 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi Guys,
Im From the uk and have been skiing for about 4 years now.
But at 1week a year it leaves alot to be desired, Im currently comfortable with all piste skiing and trying my hand at some park stuff and hope to go onto Off-piste some time in the near future.
But here is my Question:
If your from the uk how do you get your regular skiing, i find at 1 week per year im left with a long waiting time and its quite frustrating waiting Jan-Jan. But with each skiing trip costing around £600-700 per week and being only 21 and finding it hard to get more than just the one week.
Any advice or recommendations?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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oOCritchOo, Yep, it's hard. Have you thought about doing a season? Other than that, the only way is to take on extra jobs to fund your trips unless you are able to increase your income some other way.
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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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Hi Schuss,
I wouldnt mind a wage increase  But still at £700 a pop it would be way to expensive unless i invent 2012 best new item and become loaded haha
Ive never really thought about a season, do you mean head out to somewere and work in a bar for the entire skiing season?
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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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oOCritchOo,
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head out to somewere and work in a bar for the entire skiing season?
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Exactly. This is where you need to look for seasonal work of all kinds: http://www.natives.co.uk/
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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oOCritchOo, Check out natives.co.uk I first put the planks on when I was 24, at 25 I did a season! You'll find a way if you want it!
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Beg, steal and borrow... Well, okay, don't steal, obviously!
I used to get a couple of weeks in a year when I was at school (school trip and family/solo holiday). Seeing that this was coming to an end, I did the sensible thing and joined the Navy, who sent me off skiing for AT/leadership/teamwork/PT training. Then I had to leave due to an injury... End of free skiing (and earning money).  I took what I could scrape together and went on an instructor course, considering it an investment. An investment which has paid wonderful dividends: I occasionally have a holiday, but manage to get most of my skiing through instructing part-time (i.e. get shipped out, work for a week or two, get some free skiing in before/after lessons, and get paid, fed and housed). I usually accumulate the pay from those trips to pay for my ski holiday (though that usually ends up being a course - they're such good fun). Sadly this is going to be a lean year though as I'm not pencilled in for any work due to a knee op a couple of months ago. 
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Thu 5-01-12 22:55; edited 1 time in total
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Your not on your own, 21 or not, skiing isn't cheap if you have to pay for it. The advice of Schuss in Boots, sounds the best way, get a job in a ski resort.
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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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oOCritchOo, I went skiing at 16 - school trip - loved it to bits. couldn't afford to go again till I was 40, then it was one trip a year (at most). Now I'm retired I can ski loads.
So - not long to wait. 
doing a season would be your best bet - as suggested.
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oOCritchOo, move to Scotland?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My only regret, not getting into sking at a young age and missing out the chance to do a 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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I'm guessing not many people will agree with my reply but here goes.... indoor ski slope. Yes I know at first it may seem pointless - I mean often you spend more time in the queue than on the slope but hear me out....
The first year I skied I was a complete novice and had lessons on the slopes - when I returned to the UK, Chill Factore at Manchester opened later that same year... I used to go for an hour every few weeks at a very quiet time (7.30am Wednesday morning!) - it was awesome and by the time my next years ski holiday came about I was much more comfortable and relaxed.
Several years on I still go to the CF albeit not as often - but it is ideal for keeping the technique and avoiding having a wasted first day of your well earned ski holiday!
I've not skied any of the other UK slopes - but there are a few to choose from.....
But then again - if I didn't work/have a mortgage etc - a ski season would be my first choice.... 
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oOCritchOo, where are you based and what do you do? Someone already suggested moving to Scotland!
If you are a UK citizen then you can work anywhere in the EU, if you speak a European language then you could start looking for employment in a suitable country. If you only speak English, you could look at potential seasonal employment in North America, though in the US it's now much harder than it was a few years ago unless you are or were recently or are going to become a student.
If you are in the northern half of England, check out the various English club fields. Much more interesting experience than a fridge.
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You know it makes sense.
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scorpio21, It doesn't need to be an indoor slope. I, along with many people ski regularly on an artificial slope. Myself and MrsS now average about three sessions per week, amd one or two of those are coached sessions, really building on skills.
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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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It would soon bore me rigid going up and down any 'artificial' slope on my own - but coaching and racing are entirely different, well worthwhile. I now ski at Hemel two or three times a month, mostly being coached: I love it and it makes a huge difference to fitness and competence on real snow. Lessons cost money, though...
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Poster: A snowHead
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I had my first trip while at uni, loved it, went out to do a season (which was unfortunately cut short by injury) and am now I guess in a similar situation to OP.
