 Poster: A snowHead
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As per thread title, I've noticed many people on  s go on two or even more ski trips per season. I'm so jealous I'm wondering how this is possible...
For me, it's a hard slog saving up the money to go skiing so much so that I don't even manage every season. After leaving Uni in 1991, I did a season, but since then I've been skiing all of six times. Since becoming a homeowner in 2001, only twice, this season will be the third time...
I earn reasonable money, so what am I doing wrong? Do you people sacrifice lots of other things just to go skiing? Admittedly I have a car and motorbike as well as a house, but I don't take any other holidays, not do I have a penchant for designer clothing/shoes/handbags. Nor do I even have much of a social life (two nights out per month max)...
You can't all be lottery winners!
The other issue is time off work. I get three weeks and five days per year, which need to be quite widely dispersed, i.e. I couldn't get away with a week off in February and another in March. Nor do I get any time off other than public holidays over Christmas...
What's the secret? I'm itching to know, and everso slightly bored with counting down the very large number of days between skiing trips...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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just lucky I guess....
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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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The secret is having no kids and two good incomes.
I have had my share of years of not being able to afford one skiing holiday so now things are different I intend to make up for lost ground. Simple as that.
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I have no kids, but admittedly only one income now. I had two jobs for about five years after buying my first house, but ill health put paid to that...
Might be able to consider a weekend job again this summer though. Food for thought...
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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 make sure our ski trips are as mercilessly cheap, cramped, and generally unluxurious as possible. Quantity over quality.
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Paulio, tell me more...
I find I need about a grand to do a ski holiday. Cost of hotel room is usually about £350-£500 for a week, flights/transfers about £150-£300, lift pass £175, ski hire about £75, spending money £150. Priced up the DIY equivalent but TO usually seems cheaper. Haven't managed to find self-catering without massive under-occupancy supplement...
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Ah yeah you're a solo traveller aren't you. That's a bit of a spanner in the works I should think 
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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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I have a good income and no mortgage or debts of any kind. I'm my own boss, so can take time off when I please.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'm starting to think that's my problem...
But already this thread has turned my attentions to maybe getting a summer weekend job and saving up a bit more to do a fortnight trip next season... 
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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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go last minute. go up in price as you come down in snow quality until you meet at an acceptable compromise. I usually budget on £100 per perspn per day - it can be more if we do luxury ( a fortnight in Whistler worked out at £140 pppd!) but it can be a lot less if we get the right deal.
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How do you get three months off work? I'm assuming that's unpaid leave...
I have no debts, just a mortgage, but it's rather hefty. I also work a fair bit of overtime, but I'm on a salary sadly so I don't get paid any extra...
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You know it makes sense.
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queen bodecia, IIRC I did Livigno one year for around 500 Euro for flight and accom for a week... Summer skiing you can pay around 35ish euro a night.
RyanAir flight can run to around 100euro return.
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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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3 months - yes unpaid leave and I'll be visiting friends so much cheaper... season pass decreases cost of lift tickets a lot
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Poster: A snowHead
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Last minute seems a bit risky to me. Single rooms are usually booked up way in advance. We clearly need more of this valuable commodity...
When pricing up DIY I did find some good hotel prices and cheap Ryanair/Easyjet flights, but costs of transfers or car hire negated any potential saving. I think this is where TOs win on price...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Oh I'll have 4 weeks pay - but need to spread that and my savings over the 3 months
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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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Savings? I'm sure I've heard that word before somewhere but can't recall what it means. Snigger...
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Walking to work and making lunch to take in help me save through the year. I hardly ever use my car and often don't bother with alcohol, which keeps weekend costs down. I don't have many contracts/regular outgoings and am very lucky to have paid off the mortgage a few years back.
Then I save all my annual leave for winter which is a bit awkward sometimes at work but skiing is what life is for! Using bank holidays and a couple of weekend trips I should manage seven weeks between December and May.
The summer was long and miserable, though!
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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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queen bodecia, Les Deux Alpes from Grenoble is about 10euro transfer if you can catch a bus
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I can't walk to work, but I do take packed lunch. Sadly one of my biggest outgoings other than the house is petrol/car/bike running costs, but that's not really negotiable...
Will definitely look at more public bus transfer options for next season. It looked possible (and cheap) between Turin and Courmayeur for this season but in order to get cheap flights, the times were really unsociable and didn't fit in with the bus timetable...
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queen bodecia, I think it's costing you more because you're not using a tour operator and if you've only got 1 week capacity in your holidays per year then they'll be your best bet, IMO. That's where a company like alpineanswers.com comes in handy - they can look for last minute deals for a solo skier in catered chalets for you. They've helped me out a couple of times for just that sort of thing.
