HOW TO WORK AND SURVIVE A SEASON IN THE MOUNTAINS

'Have you ever wanted to wake up in the morning knowing that when you look out the window you will see the mountains, the snow and the perfect line you want to ride later in the day? Do a ski season with Skiworld and the dream could soon become your daily routine.'

More to the point, have you ever not wanted to wake up in the morning  knowing that you would be scrubbing toilets with a hangover that makes bending over bowls not such a bad thing?  And that perfect line you wanted to ride later in the day? Pah, you had every intention but you made a bee-line, instead, for your bed and crashed till après.

The reality of a ski seaon is not always quite so Chalet Girl hot tub, heli trips and handsome tips but cold walks to work, cracking chalet hands and creepy men wanting to flirt with Chalet Bitch.

Thousands apply to do the winter ski season and many are rejected - Crystal Ski, one of the most popular employers of seasonaires, tell us that they had 5,300 applications, this season, and currently 2,180 have been turned down. For the lucky ones, there is the prospect of a gap year skiing or snowboarding while earning a salary (rather than paying to look after turtles in South America) - and enough life experience to build sky-scraping character.  For many it's also the building blocks of a future career - over 29 per cent who live that 'dream' return to do another Skiworld season.

Yes, it's hard work, harder than many expect, But what's another hard day at the office, when your office is the mountains - and you can ride nearly every day?

WINTER RESORT ROLES. STYLE ALTITUDE GETS THE LOW DOWN ON THE JOB DESCRIPTIONS FROM SEASONAIRES 

NB. Names have been withheld to protect identities (and future employment prospects)

THE CHALET HOST

'Must get on well with people from all walks of life, cook to a high standard, be well organised, take pride in doing the job properly with great attention to detail and have a lot of energy'

Best thing about the job? 

Getting to ski five days of the week, drink beer, eat cake and hang out with the best people you will ever meet in your entire life.

Worst thing about the job?

Transfer day. Saturdays are the worst, sometimes having to start at half two in the morning to wave guests off and then the dreaded ‘deep clean’ of the chalet starts. We can be in the chalet until even 1am the next morning if guests’ flights have been delayed.

Yup, the sure need 'a lot of energy'.

There are, also, way more hours than stated in your contract,. We once worked out that we probably got paid one euro an hour, maybe even less. Your hands bleed from cleaning and you get abuse from grumpy guests for about £300 a month, well, once the employer has deducted for accommodation, lift pass, insurance, etc. Although, this is also an incredibly good thing as you don't have to worry about any living expensies and your £300 a month is basically BEER MONEY. Also, if you are working for some companies, do not rely on tips.

Not only mean but grumpy/ moaning/ complaining guests are also the downside of the job. But, hey, it always feels ridiculous to complain when you walk to work surrounded by the mountains.

Funniest story?

One of my absolute favourites was when I and another chalet girl were doing the daily clean of the bedrooms. Two of our guests had asked us not to bother cleaning their room (this is always what you pray for). However, one day they fancied a tidy up. We were greeted with piles of boxers all over their bathroom floor. They were dirty too, so we were giggling and saying how disgusting they were when we heard a 'well, this is awkward' from the door. In our tiptoeing round the dirty underwear we had no idea that our guest was watching us cringe and gag from the door. Fair to say that it was hard to look him in the eye for the rest of the week.

What you learnt?

How to feign interest and talk to guests while incredibly hungover and dying inside.

Why you would recommend it?

You get to ski at least five days a week for six months, drink and dance to your heart’s content, meet flipping amazing people who will probably be life-long friends and you get to be in one of the most incredible surroundings on the planet.  And, also, you can have an incredible season even if, as I did, you snap your ACL on Christmas Eve. And a pretty alright Christmas Eve eating pizza and high on painkillers.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s hard work and you scrub a hell of a lots of bog bowls, but then you look outside at the mountains, the chalet chef does something stupid and you’re in fits of laughter again. And you can be riding on the hill in a few hours time. You come home with no regrets. Well, not about deciding to do the job. What you did while drunk is a different story.

THE CHEF

 'Passionate about food and cooking. You will be dedicated to providing a holiday to remember to every guest, by offering an excellent level of service with a nothing is too much trouble attitude,catering to all tastes and dietary demands' 

Best thing about the job?

Being able to walk out of your kitchen at the end of a shift, strap on, and ride for a good four or five hours.

