 Poster: A snowHead
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By next Feburary, I would have been in my current job for long enough to qualify for some less usual perks. One being to work remotely for an extended period of time!  Everyone does that from time to time. But the boss mentioned we could do it full time if our performance is satisfactory. And I know I actually get more done when NOT in the office!
So, let's suppose I can start in Feb, that means I have 2-3 months, before the snow melts in most of N. hemisphere, to work from anywhere I fancy.
There's some advantage of doing that in the Alps. Mainly, because I'll be working New York hours, which translate into roughly 1pm-9pm continent time, give or take. That means I'll be able to get quite a few runs in the first part of the day before work! (vs. if I go to the Rockies, I only get to ski weekends)
So that's not quite a full "season". Nor do I need to find work at the resort. Basically, I can ski half day during the week and full day on weekends. More over, I can trade working Sunday (the busy day of the week?) for a day off during the week. The only MUST HAVE requirement will be a reliable broadband connection.
Given this is somewhat unusual situation, there're issues I don't see discussed much:
1) lift pass: since I'll be doing only "half" a season, would a "seasons pass" still make sense? (I can work the numbers resort by resort, but perhaps other had investigated that before and knows the answer)
2) sampling resorts: I would like to occasionally "sample" nearby resorts. That need to be balanced with taking full advantage of the season pass (assuming it's worthwhile to get a season pass for half a season use in the first place).
3) finding lodging for 1/2 season instead of a full season. I'd perfer to not pay the full weekly rate multiple by 10! 
There're a lot of other thing I hadn't thought of. But at this stage, I'm primarily trying to decide if a "half season" has any merit.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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1. Yes. Season pass price is usually equivalent to about a month's regular pass.
2. Look at the Oisans, Tarentaise, Portes de Soleil.
3. Good luck with that one! But normal pay-monthly accommodation is more available in the villages out of resort.
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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 think you're easily into season-pass territory if you plan to start in February for a couple of months. Choosing a base like Bourg St Maurice would give you easy access to skiing in Les Arcs & La Plagne (7 minutes by the funicular) so easy to pop up for a morning's skiing, as well as good access to all the big and small resorts of the Tarentaise, Trois Vallees and slightly further to Beaufortin resorts (assuming you have a car). My Les Arcs/La Plagne season pass gives me six days skiing in Espace Killy and 3V, plus discounted day rates at other resorts.
I think a valley town like Bourg St Maurice might be easier to find monthly accommodation, although I don't know how many rental places will come with a broadband connection. Also, independent owners of apartments in resorts might be more amenable to discussion on longer term rentals than the usual tour operator type company.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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and a third recommendation for the tarentaise here. I've enjoyed all the resorts in the tarentaise I've skiied and the locals have been very friendly
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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 I was fortunate enough to be able to go skiing for the whole of February and March I'm not sure I'd choose France. Given that most of February and early March is so busy and also very expensive for accommodation rentals I think I'd look elsewhere. I know Italy, Switzerland or Austria aren't going to be really quiet or cheap but options there ought to be explored too.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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abc there are loads of resorts out there with good connections to other resorts.....
In response to your specific questions;
1) Season pass all the way..... where we are it is the equivalent of 13 days ski pass to recoup your cash
2) A lot of ski companies give you free day passes at other resorts with your season pass.... we could ski Courmayer, Verbier, chamonix, porte du soleil plus 18 others
3) Accomodation - yes there are companies out there who specialise on seasonal and long term lets (such as www.seasonaires.com).....
Internet - even if the apartment doesn't have it, it is very easy to sort...........
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Colin B makes a good point - The aosta valley in Italy gives you access to several resorts and the food in Italy is *far* superior to France. The resorts accessed are smaller though.
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I think property is harder to find for the longer period in Italy!!
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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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What about somewhere like Davos? I've no idea really though about accommodation availability.