In the 90's I used to be able to do a week on the cheap for £650 all in (ski pass, hire, drinks, etc...), these days it doesn't seem possible for less than £800 but is still doable. £1000 all in sounds extravagant to me - I'd expect 4* accom for that - and I don't get the impression that you're enjoying anything of the sort.
I don't know when you're planning to go away but check this out for 10th Jan. You can see 3* in Les Arc including flights and transfers for £399! Sure there may be a single suppliment but then again if you are booking last minute, alpine answers might be able to help with having it waived. Then again, the Bouc Blanc has 3 beds available for that week so it looks like there wouldn't even be a single supplement. Brilliant 
Good luck.
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I have used a TO every time. I always price up a DIY equivalent but it seems a lot of hassle for minimal savings...
I like the idea of last minute savings but like I said before I'm always nervous about the lack of single rooms available and supplements are usually pretty horrible. I certainly don't enjoy 4* luxury but I'm not bothered about that. As long as a room is clean and the food edible, I care more about the skiing and resort...
It's possible next season that I might be able to wangle a week off in Jan and another in March, or maybe a fortnight in March. This would mean very little leave left for the rest of the year but I'm not too bothered about that either. One thing I wouldn't be able to do is take all three weeks off in winter, but two is possible...
Thanks for all the replies people. Where there's a will there's a way. I may yet be able to enjoy two weeks' skiing in 2010...
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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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Well, good luck finding a better deal than it sounds like you've been getting. I don't think 10th Jan from now is particularly last minute but there are already deals available. Do follow the link I put in my last post - you can already see deals available every week between now and 17th Jan that should provide minimum 3-4* accom for less than £500 incl travel and transfers. Why don't you try phoning the company to check out the actual single supplement or if there even is one on any deals you can already see? They're only going to get better the longer you're willing to wait before booking.
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I'm already booked for this season (8th March Courmayeur) and I can't get any more time off work until May. I was thinking more of how I'd be able to manage more than one week next season. Joining sH has made me very jealous of how much time everyone else seems to be able to devote to their snow fixations...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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Kel, I thought statutory leave was 20 days per annum?
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You know it makes sense.
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I suppose the answer is simple: get yourself into a position where you have more disposable income. Do that by earning more or spending less.
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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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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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You're both right. Statutory leave is 20 days per annum or 28 days including bank holidays. This is what I get although we are only allowed to take 3 actual weeks and the other five days as odd days (or maybe a long weekend for example). I also get most bank holidays although I did have to work a couple this year due to massive workloads...
I really don't do summer holidays. There's no way I'd be able to afford it on top of a skiing holiday and lounging around on a beach doesn't interest me. So what I manage to save up each year goes on skiing holiday, plus any necessary household expenditure...
More disposable income is obviously the answer, but not really possible at present. I'm probably already earning as much as I ever will. I'm a senior designer with a big midlands design agency and what I earn is the going rate for that type of position. Yes I could get a second weekend job as I used to do and I may well consider that this summer...
Spending less. Well, I am managing that at the moment as the price of petrol has gone down. Yay! I'm also restricting spending on non-necessary items. Nights out to a maximum of 2 per month and new clothes/shoes only when needed, not on a whim. Hopefully this will help me save more for next season as long as the car/cat/boiler/whatever doesn't conk out...
Not in a position to review my mortgage at the moment. I have lost most of the equity in my house with falling house prices and I'm stuck in a five year fixed rate arrangement anyway...
Watch this space too. I may yet get the elusive second ski holiday next season...
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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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Statutory leave also includes bank holidays, so even when you get 28 (for a full time worker) days only 20 of them will be flexible to take when you want, unless you work the bank hol and get toil.
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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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queen bodecia, A couple of things help I guess... Becoming a home owner quite a while before 2001 when houses were 25% of current levels helps with the money, and being self employed helps with the time!
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I get over 6 weeks holiday which helps. Looking at how much you spend on yours I always get something for far less even when I go as a single (mostly I take my daughter). Last year I paid £400 in January for a week as a single in January in Zermatt through Inghams. The year before I had a week alone in LDA, organised DIY, and paid just over £300 (flight + transfer + Hotel B&B).
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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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queen bodecia, Keep the two separate weeks to the beginning and end of the season... much cheaper. I'm usually a single traveller too and I can usually find a really good deal for each, which means I get my two holidays roughly for the price of one. Look out for a couple of the smaller TO's which quite often drop the single supplement closer to the time and hey presto!
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FAQ
We have thought about two single weeks but that just puts the cost up and you get less skiing in 
Well if your dates are set then I'd definately play the waiting game to snaffle up a last minute bargain - booking that far out is bound to be less value for money 
I rent), minimal debt, loads of holiday ( 
25 days) and no other responsibilities so I can get 3-4 weeks a season at the moment.