Worst thing about the job?

It sucks having to get up at 6am to cook breakfast, especially after a heavy night out.

Funniest story?

I don’t know where to start. We used to hide in the wardrobes and scare the shit out of each other. One week we did it to a guest (who was game, of course). He then got his sweet revenge by attacking me in the kitchen in a full GORILLA outfit. I have never laughed so hard when I nearly punched him in reaction.

What you learnt?

I learnt how to work hard, play hard and what's important in my life. Friends, food, riding pow and just going at life head on.

Why you would recommend it?

For all of the reasons above. It taught me so much about myself, increased my self-confidence. And it's the most fun I have ever had.

THE REP

 Well-organised, efficient, problem solver. You'll be the face of the company, always on hand to help, be able to stay calm under pressure and still keep smiling' 

Best thing about the job?

Ski time. Very few other jobs in resort allow you as much ski time  (so, no, not ALWAYS 'on hand'). We work five and a half days a week doing what is generally pretty easy work. You can be on the slopes by 10am most days and then ski till lifts shut.

Worst thing about the job?

Transfer day. In some resorts, as a rep, we start very early in the morning and finish very late at night, sometimes running through till the early hours of the next morning when flights are delayed.  For this whole time you really do have to 'keep smiling' and happy, even when people are angry about matters that are completely out of your control.

Funniest story?

During transfer day, last season, when it'd been snowing a lot, I had to drive down to Les Brevieres and needed to turn the van around. I was told by a local in French to drive into the road at the end to turn. My French not being very good, I went to the end, turned into this 'road' and got the van stuck in about two foot of snow. What the guy had actually said was: 'Do not turn into the road at the end'. Transfer day is the busiest day of the week. And I was stuck. I started digging, unsuccessfully, and eventually had to call for help.

What you learnt?

Backflips on skis. And the ability to deal with difficult situations and come up with a solution. Yeah, 'problem solving'.

Why you would recommend it?

I have loved my ski seasons in the Alps. You meet some awesome people as well as enjoying some unforgettable days in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

THE NANNY

 'Fun-loving with a natural affinity with children and a desire to deliver exceptional customer service. You must have bags of energy, plenty of initiative, patience and a professional can do attitude'

Best thing about the job?

It’s simple - we spend all day having FUN. Playing in the snow, gondola rides, painting and sticking, bumboarding, sledging and singing songs. You meet great kids that seem to remember you year after year and, if you’re lucky with your team and resort, while everyone else is slaving away for change-over on a transfer day, you get to spend at least half a day riding the mountain.

Worst thing about the job?

It's got to be Day One each week. You can guarantee a morning of madness. Meeting all the new parents and kids, ensuring all the paperwork is filled in, labelling everyone's ski gear and getting kids all kitted up for their first day at ski school (sometimes while battling tears) and then walking them up to their lesson by 9am. And then there's the wee ones’ room, which is often full of first day tears (although in most cases by Friday the kids don't want to go home). After the first crazy morning, everything falls nicely into place.

Funniest story?

There were two keys to an apartment of five girls and four of the girls had to share one key as Deliah (not her real name) wouldn’t share the other key. EVER. So, the rest of the girls stole the key with her beloved Mickey Mouse keyring from the secret pocket in her coat and pretended that she had misplaced it.She needed to learn to share, as sharing is caring. It sent Deliah a bit mad (as she never ever looses anything) and after three days she was at breaking point until she was once again reunited with her beloved Mickey Mouse keyring and the key. After a day or two she saw the funny side and Deliah and Mickey (keyring) won 'Best Couple' at the nannies' end of season awards.

What you learnt?

As with any job there are ups and downs. We all get that feeling that the world should just come to an end because, fml, I have to go to work today. However, there's always the positive. I live in a place that is surrounded by the mountains. It doesn't matter for how long a kid screams. With the thought of riding not much can put you in a bad mood.

Why you would recommend it?

In a nutshell, choosing to be a seasonaire and working as a nanny in the Alps is one of the best decisions I've ever made. Generally, life in the childcare rooms is pretty sweet and a lot of laughs. And when you’re not at work, the day is spent riding the mountain - trying, falling, failing and getting better. If you're 'fun loving' you can’t really go wrong when your job role states 'You must have fun'.

THE MAINTENANCE GUY

 'Work with independence and initiative. Having gained your maintenance skills in the workplace and have clean driving licence, we also expect that you’ll have a friendly, professional and can do attitude'

Best thing about the job?