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abc, yep agree with what the others say about season passes. I knew I was going to be in same resort in PDS for 16 days in total last season so was worth it to buy season pass by €10. But that was buying it on special offer pre-season which took 30% off normal price so keep an eye for these offers in the autumn.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Try somehwhere in the ski amade, austria, region, 60mins from salzburg airport. Probably cheaper than most places mentioned so far . Stacks of resorts within easy driving distance to try. Good snow record, broadband should not be a problem. Get either the ski amade season pass or the salzburg superpass (500€) which covers a myriad of resorts including zell am see, kitzbuhl, saalback, flachau, schladming, obertauern, west dachstein, zauchansee and lots more.
Wher ever you end up i'm sure it will be good
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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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http://www.salzburgsuperskicard.com/eng/index.html
The Salzbuger Super Ski Card lets you ski any resort in the Salzburger land. Accommodation should be cheap and easy to find, and if you base yourself well, you'll have tons of resorts within a very short drive.
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| abc wrote: |
| The only MUST HAVE requirement will be a reliable broadband connection. |
Could be worth looking at the costs of a French (or wherever else you pick) 3G dongle.
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You know it makes sense.
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with the France Telecom/orange deal you get 2hrs per month 3G dongle and the dongle....................... total package for internet 34.99 which is 18meg speed, 2hrs 3G, unlimited european landline phone calls & TV!!
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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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Fantastic suggestions! Please keep it coming.
(marcellus, special thanks for the great post. So it looks like this business of "half-season" might be worth looking into further!)
| Colin B wrote: |
| If I was fortunate enough to be able to go skiing for the whole of February and March I'm not sure I'd choose France. Given that most of February and early March is so busy and also very expensive for accommodation rentals I think I'd look elsewhere. I know Italy, Switzerland or Austria aren't going to be really quiet or cheap but options there ought to be explored too. |
I've left that one out in my original question because I haven't got around to think about specific resorts just yet.
Yes, I know Feb puts me smack in the half-term terraitory! The skiing part I can deal with. I can take it easy in milage and stick to blacks and accessible off-pistes. The crowd will go home after half-term.
However, I fear it could prove to be a big hurdle in searching for lodging?
| rob@rar wrote: |
| I think you're easily into season-pass territory if you plan to start in February for a couple of months. Choosing a base like Bourg St Maurice would give you easy access to skiing in Les Arcs & La Plagne (7 minutes by the funicular) so easy to pop up for a morning's skiing, as well as good access to all the big and small resorts of the Tarentaise, Trois Vallees and slightly further to Beaufortin resorts (assuming you have a car). My Les Arcs/La Plagne season pass gives me six days skiing in Espace Killy and 3V, plus discounted day rates at other resorts. |
Car: I suspect it would cost quite a pretty bundle to hire a car for 2-3 months. Even more of a waste since it'll sit around the majority of the time. So I'm assuming I will NOT have a car. OTOH, I can do daily or 2-3 days weekend rentals if I'm going somewhere.
France notwithstanding, you do bringing up a good point on easy access to the slope. Obviously, I don't want to pay the price of ski-in/ski-out. But since I plan to ski some half days during the week, an hour long commute up the mountain will cut into the ski time significantly.
| Lou wrote: |
| abc, yep agree with what the others say about season passes. I knew I was going to be in same resort in PDS for 16 days in total last season so was worth it to buy season pass by €10. But that was buying it on special offer pre-season which took 30% off normal price so keep an eye for these offers in the autumn. |
That's part of the problem. I think the earliest I will know for sure will be January.
Basically, I can start planning in December but won't be able to commit on anything till Jan.
Same issue when searching for lodging
In short, it will boil down to lodging in the end, which I'm not surprised. After all, lodging will be the bulk of the expense of even half of a season. Finding one and affording one will be the key whether this idea will work or not in the end.
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Sun 10-05-09 14:50; edited 3 times in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hi abc we've hired a place in Champagny for the whole winter (mid dec to mid april) from another snowhead but we'll only be out there some weekends and the odd week.
I dont know what he'd think about you sharing it with us for month or two but it could be an option. It's in Champagny en Vanoise and has broadband.
PM me if this might be of interest
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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 work from home for a Florida company and lived in Bourg St. Maurice from Sept '07 to June '08. I have lots of flexibility with my hours, but agree that it is an advantage to be in Europe and be able to ski in the a.m., particularly if you don't have too many distractions later in the day (like kids coming back from school, etc.)
