 Poster: A snowHead
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I wonder if any of you have stayed in chalets with Ski Guide/hosts laid on.
Did you find it an advantage to have someone who could show you the slopes? Did you or other guests make use of them every day, or generally prefer to head off and do your own thing?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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fragglerock, We offer hosting to our guests and find that some weeks they want to ski all day some weeks just the morning and sometimes (but very rarely) not use the service at all!
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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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I've skied with hists on a number of occasions, sometimes when I've gone as a single others when gone with a mate and on the whole it's a good laugh and you get to find bits you wouldn't always find or do more challenging runs at higher speeds! Another advantage is that hosts know how to avoid queues. Generally people stick with a guiding group unless they've got family / friends to meet elsewhere in ski school etc.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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When offered a guide in a new resort we would take up their offer of a tour around the pistes on the first day to orientate ourselves but that would be all.
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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 just the 4 of us we often use the services as it makes things very social, and great for meeting folks. If in a big group we sometimes commandeer our own if they are a good laugh. We had one in Les Menuires at Easter called Jason who was a hoot and really added to the fun of the holiday. I knew my way around and sometimes we would split into 2 groups. Twas brill.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Wed 19-09-07 9:19; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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We've skied with the guides particularly when they are offering to go somewhere a bit differenttop the "normal" runs. We've always enjoyed it and would do it again.
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Probably better to call them chalet "ski hosts" - as opposed to "guides".
A ski guide is a totally different thing - and is qualified to take you off piste.
Training to become a fully qualified "ski guide" takes about 10 years.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Wed 19-09-07 9:04; edited 1 time in total
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Where I've stayed a few times, they do what I would call informal guiding. It all depends on the requirements of the guests, whether there are children to get to ski school, the skill level of the guests, etc.
One week may be packed so they put the emphasis on getting the beginners to school or the easy slopes, and then might agree to meet up for a blast after lunch. Another week could be empty (once there were just 3 of us sneaking a quick week away from work), so they did a mix of catching up on paperwork and getting some extra turns in, knowing that the following week was packed out.
Certainly helps as a quick intro to a new area, not just for the slopes, but to point out best/worst places to stop for coffee and lunch, and also helps with the social side in a mixed chalet.
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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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fragglerock, we offer ski-hosting and we find that take-up does vary depending on the guest's experience of the resort, a lot of our guests are repeat bookings and some have been with us for a few years so they tend to know the slopes fairly well. Although we do sometimes get asked to take guests to a different resorts or to arrange some off-piste or heli skiing, when that happens we arrange for a qualified guide to take the group, the French can get a bit upset at the use of ski-hosts as in some resorts, usually the larger ones, they regard ski-hosting as an infringement on their franchise. We also offer ski-randonee where guests can ski off-piste at a different Tarentaise reosrt every day, for that service we contract with local guides.
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we used guides in new places, and also during the time when the kids wanted to get away on their own, but we didn't want to just cut them loose. They liked to join in on the "fast" days and feel they had outpaced us. We had a very good one in La Rosiere, many moons ago, on a week of almost solid fog. He managed to get us round the resort, and also gave us "ski tips" as he was qualified to do so, and because the fog was too thick for anyone to see him! He promised us that the practice in the fog would make us much better skiers when the sun came out and kept our spirits up in what could have been a gloomy sort of week. He was good value. We had one somewhere else, can't remember where, who swapped skis with a guest who broke a binding and skied down on one leg. That was impressive. He made a good cake, too. I wouldn't go, or let kids go, with any such "host" who took people off piste.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Don't ever assume they know what they are talking about if it relates to safety. Years ago when I knew almost nothing about snow craft, after a lunch on the slopes, a ski host advised me of an off-piste way I could go to avoid walking back up to the piste. It was an extremely high avalanche risk (hot-day afternoon after a heavy snowfall) and I found myself alone on a convex slope with a small cliff and pinnacles below and avalanche barriers a bit further accross the slope. A crack suddenly appeared in the snow above me, and the snow below avalanched and went over the edge.
