 Poster: A snowHead
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My Niece( 18 ) has decided she wants to do a season as she's doing a gap year. I'm not sure the best place for her to apply and I know that there are chalet owners on here. Can someone point us in the right direction? Thanks in Advance
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Brexit aside.
The best places are TOs like Skiworld. However she has left it late for this season unless she has cooking skills.
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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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Working in the Alps sucks.
You work like a slave and get no skitime.
Advise your niece to get a 10k loan from mom and pop and go bum for the season.
Much better to ski 150 days from Dec to Apr, than work from Dec to Apr, make the chalet owner rich, and maybe get 30 days' riding if you're lucky.
Shirk, not work.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@marksovereign, There are still plenty of jobs advertised on Seasonworkers.com and skijobs.com but as an 18yo she will probably have to go with a big company, independents prefer older staff. Most suitable jobs will be gone by now, but with the uncertainty there may still be something for her.
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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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@Whitegold, Have you tried it?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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All the chalet staff I've spoken to get to ski every afternoon on work days, plus a full day on their day off... 
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@Whitegold always comes up with that kind of stuff. We all know people who have successfully combined work and skiing in the Alps. My son included. Doing it on borrowed money is for spoiled brats.
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+1
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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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Our son is applying for winter jobs at the moment, this will be his 3rd season.
There seems to be quite a bit on offer still, although some of the big operators have cut back on their chalets and chalet-hotels in France for this season.
Not sure how much of this is Brexit and how much is the French authorities applying the law when it comes to minimum wage and working hours.
His 2 seasons so far have been in chalet-hotels, waiting-on and cleaning.
Last season he got 2 full days off every week and got 4 hours skiing every other day except transfer day.
He reckons it's a much easier life working in a chalet-hotel compared to running a small chalet on your own.
There seems to be a move by some operators towards paying minimum wage but making staff buy there own flights, accommodation and lift passes this year.
Not a problem provided you don't jack, get sacked or injured at the start of the season.
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Thanks all for your input , she has some stuff to go at now.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks all for your input , she has some stuff to go at now.
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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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nice idea but white gold but you may be missing the point.
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One thing to watch out for is that in France you are entitled to either two full days or one full and two half days off per week, but some employers are still abusing the regulations and only offering one day off.
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You know it makes sense.
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@marksovereign, defo left too late for chalet staff.
Decide on a resort, write to all the bar owners. Can she speak a language other than EN?
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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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@under a new name, Not necessarily too late, we got chalet jobs mid October last year, though we can drive and cook.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| RobinS wrote: |
| @under a new name, Not necessarily too late, we got chalet jobs mid October last year, though we can drive and cook. |
I'd agree with this, more so this year with uncertainty over who will be able to work for how long in Europe this winter.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My son and his girlfriend did ski season in Les Gets last season. They worked hard, sure, but skied most days, partied hard and had a great time. They worked for a company called Rush adventures, who treated them really well and took them for days out skiing on glaciers and other things, like paragliding, which they'd never normally got to do. They didn't get the job until quite late on, so worth applying still. Cooking skills will really help, though
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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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| Quote: |
Working in the Alps sucks.
You work like a slave and get no skitime.
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This man is an idiot.
I skied 5 half days and 1 full day per week for the entire season when I worked in chalets. Ski fitness (and lack of money for lunches!) meant I got as much in the half day as most skiers do in a full day.
Yes I worked hard.
So what?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@jedster, Agree with you and several other regulars on here Whitegold is just a total knob when it comes to this kind of thing. I've worked I think now 14 winter seasons, and get almost as much skiing as I want. Admittedly I do sometimes miss out when work needs doing but it's better to have someone else pay for your skiing than have to pay for it yourself!
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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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Lol.
Here come all the seasonaire heroes who save sleep for when they're dead 
Simple math.
There are 56 skiing hours in a week.
You work fulltime, you do 40 hours a week.
That leaves 16 hours max per week.
You do a 16-week working season.
That is 32 days of sliding.
Takeaway a few days for rest or injury.
Most season workers end up doing 30 days of proper riding at best.
Meanwhile, the chalet owner gets rich, and you slave like a dog, scrubbing toilets at 8 in the morning.
Of course, there are some lucky jobs, like evening kitchen slave or flexitime accountant.
But most suck.
Minimum wage. Minimum ski.
Do yourself a favor -- shirk, not work.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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^^^^^^
Lol.
I’m going to adopt that catch cry.
Shirk - don’t work.
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@Whitegold, You have NO IDEA. Pathetic.
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@Whitegold,
If your calcs were anywhere near accurate, the British ski industry would grind to a halt in a matter of months. Brit seasonaires are generally far from stupid. The skiing is the deal, no ski no deal. They work early and late, leaving the days free to ski ya fool. 
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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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@Whitegold, do you even ski? have you ever been to a ski area?
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I work for a large tour operator in a back office role in Chamonix. I work a standard 40 hr 8-5 week with 2 days off and a normal amount of annual leave, some of which I take in winter.
I skied 45 (full) days last season. A chalet host or rep who isn't an idiot (ie can get their head round their job quickly and isn't getting smashed every night) Can get at least 4 hours skiing every day apart from transfer day.
