 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Swirly, theres no way I could do a whole season without shafting my career. However, I'm having a chat with my boss next week and amongst other things I want to discuss taking 2-3 months off unpaid next winter 
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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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Swirly, I'd love to and L2A would be perfect for taking in some lessons with easiski, which I'd like to do at some point. But, trust me, you wouldn't want to share an apartment with your granny. 
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Hurtle, if you did move in, I'd bet that you'd crack before he did! 
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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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maggi, er, crack what, exactly?
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Hurtle, actually, I meant crack as in, "That's it! I've had it! I'm out of here!"
But if you're thinking of something else .......... 
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maggi,
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I'd also love to do a season/part of and having fun is non negotiable for me too. I have the same possible issues as philw on the career front however. Not sure about L2A as I recently met up with a friend who did a season there previously and she said that a lot of them found the area too small, but I am definately no expert on the best resorts as I have a lot left to visit.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Swirly, don't work. if you are travelling alone you'll find lots of people looking to share accomodation or take a car and live just slightly out of town and save a good deal of money. Do your own accomodation finding, the rooms and flats offered by many of the season accomodation finders are pretty expensive and do well with lazy or busy people who can't be bothered or don't have time to put a flat share together. I'd e-mail the tourist office in the resort you want to stay in, when you find a flat you could post on SH's for a flat buddy. Good luck
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Swirly, Our current intention is to do another season ( but In Switzerland). Not sure it will come off though.
We got our apartment for last season in December - have started looking already for next season but very little yet appears to be available,
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Agenterre, Which part of Switzerland are you looking in ?
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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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Swirly, We're already doing it, and LDA was one of our preferred options - the La Grave/Easiski factor among other things! However have ended up elsewhere. I'd echo the advice as regards what Frosty, said about finding your own accommodation. Based on our limited experience, cost/quality balance will be substantially better if you put in the 'legwork' now and DIY. (We found ours by wading through the various owner sites - www.holiday-rentals.co.uk , www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.homelidays.com, www.chalet-montagne.com, www.ownersdirect.co.uk etc) and if you're at all fussy about what kind of accomm you end up in - relevant particularly if you're planning to 'sell on' spare space try to go and have a look - things are not always what they seem from the adverts and what would be OK for a week would be hell for a season !!! (Admittedly as we are a family, we perhaps have different /more precise needs) We started looking seriously in February and went out to see places in the April school break. As Agenterre, alludes, many places already had enquiries for particularly the Christmas/New Year and UK half term weeks and were holding them off until we'd reached a decision so if you're including those weeks in your plans then it is definitely NOT too early to be thinking about it. Several people were happy to make a VERY significant reduction in rental if we arrived after New Year or were prepared to let them have the accommodation back for the february week so arriving late and/or swanning off somewhere less crowded at half term (exploring other bits of France?) could potentially save you shedloads!
Good luck whatever you decide to do.
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philw, let me know how that suggestion turns out!
Skibabys, L2A's not a definite although I'd have thought there was plenty there for a season when you get La Grave (and AdH??) on your lift pass. I don't really care where I go. Agenterre, Switzerland would be a possibility I'm not tied down to anywhere.
Hurtle, age isn't an issue (philw, shut up) I imagine that if I'm in a resort for a season I'd revert to my fairly boring home routine of in bed by 12 most nights  put another way I'd hope my EoSB bar bill would equate to at least 6 weeks total living expenses!
Annie, thanks for the advice, I've read your posts on this with interest over the last few months and that's one of the factors involved in me pulling my finger out now, it's useful to know that if I move out for Feb half term I could save a lot, I've never been on the slopes that week and don't particularly want to! I'm looking at driving out anyway. Personally I can sleep anywhere and in some respects smaller is better as it forces my to keep everything tidy: with space I tend to spread, however, a sofa for visiting people would be a bonus.
