Gap year - doing a ski season - advice needed

A snowHead

My son, 18, nearly 19, years old, is taking a gap year and wants to spend the winter in a ski resort - he has set his heart on Val d'Isere. He does not want to get a 'proper' job but wants to earn money in the evenings doing what he does best - music. He is a competent musician (Grade 8 in piano, French horn and violin and can also play the trumpet) and is exploring the possibility of asking restaurant and bar owners if he can play in the evening in return for supper and being able to ask diners and drinkers for money in return for his music making. Although classically trained, he can play most types of music.

Are there any sH's who have any experience of whether this would be possible? Does anyone have any advice on how he should go about this? Is Vd'I the right resort to try and do this? He will obviously need accommodation and I have suggested he looks on the natives website for possibilities. Realistically, I don't expect him to turn a profit when accommodation and ski pass costs are taken into account (oh yes, he will want to ski during the day, of course) but I don't want to be subsidising his stay out there to too great an extent.

Any thoughts, advice and comments would be much appreciated.

A snowHead

there are "piano bars" all round the place, even in poxy Les Saisies. But a "French horn bar" would be a first, I think.

Chris Mason, it could be a bit ambitious to aim to live off the music (even without ski costs) but it should be possible for him to "sing for his supper" from time to time. I have no idea, but would have thought restaurant owners would be averse to the idea of his going round with a hat. It would annoy me in a restaurant if someone came round with a hat - though I might toss in a few chips if he looked hungry. I wonder what Val D'Isere would make of a busker?

He will find accommodation is expensive - I remember the phone call from my son, when he jacked in his Scott Dunn cheffing job before the season started and therefore lost his "free" (sic) accommodation. He found a small apartment and had to pay loadsadosh up front. He then had to find someone to share with - which was a great success, flatmate was a highly qualified British ski instructor and great guy, from whom he learnt a lot (about skiing....).

He did pay the whole lot back, but I recall it was something like 5,000 euros. If I were you I'd encourage the lad to get some bar work and waiting experience in the next three months....

He could try posting some questions on Natives - there may well be someone with direct experience of music making. I remember reading about a band (or maybe somebody told me about them) who did a couple of weeks in a French resort every year - they were very good, and got all expenses paid locally. It would be harder for a lone musician - he'd need to team up with some others locally, maybe?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I went out to Tignes with an idea to get a job but ended up not working and having a very good time. Spend about £5500 all in, everything (food, booze, rent, lift pass etc). Which I don't think is too bad for 5 1/2 months.

As long as he expects to live in cramped conditions and be sociable with the right people then he might get a chance to grab a few tax free euros going round the bars/restaurants like you say but I doubt you'd be able to organise much until you get out there. I'm sure a good knowledge of conversational french will make a big difference.

You'll find that there a alot of 'competent' people doing menial jobs on a season, alot will be graduates of x,y and z who aren't exactly useless but still only manage to end up getting a chalet bitch job, which isn't the end of the world considering the huge amount of fun everyone who I know who's ended up doing a 'proper ' job.

There are established bands that do the tour of 4 or 5 resorts a week although they are more apres ski and I doubt this is achievable on your lonesome unless you were very entertaining and fun.

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I have to agree with pam w, Spikyhedgehog, my son went out at 18 he had a job as a chalet chef, to start with, however the season was quiet and he was let go, he wanted to stay and had some savings.
He managed through to end of March but he had to sleep on floors, vans, camper vans and the like to do this. But he loved it and is now a seasonnaire both summer and winter.

You will have to budget to sub him if he goes out without a job, so the advice would be get a job as a chalet worker, at least then he will have a roof and food provided.

And try and lay the law down before he goes that NEVER NEVER run up a bar tab however tempting it is.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Another advantage of going out as a chalet worker is that you've got a pretty much guaranteed group of people to be sociable with who are in the same situation as you.

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My son made money (not a lot....) but he did live in very cramped conditions, and he is a skilled and enthusiastic chef (though that isn't really his job - he's doing a Ph D in Artificial Intelligence at the moment). He scraped by till the season really got under way - January was difficult and he speaks very little French (didn't even do O level) but he managed to make contacts in the end and did a range of jobs, some of them very well paid, including a regular job cooking lunch for the rather well off (French) proprietors of a shop. He had a ball, and did another season in the 3 Valleys subsequently, where he made a lot of money, as he worked in private chalets with good accommodation and a good salary. But he had a highly relevant skill and he's quite good at getting round and making the contacts - he was about 28 when he first went to Val D'Isere. I don't think he could have coped on his own at 18 - apart from anything else he wouldn't have had the cooking experience, and I think socially it would have been harder too - the networking required to live "freelance" would have been beyond him. A job with a TO seems a better way to start - and would hopefully last a bit longer than my son's did.