Furthermore, our reps save more money doing seasons than they ever did in the UK and the pay is pretty decent. I can only speak for our company however and I know that some other companies have treated their employees badly in the past. We're very hot on staying abreast of regulations regarding pay etc though (which is why we pretty much don't run a program in Switzerland any more).
One thing to note is that we have a very itchy HR trigger finger and if you're not pulling your weight you'll soon hear about it. Seasonnaires soon get sorted into Skiers and Drinkers anyway. We have plenty of reps who ski 5 or 6 time a season. Christ knows why, there's booze at home!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Whitegold wrote: |
Lol.
Here come all the seasonaire heroes who save sleep for when they're dead
Simple math.
There are 56 skiing hours in a week.
You work fulltime, you do 40 hours a week.
That leaves 16 hours max per week.
You do a 16-week working season.
That is 32 days of sliding.
Takeaway a few days for rest or injury.
Most season workers end up doing 30 days of proper riding at best.
Meanwhile, the chalet owner gets rich, and you slave like a dog, scrubbing toilets at 8 in the morning.
Of course, there are some lucky jobs, like evening kitchen slave or flexitime accountant.
But most suck.
Minimum wage. Minimum ski.
Do yourself a favor -- shirk, not work. |
Note you assume that chalet breakfasts and dinners are taken when the lifts are open - which chalet companies have you holidayed with?
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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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@Whitegold,
Ok I get the gag - you are trying to be a cretin!
Chalet staff do most of their work when the lifts are shut. That is the point!
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You know it makes sense.
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I am pretty much the last person to agree with most of what @Whitegold posts, but for once, he is making a reasonable point. Which is to think carefully about whether just to borrow the money for a season (and yes, do some part-time work if the opportunity arises to repay the loan or cover living expenses). This could be a loan that benefits both sides e.g. repaying 5% which nett is a lot more than most cash deposits can return. Some families will have this sort of money and some families will be happy to do this as a loan.
The other thought is to go the whole hog and get a loan to qualify as an instructor. Coming out of a Gap Year with a qualification is no bad thing. It'd show to a prospective employer that she has an inclination to set a useful goal and work towards it, rather than just have a good time. Again, this could be done on a loan basis. But your neice has to want to do this - I suspect it's not for someone only vaguely interested.
Finally, she might consider taking a winter break self-funded, by working for a couple of years and saving the money. Then, say, doing a ski break between jobs Jan-April or similar. Yes, I know that at that point, she may want to do other things with the money she's saved, but she'd have the option. I had a colleague who did an extreme version of this: he waited 'till he was 30 then rented his flat out for a year to pay his mortgage, and used savings to do a North/South Hemisphere ski & travel holiday. But his case is obviously exceptional.
I'm not saying she should do any of these things. Just give it some thought as an alternative and perhaps to help her reflect on what she wants to get out of the exercise.
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Tue 17-09-19 14:37; edited 1 time in total
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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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@LaForet, Reasoned argument. Not Whitegolds strong point though.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Whitegold is talking out of his ar*e as usual.
One of the big things about working in a hotel/chalet is that you get to make loads of new friends and party/ski/live with them, it's like being back at Uni without the studying (and with skiing!!).
If you get a loan from your parents, you're on your own.
All of the staff at all the hotels I've stayed in had plenty of ski time. It's one thing I really wish I'd done and anyway a bit of hard work never did anyone any harm.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@HoneyBunny, Careful now. Whitgold just might get it? though I doubt 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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Ha, if only I had the opportunity to do a season. My niece is emailing as we speak!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@marksovereign, I hope she has tried all the usual sites IE Natives, Seasonworkers/com, Workaseason.com. Coolworks/com bestjobs.co.uk Silverswan recruitment. Skijobs.co.uk. Good Luck
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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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| marksovereign wrote: |
| Ha, if only I had the opportunity to do a season. My niece is emailing as we speak! |
A good start!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@marksovereign, And if she doesn't get a job for the start of the season, there are often opportunities just after New Year when some of the staff have decided it's not their cup of tea, or been sent home either injured or cos they're not doing the job properly.
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| Quote: |
And if she doesn't get a job for the start of the season, there are often opportunities just after New Year when some of the staff have decided it's not their cup of tea, or been sent home either injured or cos they're not doing the job properly.
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This. If she has enough saved up (or has a rich uncle!) and is thinking of doing things independently, then the best thing to do is to get out to a resort at the beginning of December, sort out accommodation for a month to six weeks and start knocking on doors. If you are still around in January, your job competition will have gone home or got a job already. When you get out there, make a beeline for all TO senior reps (they will be swamped so be nice) and let them know about your availability for emergencies, airport transfers, etc., if they ever need a hand.
It used to be that 18 was too young for a lot of holiday companies, but things may have changed with staff shortages these days.
Foreign language helps and, as ever, normal to good looks and personality are a plus.
Umm, trying to be delicate about this... Having done 30+ winter seasons, including several in chalet resorts, I'm not sure that I would be encouraging an 18-year-old relative to do a winter unless they were self-confident, outgoing and mature. It would be a bit young for some people and the available temptations are many and varied. (But, to be fair, so they would be on other gap year options - it's just that ski resorts can be a bit of a pressure cooker.)
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