As others have mentioned, it is very doable to get in a mornings ski at Les Arcs via the Funicular. Feb is busier but not as bad as I was led to believe and may not be an issue depending on what you are used to.
If you decide on this option, I would recommend making arrangements to leave your skis at the Polair Star shop at the base of the funicular- this saves carrying them across town and gives you easy access to them if you make a trip to another resort. OTOH, if you are only there for the ski season, you could consider getting something on the Mountain for even better access.
In your situation, it is worth sorting out internet ahead of time...I made arrangements to have internet installed ahead of time at the flat we rented, but it still took a few weeks (IIRC) to get it working after we arrived. I had no problems once it was up and running, but the delay and dealing with France Tel was a pain.
Not sure of your exact situation or desire for comfort, but there is a seasonaire apartment/hostel in Bourg that will likley do a partial season rental and has wi-fi. I never used their connection, so I don't know how reliable it is. Another option might be to look for a roommate/sublease situation where they already have hi speed internet up and running.
As far as season passes go, the best deals are probably in N.A. preseason, but as others have mentioned, it will probably pencil out in Europe as well.
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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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abc there would not be an issue with find somewhere to live not a million miles from resort..................... trust me!!
If you're not being fussy about resort then you will be able to get sorted, guaranteed............... again trust me.........
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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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| Quote: |
Car: I suspect it would cost quite a pretty bundle to hire a car for 2-3 months
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About 700€ a month, I would say. But you can easily buy an old banger for 500€ or less.
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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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abc, I did a similar season to the one you are planning this year, in Aosta. It's easy to get upto Pila for the Morning and the Valley has some great resorts and is close to Chamonix if you are up for day tripping. A valley wide season pass is 850 euro and there are options to include Zermatt too IIRC. Plus tt's easy to get to Turin \ Geneva for flights should you need to.
The main issue I found was sorting a broadband connection. In the end I worked from a "3 mobile" dongle, which was OK for email & remote log in's but not massively fast. However when checking it out, it didn't seem to be hard to get land line broadband if your apartment has a phone line. The usual rates seemed to apply, although you would have to pay for the year.
Now that I've spent some time there I'd be looking for accommodation in the city at around 650+ euro a month, maybe less if you are slightly out. One option could be to rent a place for 12 months - It could work out cheaper overall in the end.
In the end the main problem was that the snow was so good I hardly got any work done 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| MEfree30 wrote: |
| but agree that it is an advantage to be in Europe and be able to ski in the a.m., particularly if you don't have too many distractions later in the day (like kids coming back from school, etc.) |
I admire you for doing that WITH kids! No, I'm taking advantage of the fact I'm currently un-attached, and working for an accomondating employer. A well-timed combination I never had the luck to have in the past.
| Quote: |
| In your situation, it is worth sorting out internet ahead of time...I made arrangements to have internet installed ahead of time at the flat we rented, but it still took a few weeks (IIRC) to get it working after we arrived. I had no problems once it was up and running, but the delay and dealing with France Tel was a pain. |
Thanks for the warning about getting internet sorted ahead of time. You're absolutely correct it's important.
The last time I work off-site, I had that exact problem. Even though I thought I had my S.O. got it sorted, the job was not done quite properly. And I lost a couple day not able to connect.
| Quote: |
| Not sure of your exact situation or desire for comfort, but there is a seasonaire apartment/hostel in Bourg that will likley do a partial season rental and has wi-fi. I never used their connection, so I don't know how reliable it is. Another option might be to look for a roommate/sublease situation where they already have hi speed internet up and running. |
Wi-fi could be a useful fall back, but only a fall back at best. I tried it at my flat, which offers that. Each time the connection got dropped, which happened once every hour or two, I need to go through the lengthy login process to re-establish VPN. With regular land-based broadband (cable), the connection stays on all day long.
This brought up another difference compare to other "seasonaire" situation. Given my home would also be my office, and I would be working 8-9 hours in the same, it probably need to be a bit larger and slightly better equiped. What's marginally tolerable in a 1 week holiday, when one pratically only sleep in there, can become unbearable in 2 month of living plus working in the same space.