I currently have at least 2 weeks sorted though, going to Val Thorens for a lad's holiday on the 14th and I'm also probably going to stay with a friend who's working in St Johann first week of March and sleeping on her floor... Where there's a will there's a way! Also planning a few cheeky weekend trips to Scotland if the snow is good.
I go to Chill Factore about once a month just to keep the legs working, personally I find 2 or 3 hours is short enough that it doesn't get boring. I try and focus on some sort of drill while I'm there. Never found it too busy either really.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Lessons cost money, though...
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for the OP membership of a ski club would be good, presumably much cheaper. People who race on plastic get very, very, good at it. And some of the freestyle stuff being done on plastic is very impressive too.
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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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oOCritchOo, Like many have said you'll find a way if you want it enough. Scotland is actually a decent shout my OH is originally from a place that sits within 30 mins of both Nevis Range and Glencoe if I lived up there I'd imagine I'd get weeks of skiing in pretty easy.
Myself and a couple of buddies took a year out when we were about your age and went to Canada to get qualified as an instructor, did a season there and then moved onto New Zealand doing the same. I think it's important to realise that the main driver for this is if you want to teach as it's not cheap. The years after getting qualified I've done anything to 8 to 0 weeks teaching a season mostly in Italy and Austria as I've got older and established myself in my day job the teaching weeks have gone down and the holiday weeks increased. I get a shed load of holidays so do 4 to 6 weeks a season but I see this reducing when my OH wants to start a family......
So in summary you get a job in a resort and fit skiing in around that, chalet hosts get paid a pitance but depending on which company you work for get a lift pass and hire gear included and if you're organised can really get allot of time on the slopes. Really wish I'd done this when I was like 18 (now 29).
Do the instructor thing, but witht he mone yit will cost you you could probably have a 6 month holiday on the cheap for the eqivilent.
Knuckle down and get paid more in your day job or get one that pays loads. I've been thinking of moving to Canada recently.
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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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The only way to get regular skiing without paying a bomb is to move to the mountains. 
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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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Move to Scotland
In winter I don't do much but ski. Before I spend cash on anything else I consider the impact it will have on any skiing I might need to do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
If your from the uk how do you get your regular skiing, i find at 1 week per year im left with a long waiting time and its quite frustrating waiting Jan-Jan. But with each skiing trip costing around £600-700 per week and being only 21 and finding it hard to get more than just the one week.
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I get in the car and drive to the slopes*. If I didn't have a cold I'd probably have loaded some skis in the car and headed out after work for an evening ski in the Clash (croscountry not downhill). I'll be out this weekend for a bit of xc on Saturday and probably to Cairngorm on Sunday as the wind shouldn't be stopping play to get out or a bit of tele skiing. Season ticket helps.
*Of course it helps I lve in Scotland.
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I try and get a few fridge trips in during the course of the year but I haven't managed that at all this year. I can only afford one ski trip per year plus a short break if funds allow (which thankfully they do this season, yay!). I haven't skied since last March so I'm absolutely itching to get out there.
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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: |
My only regret, not getting into sking at a young age and missing out the chance to do a season.
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My other half and I worked a season (both starting as novice skiers), during which I turned 30. We just packed our jobs in and went travelling, although we had been planning for several months, it wasn't spur-of-the-moment.
I would say it's not age that stops you going but responsibility (having to care for someone else basically, whether that be kids or anyone else).
I am not a serial-seasonaire, but having done 1 season is still a really great thing to be proud of and look back on. One thing I would caution, though, is that both of us had plenty of career experience before, and a clear-ish idea of what we wanted to go back to when we finished travelling. All I'm saying is, have at least a vague plan for what you'll do afterwards!
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ap96, agreed. My experience was like yours: a season, as a novice, when I was well into a career in the law to which I knew I would return.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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oOCritchOo, I also moved to Scotland (6 years ago) and can definitely recommend it if you want to get a lot more done, if the actual skiing is more important to you than the feeling of being on a winter holiday and if you can tolerate a range of conditions beyond sunny, well-groomed slopes. I found that touring is also an integral (essential) part of the skiing scene in Scotland that can extend your winter outside of the typical December to April season by providing skiing days as early as October and November and as late as May and June. I've also made pals with more experienced people (I'd only skied 5 weeks or so beforehand) so I think they've helped me push my boundaries further, faster and feel happier in the kind of terrain and snow conditions that I'd never before experienced (and that a lot of people just wouldn't tolerate) on Alpine holidays.
If you're on the doorstep, Scotland will be about as cheap to ski as anywhere in the world. You can cut costs by getting a season ticket (9-14 days to break even depending on type of pass) and provided you've got a car, you can eliminate accommodation expenses for long weekend trips by sleeping overnight in it or even in a tent nearby if the weather is kind enough. You'll find there're quite a lot of people overnighting in cars and tents and when the snow finally runs out, those same people still park their cars in the mountains, it's just that they move on to mountain biking, climbing or hiking until the snow starts falling again.