Staying out of resort wouldn't be a bad idea, I know BernardC does that staying in La Roche although that may be part of the La Plagne lift system now. I wouldn't be that adverse to living in BSM which has the funicular access to Les Arcs although I imagine the social side there would be less.
As a darkslider easiski wasn't one of the factors in choosing L2A although it had crossed my mind to have a lesson just to learn the area.
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You know it makes sense.
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Swirly, I think the pass will also give you access to Serre Chevalier and a couple of other places. You'd be going some to run out of ski areas!! Please make sure the sofa's comfy...
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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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any more thought on this Swirly ? the summer will fly along and before you know it the snow will be falling again
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Poster: A snowHead
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rayscoops, I've had one tentative yes so am now looking for accommodation. 
philw, how was the chat with the boss?
Skibabys, any further thoughts?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Swirly, the chat with my boss went really well, until I mentioned taking winter off un-paid!! Basically it wouldn't happen and I can't justify leaving my job (just yet).
So I'll be taking almost all of my holidays during next winter like I did this year.
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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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philw, That is bad news. Interesting though. Do you work for a large or small organisation?
Reason I ask is that we are an SME and have granted sabaticals to key people as a retention strategy. Basically with enough notice I feel that any company sould be able to put in place plans for any absence. One of my key employees is currently in middle of a 7 month unpaid stint (he took 6 weeks 3 years ago).
We are all replacable and anyway it is only work..... 
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Mouth, it's a multi-national corporate that I work for. I will just have to pursue a move to one of our offices within easy reach of snow!
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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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Swirly, where are you going to go? Do you know yet? I've thought about going somewhere for the season too but for now I've booked a couple of weeks in Jan anyway. Are you looking to stay in resort and pay more or stay outside and drive to and from various places like the other thread suggested?
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I don't want to be tied to one resort for the winter (or 6 or 7 weeks of it) but I do like the idea of taking my car and travelling around various resorts for a few weeks, taking in the birthday Bash, the MSB (depending where/when it is) and a week in Zermatt.
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rich.ll, Hmmm yes there is that. I think 3 weeks in one place might be enough for me....but who knows until I get there. I did enjoy my 2 week jaunt to Val D last month where of course I saw you briefly on the slopes. Hello. Especially on the Saturday/Sunday when everyone else was going home after their week and I was there for another week. That was good despite being woken up by the suitcases clanging past the door. Won't stay there again anyway, what a tatty dump it was for the money.
Anyway, you can get quite a number of weeks in even on holidays if you book earlyish with flights, lift passes and decent chalet board accomodation included near the slopes too. I've found this out for a reasonable cost IMO even with single supplements and stuff. I'm going to do that next season, saving up as we speak. The only thing about it is the flying back home and the time waiting around at airports and stuff although it is good to go home and check on the house, open the post etc.
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VolklAttivaS5, L2A, staying in resort, on balance I think the extra cost is worth it especially for my first season.
rich.ll, I don't think it would be possible to get bored in a resort in one season especially one so extensive. The lift pass also covers AdH and Serre Che AFAIK as well as La Grave so there's tonnes to do! I'll have a car with me so moving around won't be a problem.
philw, I thought "6 weeks wasn't enough"! That's a real shame though.
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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: |
| philw, I thought "6 weeks wasn't enough"! That's a real shame though. |
It's not! 
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Do it! But don't presume you will do one season and get it out of your system.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
| Do it! But don't presume you will do one season and get it out of your system. |
A useful warning. My son, who has done two already, is thrilled to have found out that he can probably jiggle around the funding for a Ph D to do the same number of months over a longer time, with spells in the Alps in the winters. He wouldn't be able to afford not to work, and in fact cooking really upmarket food is something he really enjoys. We've spent six seasons now (except for the peak holiday weeks) in the same rather small ski area and not got bored yet. I can't imagine, at the moment, not spending winters in the mountains. I might get it out of my system one day, I suppose, or will become incapable of doing it. Go for it.
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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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| pam w wrote: |
| A useful warning. |
Very useful, not trying to tempt me at all!
