrote: |
| working multiple seasons for an employer is an extended gap year - nowt wrong with that but it's not making a life for yourself. |
Absolutely, good luck to all those who do it, whether it's before or after their career.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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If you want to know how to do it look no further than Ise and PG.
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I've been thinking about doing it next year. My options are take a sabbatical, get a GP job over there (which means learning French quite intensively), or possibly work as a ski host with one of the TOs.
But on the other hand, I manage five good weeks a year skiing at the moment, I could possibly just take a month off extra, and still be earning a decent wage here in the uk...
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Kramer, when I worked my seasons, back when skis were skinny and chalet girls wanted to be...I reckon I did maximum 18 days a year skiing completely for myself. I did 57 last year from London. No real comparison is there?
'
However, I do miss living nearer the Alps hence the current changes...
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It's hardly even the number of days skiing, it's the rest of your life. You want to be able to afford to eat at restaurants, buy skis, cars, goretex, wine, plasma tv's etc. And it is the rest of your life, the summer, the next 10 or 20 years.
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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.
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| Quote: |
even that doesn't count because the chances are you would spend more time in head office than in the mountains.
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Not necessarily! 
Why on earth would anyone want to spend good money on one of those? Can you not read?
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Knowing the local language is a big plus (I'm learning the hard way) - I'm pretty sure PG will agree. Not sure if Ise speaks the local lingo. Working for a company with English as the main business language makes things easier. Having a partner who speaks the local language is also a big plus.
There's a lot to be said for having a good job in the UK but getting more holidays. If you want a good career, family etc but a lot of skiing then this is a better solution than cleaning up after hotel guests.
I've had to give up a more senior status along with a drop in salary to be here in Vienna, Austria. Had to pick up the language from scratch too but as David M says I prefer to be nearer the Alps. It's theorectically possible that I could ski most days in the season (night skiing through the week at 3 to 4 hours per day and full days on the weekends) but I have to strike a balance between family and skiing. The weather in the summer is a lot better too and helps with my other addiction of Mountain biking where the hills and forests are right on my doorstep. I don't feel as though I'm living to work anymore but working less to live.
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FAQ