I have a friend whose son did a first season in Val D'I and really threw himself into the job hunting from the outset. He got a job in Dick's Tea Bar which opened loads of doors for him, and he loved it. He did some BASI qualifications subsequently, so taken was he by the life of the seasonnaire. But commonsense prevailed and he's now a corporate lawyer, which means he has enough money to go skiing quite a lot. wink

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

As people have suggested, try the TO route. If anything it'll get your son out there where he can then make the contacts and find out about how it all works, and should he decide he could then do another season on the music side.

After all it is free

As a resident of Val d'Isere for several years and teaching skiing there ill tell you that accommodation is very expensive - shared room will start at about £2500. He will NOT make any money from doing a ski season. Find accommodation at the outset on Natives but be prepared to pay it up front. The TO route is THE BEST option for doing a season if you can hack long hours. When you factor in the free lift pass etc the deal is pretty good.

As far as earning money from music is concerned - French restaurants wont have it but if he started doing the odd apres gig very early season FOR FREE initially then he may get a name for himself and go from there - but a lot of people have similar ideas.

Hope that helps.

P.S. I would have thought most places (certainly in France) would be in the same situation.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

yea ski seasons are a fun / hard / exhausting / financially daft way to live but eventually you either set up your own business in the mountains, become an instructor to make ends meet or get a 'real' job as people (annoyingly to me anyway) refer to it and just ski on holiday.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Chris Mason, Slightly left field thought - in my seasons by the end of April a good number of TO staff had left work due to injury... (or manifold other reasons) often early in the season. So... working on self funding the early portion and slipping into "injured man's shoes" later might be a thought.

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I did my first season a while back now Embarassed

1991-92 I went round all the shops/bars/ everywhere in a resort that I knew and eventually landed a job prepping hire skis for the season (Engraving numbers on them) Boring, but paid allright and I lived in a storeroom under the shop. I was then let go and did the door stepping again. having asked in the same place 3 times in 2 weeks the Boss (Who each time I had gone in I had asked if his boss was hiring) decided that I was worth a punt and I ironed napkins and tablecloths for 2 hours a day for food accomodation and beer.
I eventually was promoted to the bar, did the summer with them as well and rebuilt the inside of a restaurant(For those who know Mottaret, Le Plein Soleil) at last look most of what I did was still there Shocked

I was then promoted to Manager and did another season.
Nothing wrong with doing footwork.....a lot of it. but be prepared for the knock backs...lots of them.

Chris Mason,
Hi
Not sure if this would be an option but crystal are looking for weekend transfer reps. You work at the weekend only - no wages but free accommodation, plus lift pass is thrown in. I don't know anything about these jobs but it would seem to be a good offer but you'd need to check out the small print

Have a look
http://www.ski-jobs.co.uk/job-details_Weekend_Rep_68483.aspx

Good luck

You know it makes sense.

Hi Chris Mason,

Not wanting to repeat what other snowheads have said, but I would strongly recommend that he took a job for the season - even if it's only kp-ing for one of the big tour operators. There are plenty of jobs on Natives and loads of advice about applying. Most bar and restaurant owners will either already have musicians that they work with, or not want live music in their bar so, whilst he might get a few gigs this way, he's unlikely to even cover his beer money. And, unless he speaks good french, he'll struggle even in Val D'Isere to make these contacts until people get to know him.

By getting a TO job, someone else pays for his accomodation (Val is VERY expensive), food, lift pass, insurance, travel etc etc. And, whilst he might not make a fortune, he should earn enough beer money to support himself this way. There are plenty of TO jobs which give you plently of ski time, and it means that he'll have a group of ready made friends whioch is pretty useful unless you plan to spend all your time skiing on your own!

If he's keen to make a go of it as a musician, he should try and get to know some bar owners during his season, and have a chat about the possibility - that way he might be able to get something going for the following year . . .

Best of luck to him!

Heather

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Chris Mason, My #1 son was a sous chef for a TO in a club hotel. He was only 18 (but could cook really well). He had a blast. Plenty of snowboarding time.

#2 son was a KP/NP (kitchen porter/night porter) for a TO in a club hotel in Courchevel 1850. He ended up volunteering for as many night duties as he could so that he got first lifts. KP/NP best job for maximum hill time.

So I guess the above is another vote for a TO job.