You get to juggle your own time, so on those powder days you can get up early, go shred then come in and get your work done before the guests come back in. Doing it that way, they come back to any problems fixed without being disturbed AND you get fresh tracks. You can also be as hungover as you like at work because most of the time you are invisible to guests. As far as they are aware, the ‘Magic Maintenance Fairy’ fixed everything.

Worst thing about the job?

Chalet hosts. The vast majority of them are just out of college and have no idea how to wipe their own arse, let alone change a light bulb. This means that at the start of winter you get calls every five minutes because they have shoved all the food down the sink and blocked it. You quickly run out of patience. You are always on call, too, so that can be interesting getting a call if you have been in the pub since après on your day off...

Funniest story?

There are a lot of stories, just not ones I’m willing to parade over the internet.  As for the job you will end up in some interesting positions. I had an evening that at the time wasn’t so funny, but looking back I can now laugh.  I was doing a standard easy tap change, but the only problem was that this was an OLD building and the pipes were a little corroded. What was a 10 minute job turned into hours of swearing, cutting myself and squeezing round tight corners all while I had one guest shouting the odds because he wanted a shower. The other guests were unhappy because I had their entire bathroom in bits. The stop tap was outside the building so I had to sit on the phone to a helpful chalet host who was turning it on and off every time I tried something else to seal the leak. I can say that I lost my 'friendly attitude' and came out of that evening soaking wet, very close to slapping a guest and went directly to the bar afterwards.  I can laugh now, but at the time it really wasn’t funny. Helpful host, you know who you are and I thank you.

What you learnt?

Every last detail about how a toilet works. Trust me, you will get up close and personal with a lot of these things and a lot of the French systems are old with parts that can’t always be replaced, so it can get interesting. In fact, you will find that with most of the French maintenance you have to re-learn everything you know because they find a way of doing almost everything differently to everyone else.

Why you would recommend it?

It’s the best job in resort. You get to work with a team of people so if it is your first season you have an instant group of friends.  You get to juggle your own time and you also leave resort weekly for maintenance parts, not something to sniff at as most seasonaires don’t leave the resort ‘bubble’ for the whole winter. You will also likely get paid a little more than your average seasonaire as you have a ‘skill’, even if that skill is just blagging your way through things.  All in all, if you are pretty handy with a tool box and can figure things out as you go, so 'initiative', you should be ok.

 

THE SKI INSTRUCTOR

'Qualified as a ski or snowboard instructor, you like working as part of a team, are friendly, outgoing and good with people of all ages, hard working and flexible' 

Best thing about the job?

The hours. If you want to do a season and ski a lot then this is perfect. You ski for your job. The earliest you will start is 9am because lifts generally open at that time. Normally, if you're working all day you will do 9am-4pm and your client will pay for your lunch. Big perk. If you're teaching different clients in the morning or afternoon you will do 9am-12pm and then 1pm-4pm. Then the rest of the day is yours. I was also only a part time employee so I worked in peak weeks: two weeks over Christmas, five weeks in February and three weeks at Easter. This meant that I had all of January and most of March to ski for myself.

Worst thing about the job? 

Being stuck on the nursery slope on a powder day. Although this only happened to me once, it was a killer. It's almost as bad as being stuck on a nursery slope when it's ridiculously hot.

Funniest story?

In February half term I had a week of morning lessons with six Dutch kids between 4-8 years old, who didn't speak any English. They had been skiing in snow domes so they could already snowplough but they had never been on a proper ski lift. This meant that when we got into the gondola and I started to take their skis from them to put them in the rack, panic majorly set in. I have never been yelled at so loudly. Explaining to them that they would get their skis back at the top was very difficult, as was explaining any drills that week. More often than not, I would demo something assuming that they would wait until I called to them only to find a line of smiling faces directly behind me when I turned around.

What you learnt?

Patience. If you don't have this then being a ski instructor is not for you. You also learn a lot about your own skiing. Going over and teaching simple points of skiing can give you a hugely improved platform to improve your personal skiing form.

Why you would recommend it?

You get so much time on the hill. Being stuck on the nursery slope at 9.30am is better than scrubbing toilets every morning. The pay is also pretty good and you meet so many people. But the best perk for me was finishing work at 4pm and having the rest of the afternoon and evening off.