I've just got to work out a way that I can balance my career aspirations with such breaks. I should probably also mention that it's not so long since I left university (and yes I regret not taking a "Gap Year", but that’s another story), so although I've managed to forge a quite unique role in my global team, I feel I need to rack up some years in experience before I am comfortable with escaping for the winter, and contracting in the summer. At present leaving my current position to do a season would be a serious step back given that my employer is the world leader in their industry, but, I can also quite reasonably understand the unwillingness of them to allow me take a winter season off. Technologically a hell of a lot can change in those 5 months!
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pam w, sorry to be a possible parade-rainer, but has your son checked this with his department? Departments can be penalised if students do not complete PhDs within a prescribed timeframe.
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You know it makes sense.
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vetski, pam w,personally I'd tell him not to bother with the PhD, it's hard enough to convince some supervisors that you need one week off and I've yet to meet anyone who's taken their yearly allowance in full each year: a couple have in the first year but even then they're in a small minority. What subject is he working on? That may affect his chances more than anything else.
philw, any chance of a move to Geneva? How about convincing them that Bourg St Maurice is at the forefront of technological development
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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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Swirly, He's just finishing an M Sc - neuroscience/robotics. He took a year out in the middle of his first degree, too, at the same uni, so the department do know him quite well. There were several years between his A levels and his first degree, and then another gap before the M Sc - he's over 30 now. Keeps taking time out to go travelling, skiing, cooking, etc then goes back and does some education! It was at a uni talk about Ph Ds that he learnt about the possibility of having X months funding but spreading it over X + Y months. Obviously he would have to square it with the uni - and he hasn't got the funding yet either - but he's planning ahead!! He's good at multi-tasking. Last month he spent a weekend doing two big sushi events (that's another of the strings to his bow) then got back Sunday evening, had a shower and spent the rest of the night finishing his assignment in computational neuroscience. Makes me feel weary, personally, but he works best under pressure. That's why he likes cooking great food.
His big brother, also in electronics (chip design) wonders when his little brother will "settle down". He has a mortgage, 2.5 children and would also be very concerned, like philw, about missing chunks of work, from the point of view of missing out on the technology, being very much at the cutting edge of what he is doing and constantly learning. But Nick isn't thinking of 5 months off - probably more like 2 months; he has contacts in Val D'Isere having freelanced there as a chef two winters now - and he gets well paid, 600 euros a week at least, plus accomm etc. He wouldn't do the whole season but thinks that 6 or 8 weeks each winter would refresh him mentally to get on with his studies!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, first post but i've been reading snowheads for a while. I definetly want to do a season and i'm looking for likeminded people. Would prefer to go somewhere in Switzerland or Austria to improve my German but dont really mind too much. I'm also in a fortunate position where i'll be able to work remotely from my laptop so plenty of time for skiing. Oh yeah I'm 22 and love to party!! Love to get something sorted so lets do it!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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pam w, fair enough, providing he has an almost unhealthy interest in the field he'll be ok. I'm in my final year in the lab atm then have one more year after (unpaid) to write up. However, I didn't take the opportunity to have a year out and travel, although I've had a couple I've worked (still in science) for both of them and now I'm sick of it!
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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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Cool, whereabouts in France you thinking?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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If you are under 25: work. Make chums and get the ride.
If you are over 25: do not work. You will look like an old loser.
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If you can get away with not working I highly recommend being a full on bum. Many jobs are not as flexible as most would like and some people end up working all the time and hardly getting any time on the mountain (which is why you'll be wanting to do a season).
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Whitegold, oh yes? And how do you suggest we old gits feed ourselves and pay the mortgage? I am far too decrepit to live in an igloo and rake in bins for food.
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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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rayscoops, I have swapped running hotels (not chalets, note) for working in a supermarket, and I haven't had a permanent job since First Choice made me redundant three years ago. I assume this makes me some kind of uber-loser.
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FAQ
