The Ultimate Guide to a Ski Season

I feel like my post-school life started with my ski season. That may be because it quite literally did, I finished A levels in June 2017 and started my season in December 2017, but also because of the experience itself. It was the most intense, exhausting and exciting 5 months and I still don’t know my answer when people ask if I would do one again. I get asked quite a lot of questions by friends about ski seasons and the logistics of doing one. I think it’s one of those things that you might have heard of, but would have no idea how to even go about doing one.

And that was the exact position I was in after my A levels. I took a year out as by the time my grades had been remarked for university, it was September and time to go. I decided to defer my place and take a year out, but I didn’t know what to do. My friend asked if I wanted to do a ski season, and without really thinking about it, I got applying. Next thing you know I’m stood on a bench in my ski boots at après, topless, singing Sweet Home Alabama. How the hell did I get there?

I didn’t know how to start my blog series about ski seasons. What did people want to know? Should I just describe my time? To start, I thought I’d just answer some of the most commonly asked questions about ski seasons, or what I get asked the most at least. Obviously, my answers all draw from my own (or my friends) experience, I can’t talk for every company or job but hopefully it gives you an idea about some key aspects of ski seasons. 

What’s the pay like?

For me, the pay was only about £350 per month. However, they covered all expenses (including ski passes, ski hire, accommodation and food on days you were working.) It wasn’t amazing accommodation or food, but it was alright and I didn't pay anything for it. When you work out £350 a month on a six day week, working 8+ hours, the pay seems terrible. But when you account for all other expenses they cover (and the fact you’re probably not doing it for the money!), it doesn’t seem too bad. I’m not sure why but my boyfriend did a second ski season this year and the pay more than tripled, he was paid more than £1000 a month! It depends completely on not only the company and the role you’re doing, but the legislation and laws in the country you’re working in. (This might all change in Europe with Brexit… so who knows?)

How much time do you get to ski?

This depends on your role but for most people that I worked with (including cleaning roles, chefs and childcare), most people were able to ski at least 4 times a week. I think you could ski most days if you really pushed yourself. But (for example), there were days when I had the morning off or a 3-hour break between shifts in which I could have skied but chose not to, either because I was tired/ no one else was going out/ the weather was a bit rubbish. There were also times when I had 40 mins before my shift started, the sun came out and I rushed outside to do a few runs before work. On a ski season, skiing becomes more like going for a run than skiing when you’re on holiday. On holiday, my family faffs about getting ready, packs snacks, layers up etc… Whereas on ski season, I could just chuck my sallopettes over whatever I was wearing and a hoodie, run down to the locker room and set off! It became a different mindset, where being able to go out skiing for an hour or two between shifts was normal. Of course, we also had days off, (I had one a week, but that can vary). We used these to go on ‘big ski days’, normally skiing over to a neighbouring resort, having lunch on the mountain and skiing straight to après in the evening.

What’s the living situation like?

As with all these questions, I’m just describing my own experience, but I think a lot of companies operate in a similar way. For us, there were two types of accommodation: internal and external. It’s a bit like living on or off campus. Internal accommodation was in the hotel that we worked in, on the ‘staff floor’. They had a few large rooms with 3 bunk beds and one bathroom in each room. It was a daunting situation at first but also very social and the commute was amazing. External were more like very low budget flats, with little apartments with a lounge/kitchen/bedroom, a bathroom, and another bed in the connecting corridor. These were a little more private, with only 3 or 4 people in each but also very squished with a bit of a walk to work. I know that neither of these sound appealing, and when I got there, I was expecting my own room, so it was a bit of a shock. But, everyone adapted very quickly and it became normal, it was very sociable and made uni accommodation seem like absolutely nothing.

Was it hard being away from home for so long?

Yes and no. I was quite lucky, I requested to start after Christmas (as I had something I couldn’t miss), so started in early January rather than early December. From talking to those that started in early December, it sounds like spending Christmas working, away from home, with people you’ve only known for a month, was hard. Although, in my experience, I missed home less on ski season than I did at first year of uni because I was so bloody busy. At uni, I had loads of spare time (especially at the start), whereas during my season, I can’t remember ever stopping. If we weren’t working we were skiing, drinking, eating together. There was not much opportunity for time on your own to think about stuff. I can imagine that for some people, I've just described their idea of hell. But I actually loved it, and didn’t realise how busy and tired I had been until I got home, finally stopped, and slept for a solid 4 days.

There were low points, but because you spend so much time with the people you live/work/ski with, they become your family. For a lot of us, our families came out to see us for a long weekend or a week but that's not always possible. In my case, my family had already booked a holiday in a different resort so spent a week in the Alps away from me, then drove to my resort on the way back for a 3 hour lunch. Although it was only a tiny amount of time, it was greatly appreciated. 

What was the work like?

 A hard question to answer as there are sooo many roles/jobs you could do. The overall theme was long hours and quite strict management and rules. Companies knew that the people they hired were there for the skiing, not the jobs, which often led to more discipline. Chalet work is popular, that is what my best friend did last year. She lived and worked in one chalet, doing the cooking and cleaning, but skied in the afternoons. Bar work is also popular but (depending on who you work for), this normal requires some language/previous experience. Most jobs involve large teams. Whatever job you fancy, you’ll probably be able to find somewhere in the Alps. Just go in expecting long hours but a good time. I think people got the idea from my snap chat story that I was skiing all the time, but it didn’t reflect how much we did actually work. Obviously I didn’t show all the time I was working, but it was definitely somewhere between 35-50 hours per week, depending on how busy the hotel was. I was in one of the biggest hotels so worked more than other resorts, but the same applies! There were days when the chalet hosts would have to get up for guests arriving at 4 am, or would have to wait up to be there for late arrivals. It is undoubtedly hard work, but worth it!

Do I have to be able to ski to do a ski season?

Absolutely not, although a lot of people will be able to so just prepare to be a little behind. If you go on a ski season not being able to ski, it’s an amazing (and incredibly cheap) way to learn. Not only do you get your pass paid for, you will also get more time skiing on one season than some people get in their lives. A normal ski holiday is 6 days, so you have to go on a hell of a lot of ski holidays to get 5 months experience in. A great example of this is my boyfriend. He went on his first ski season having only ever skied once, on a dry slope. He finished, easily keeping up with the best skiers and starting to do jumps and tricks. He’s just got back from his second ski season, a much better skier than me (although I hate to admit it), a bloody good snowboarder and he can do some pretty impressive jumps in the parks. Although it is daunting to go on a ski season without being able to ski, as long as you’re willing and push yourself to learn, you will pick it up in no time. (A lot of companies also offer proper lessons to staff, but this can cost a bit extra.)

What were the people like?

Probably the hardest question to answer, but I still get asked a lot. In my experience, on ski season although there was a massive variety in ages, interests, stages in life, everyone was fairly out going and ‘give it a go’ types. This might of just been in my resort but I think in general, because of what you have to sign up for and enjoy, it attracts a certain type. Although there was a variety of ages, there were lots of people who had just done their A levels (so on a gap yah), or just graduated from uni. What I would say is that the living and working situation forces very tight nit friendships, so as long as you're open minded, don't be worried about the people. I also think the best way to bond with people is over a common interest or a common hate. On a ski season, you're all linked by your love of skiing or snowboarding (which is a really easy conversation starter). Later on in  the season, you'll all grow closer over your shared hate of the work or the managers... 

Those are the main questions I could think of, if you have any more, feel free to ask away! I am planning some more specific posts but hopefully this has given you a good starting point.

Thank for reading! Have a skitastic day…

Laura x

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