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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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snowball, Perhaps he knew exactly what he was doing, and just didn't like you 
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My first experience of ski guiding was actually Snowandtrek and she is excellent. safe, knowledgable and she knows all the good places in the PDS. I think its a great way to find your way round as long as you concentrate on your surroundings and route, if you just play follow the guy in front its frustrating impossible to find that "really nice run we did yesterday" 
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You know it makes sense.
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alex_heney, Damn, you're right. But I thought I was such a Nice guy! 
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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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I have found that in recent times, the hosts will NOT take you off piste. They seem to have set rules within the companies, and rightly so.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Frosty the Snowman, I think that that is a firm rule. But the guy didn't TAKE me off-piste.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I used to be a ski host in Morzine -
I had the privelege of Guiding Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet fame for a week! He did like his tight "gold" one piece somewhat - good skier though, and bought me a nice lunch each day 
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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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Is that "True"? 
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brian
brian
Guest
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laundryman, had you down as more of an "old romantic" ? 
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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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I quite like skiing with the 'Hosts/Guides' especially if I haven't been to a resort before and don't have a scooby as to where's good to ski, plus I've met some nice people on guiding groups. It's good as a no brainer as to where to ski, makes things very relaxing as I don't have to decide where to go.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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personally I find skiing in a group bigger than about 4 people is painful for more than a couple of runs - you spend way more time regrouping than skiing. If I'm somewhere new then it has sometimes seemed a good idea to go out with a ski host but in practice we always break off pretty quickly
the notable exception to this was a Canadian guy at Whistler who acted as a kind of travel agent on-line - organised transfers, accommodation, few lifts around resorts, did some shopping for our arrival. My wife and I skiied with him for a couple of afternoons and had a lot of fun, found some places that we would not have got to. Of course this was a very small group and you have none of the off-piste problems in Canada
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I think that ski-hosting can be a really good way of getting to know the mountain and being sociable at the same time. I have done a lot of hosting and always find that it is one of the nicest ways to get to know your guests. Some weeks it is really popular and others you don't get so much demand as it very much depends on the ability level of the group that are staying. It is something that we think works really well though and we are going to be stepping up our ski-hosting service this season by employing a dedicated ski host as we think it will definately add something to our holidays. We've not employed anyone yet so if your tempted get in touch........
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snowball, yeah but he still gave you bad advice.
I repped/"hosted" for 3 seasons. Would never have taken a group off piste (except down the "alternative wall" once it had been well skied in - safer IMV than the "ordinary" wall if busy). I had no skills and most guests wouldn't have appreciated the joys of powder or crud on skiinny skis.
It being late 80's/early 90's and in a large domain, we found that most groups wanted at least a day being shown around sectors they probably wouldn't have ventured to themselves (just cos they were far away, no other reason).
Somewhere like the PDS, 3V, V&T it's got to be an invaluable service as the areas just so big if you're not there all the time you are unlikely to know where's best to go when.
Champoluc? Maybe useful just cos the lift map's so crap.
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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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Interesting reading thank you all.
As noticed by some my question was *slightly* loaded as I am thinking of applying for such a position!
I really want the miles skied such experience would give, I am sure that more experienced skiers will take all the jobs though, I only have 7 weeks + a season working in a Chalet.
Thanks again!
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fragglerock, if you want miles skied, get a job washing dishes at night. Leaves you free to ski all day. Hosting means skiing for other people all day. I enjoyed that, but millions don't...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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fragglerock,
Negotiate hard with Katski and ensure you get a 6 inch clause written into your contract. ( )
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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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fragglerock, Ski hosting can be very rewarding but when all your mates are thigh deep in powder and you are cruising the blues/reds you may feel that as David Murdoch, says another type of job gets you more of the skiing you may want !!
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When I hosted the guests only had 3 days over the week, sometimes they didn't want all this - so gave me plenty of time for free skiing, but also plenty of free lunches. Funnily enough the most rewarding was taking the kids out and thrashing them about for a few hours - they loved that!
You do have to have your responsible hat on at times as I had someone break their leg, and a teenager with a bad concusion who didn't know what day or where he was!
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FAQ