And the odd working hour would probably mean sharing being out of the question. Drunken singing in the background during my "office hour" wouldn't go too well when I'm on the phone try to explain why something can't be done as quickly as the user wish! 
| marcellus wrote: |
abc there would not be an issue with find somewhere to live not a million miles from resort..................... trust me!!
If you're not being fussy about resort then you will be able to get sorted, guaranteed............... again trust me......... |
Thanks for the assurance. 
I'm not "fussy" about resorts, as long as there's a good variety of terrain. But as pointed out by others, reasonably quick access will be benefitial. So is pass previlige to occasionally "sample" a nearby resort or two. I suppose affordability shouldn't be too big of an issue (within reason, that is), given that I'll be living on regular city salary instead of scraping by on the minimum wage of resort odd jobs. It's more a matter of getting something functional and comfortable at reasonable cost to still have enough left over for a drink or two at the end of the day.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Sat 9-05-09 20:38; edited 1 time in total
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I'm sure the guys at seasonaires.com will be able to help!!
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I think it's either Bourg St Maurice (kepping in mind that Feb will be busy) and the Ski Amade area (included in the Saltzburger ski area mentioned earlier). For the latter, a good base would be in Flachau/Wagrain/Altenmarkt - nice small villages, but not too small, and in the middle of the area, so easy to visit other areas on the same skipass
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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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abc, To be fair, I did what I needed to do ( VAT / Admin / Accounts for the business etc. ) but I was hoping to do more more research and business development type stuff while out.
It's not something I expect to be able to do on a regular basis so I tried to make the most of the good conditions while there (we were playing golf in Feb during the part-season we did a couple of years ago in the Pyrenees).
Keeping specific hours would have helped me and I expect that if I did Winter in the Alps on a regular basis I would not ski every day. Trouble was, there were far too many powder days this year.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
but I was hoping to do more more research and business development type stuff while out.
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Different expectation, I suppose. I have no illusion of getting MORE work done, PLUS getting in a lot of skiing. (I can finish the same task faster when I don't get distracted by people stopping by my desk and chatting. But that's about it. No huge productivity gain due to shorten commute etc.)
Career-wise, I have no place to go except sideways (and hope not down). So trying to take advantage of whatever perk my job offer is pretty much all I bother (on top of doing a good "job" at my regular work, which I do enjoy).
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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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abc, You could PM snowhead David Ash who's apartment here has BB included - not sure how many weeks it will be available though, but free days at La Grave, ADH, Serre Chevalier, Sestrierre, Alpe du Grand Serre (part of ADH lift company but not the ski area) and Montgenevre. A beautiful area, and you could always go to the smaller places during the busiest weeks. Also you could try www.alpineoutdooractive.com and ask about the studio in the chalet. It's not normally let out, but the owner might consider it for a longer let. Use my name in both cases.
A car would be essential, but I concur with Lizzard that it would be easiest and cheapest to buy an old banger (FWD). You can always sell it again at the end. 
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You know it makes sense.
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Car insurance might be easier to sort out of if you are an EU rather than US citizen...FWIW, we didn't have a car in Bourg- hired a few times for some non-ski trips & took the bus to Val/Tignes a few times- make sure to book same day return if you want to get it discounted from about 13 Euro o/w to 18 return. Not as easy to get over to 3V without a car, so it is good to have a friend with one who doesn't get busy with work and flake out at the end of the season...I never did it, but I think there is a bus that you can take to La Rosiere...not sure about St. Foy.
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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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MEfree30, shouldn't make any difference. If you want to insure a car here you need the registration document and nothing else. In order to get the carte grise in the first place you need ID and proof of address.
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Poster: A snowHead
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abc, I don't work in Jan and Feb so have been toying with the idea of leaving the Scottish Alpes and heading to the european alpes for 8 or 10 weeks next year (i will watch this thread with interest...)
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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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I seem to remember BernardC negotiating a good deal on longer term rental with Hertz a couple of seasons ago. Might be worth sending him a PM to find out details.
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FAQ