A snowHead

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice, even if it isn't what my son wants to hear! I'll pass on your comments and let you know how he gets on in due course.

A snowHead

http://www.ski-jobs.co.uk/s-job-details_42963.aspx?qu=%3ftype%3d1

There's some Espace Killy bar jobs going on that site as well. Probably going to involve some 18-30 style sleazebaggery but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. A friend worked bars in VdI. From what she said the work would suit an outgoing gentleman very well.

Realistically, unless he has the £5k plus or so it costs to function as a ski bum in the Alps over the course of a season then he will need a job before he goes. At the very least he will need his pass, gear and accommodation paid for and the ability blag food and beer or photosynthesize. That's probably going to go for at least £3 -3.5k somewhere like VdI before he's even got there. Beware hidden costs as well. I burnt £300 odd quid on insurance last season. While I'm not a fan of the tour op route, I can understand why people go for it.

Regarding music: the only people I've ever seen make money out of music in resorts have been doing cheesy indie covers/bad heavy metal. Judging from the outside, this has been on a mates of mates basis (certainly was not a whole lot to do with talent in one particular case). Not saying that there isn't a hidden demand for skilled violinists, just that I've never seen it. Probably hang out in the wrong restaurants.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Chris Mason, get him to register on the forum at Natives - he'll get a pile of direct advice from his peers rather than sage pontification via a load of old farts. (Not that there's anything wrong with old farts, but they're not that credible when you're 18. Laughing

)

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

What Wayne suggested is probably the best of both worlds.

With a couple grand under his belt and working weekends you've got the ideal trade off between ski time and working. I had a couple of friends who were transfer reps and it sounded ideal.

You'll need to Register first of course.

yea agree with both Spikyhedgehog and Wayne - if you can get those jobs then all good... you get loads of slope time. It just means ALL your spending money is your own money. Be aware though (if anyone needed reminding) that transfer day is a LONG old day starting at x am!

One other thing worth considering is being a transfer driver for a private transfer business cause that way you can still get lots of skiing time as most of the work is in the evenings and weeekends but you also get paid? Someone like A-T-S or one of the MANY other companies out there are worth a look at but generally you need to approach those companies direct!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

Chris Mason,
I would recommend your son trys for a position with a TO for his first season, especially as he is still a teenager. However, this could well mean he is sent to the resort of the TOs choice and not VD.
If he is determined to be a ski bum then expect to fund him to the tune of £6000 minimum - jobs are scarce in resorts, and if he only wants to work evenings so he is free to ski all day (who doesn't out there?) they are like hens' teeth. Also VD is a very large resort. He may be better off as a ski bum in a smaller resort - it would be easier to meet people.

Oh, and if he has to get his dad to ask for info for him, what chance has he at doorstepping resort employers? Tell him to do a LOT of research on Natives, using the search button before posting questions.

For myself, I worked my first season (at the Rond Point, Meribel), and ski bummed my other four (Tignes). Being a ski bum is the job they all want, provided you can afford to do it without working in resort. wink

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

I spent my gap year in Val d'isere about a decade ago. Arriving on spec my 2 school mates found various part time cleaning jobs. If your son can afford a pass and accommodation to get started (he could be working and saving now) I honestly think he would be fine. He should approach the french run hotels (we were at Brussels Hotel. Also Blizzard and lots of others.) in town and also British run property rental companies (there are quite a few) who do often need people for a couple of days a week. As others have pointed out, working for a TO means he may well be shipped anywhere and pay/conditions are very that great. Either way, he should have a great time.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

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Ski resorts are about people doing what they love doing...good luck to him I say!!! I would recommend that he contact all the bars etc and see if he can get a regular slot......they pay for musicians! perhaps with a clip or two on u tube so that the bar owners can hear/see him play!

He could try skival as well as they only operate in Val D and St Anton, two of the best resorts to spend a gap year season IMO. But they tend to recruit graduates.

YSE recruited alot of 18 year olds was my impression, although they tended to be mainly girls and their hours were pretty hard. Although I imagine tips tend to be alot kinder.

You know it makes sense.

Last season i worked as a chalet host for a TO in the 3 valleys. Awesome time, so much ski time, hard work but enjoyable all the same. Chris Mason, if your son really wants to goto Val d and wants to go down the TO route then i would only apply to tour operators that only goto val d as the chances of him getting the resort he wants on his first season are pretty slim. But if he wants to do the music route. id say go early with some money in his back pocket and ask around like others have said.

Help!!

Gap year - doing a ski season - advice needed

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