So, mine's another big vote for Scotland. In retrospect, I wish I'd done a season or two somewhere in my 20's too but I was a very late starter as my first skiing experience was in my early 30's but I've more than made up for it since.
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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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| RobinS wrote: |
| scorpio21, It doesn't need to be an indoor slope. I, along with many people ski regularly on an artificial slope. Myself and MrsS now average about three sessions per week, amd one or two of those are coached sessions, really building on skills. |
- do you mean like the one at Sheffield?
And to those who live in Scotland - which ski area would you recommend? And would a car need snow chains 
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oOCritchOo, have you not heard of Nixmaps? 
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You know it makes sense.
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| scorpio21 wrote: |
| And to those who live in Scotland - which ski area would you recommend? And would a car need snow chains |
They're all good on their day so the only way to make a recommendation is based on up to date conditions ... keep an eye on http://www.winterhighland.info which really delivers the very best information available through the forums and its public reports section.
I've never needed snow chains but have some Rud 'Soft Spikes' for emergencies. I've now got winter tyres and I really can't imagine m(any) occasions when snow chains would actually be any better than them.
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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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Get a job working offshore.
Based in Scotland, loads of time off, plenty of spare dosh for booking last minute weeks when you're onshore and the Scottish snaw is poor.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| moffatross wrote: |
| They're all good on their day so the only way to make a recommendation is based on up to date conditions ... keep an eye on http://www.winterhighland.info which really delivers the very best information available through the forums and its public reports section. |
Looks awesome - thanks - now on my favourites and hope to get a trip up there soon 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Grizwald wrote: |
| Do the instructor thing, but with the money it will cost you you could probably have a 6 month holiday on the cheap for the eqivilent. |
It doesn't have to cost too much at all - though I suppose that depends upon where you do it and with whom (and which association). I would definitely agree though that it's probably not the right route if you can't see yourself enjoying teaching or coaching.
This thread's giving me ideas though... Must plan to spend a few years in Scotland...
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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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Friend of mine chucked in his City job (mother wasn't best pleased) and went to work in Verbier as a washer-upper for a season.. chalet company went bust but chalet was paid for all season so he took it on, got friends and family to come out.. I stayed the season after that when he was doing all the cooking and ski hosting..and now (15 years later) he has a v successful business at least 4 or maybe 5 chalets in Verbier, he lives in the Uk as he has two small kids and thought they were better off there near family (personally I wouldn't have done that), has workers running all the chalets and he can ski when he likes.. if you want to make it happen it can..
I did a season at 33, but worked as a freelance business consultant so flew back to Uk for 1 week of work in 3.. best way to do a season.. get paid lots of dosh for a good job, and then ski to your hearts desire for 2 weeks.. so don't despair if you don't get out there immediately.
I now live in South of France and we need snow here desperately!!!!!!!!!!! Skied over Xmas and New year on fake stuff in nearby resort.. snow was OK but it was hard knowing there was 2m in the North of France.. we did have really hot sunshine though so I kinda appreciated that too..
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Move to Hemel Hempstead! It snows about 5 times a week every month of the year and has it's own mini glacial ski resort. Do you BASI level 1, start teaching beginners and ski 364 days a year. Job done!
PSG
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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 telecommute to Buckinghamshire & a couple of Euro offices from the snowy wilds of Aviemore (with about a monthly jaunt down/over to the smoke to show my face and talk sh*te (only time I shave these days too!)). Sometimes I telecommute during normal office hours, sometimes I telecommute either side of a morning / afternoon on the hill 
I'm very lucky and it won't work for everyone, but I do love it. Possibly a bit out of site out of mind in terms of career bullsh*t, but the older I get the more I think that's a good thing. Have floated the idea with the boss and big boss (work and wife), of doing the same from some French mountain village (I'm thinking La Grave), but need to settle in for a longish innings with that one!
Definitely ways to do it and still carry on your life/responsibilities/reality. You don't ask you don't get, you don't try you can't fail. Depending on what you do, there can and is opportunities to move to year-round towns both here and abroad (winter-only spots a bit trickier obviously). Or to bigger centres of population within an hour or two of skiing - that'll easily get you regular action with a bit of planning & commitment. Good luck, if you can work something out you won't regret it.
^ oh and no snow chains needed in Scotland, but proper winter tyres pretty handy (I'd say essential in fact)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Yeah, in Scotland there ain' much neeed for snow chains - if there's enough snow on the road to need them, its likely that the Eastern areas will all be inaccessible due to snow gates being closed, and the Western areas use access lifts from low down....
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FAQ
