Summer resorts (+ job!)

T

TheGrudge

Member
Hey guys

So I'm graduating by the end of june (unless I have to redo some exams but Im counting on it that I wont) and before becoming a corporate yuppie and living the 9-5 life I want to try heading out to the snow for 3 weeks to 2-3 months, depending on how I like it, and I was wondering if you guys had any experiences to share, advice to give or can just point me in the right direction.

Basically Im looking to head out to some kind of resort in july-august and maybe september and october who knows, and I heard that NZ, Japan and Argentina all have very good to decent resorts, but the plain tickets would pretty much kill my attempt at going there and live break-even right from the start afaik. Im living in Belgium right now btw. What other resorts do you guys know of that might have something for me? Do the Alps actually have something worth looking into? I'd probably want to hit the slopes from when they open until 2pm most or even every day, then work the rest of the day. Work in a pub, a skishop, maybe help take care of the slopes and parks somewhere, feel free to hit me up with ideas. I have no experience here whatsoever, but I hope that won't be a problem. My English is quite fluent, and I speak tiny bits of French and understand a little bit of German, but still English would be best of course.

Hope to hear some cool stories from you guys

Take care
 
Well anywhere in the Alps its only going to be glacier skiing in the summer, not sure if Japan has glaciers or not but their northern hemisphere too so its there summer as well. Therefore I assume there are a lot less jobs going as the amount of people in the resorts is going to be way down.

Your best bet imo would be to go to NZ even though the cost of the flight is a lot. But then cost of living there is cheaper and you'll get a good exchange rate on any euros you save up before hand. I dont know much about Chile and Argentina, the skiing seems good but a bit more remote and less resortified unless thats what your going for.
 
I dont mind it being remote "an sich" but I guess there'll be a lot less job opportunities there, and the parks will probably be smaller or even non-existant as well.

Talking about those jobs, and tips in that area ?
 
I am also originally from Belgium.

You could look into European glaciers like Les 2 Alpes, Zermatt, Saas-Fee and Hintertux which are open all summer. Les 2 Alpes is the cheapest, but most crowded. Zermatt is the most expensive, but has the best snow and is the least crowded. They are worth looking into if you like to ski park. Val Senales is another glacier, it has the best summer park in the alps, but its only open until mid july. There are a bunch of other glaciers too... Tignes, Dachstein, Stubai, Molltal, Kaprun, Stilfserjoch, Tonale, ....... It is possible to find jobs if you commit to it.

Another option is to go to the scandinavian glaciers, such as Stryn and Folgefonna. I haven't done it yet, but I heard it's mad fun.

Those are the cheap options. If you are willing to put down a lot of cash, you can fly to the southern hemisphere. I have spent summers in New Zealand and Argentina. Argentina is by far the best, but you can't work there for money, the wages are tiny and not worth the time. Everything is in Spanish and everything is very adventurous (3rd world country). The plus side is that you get skiing that is as good as in the northern hemisphere, and a rad culture...

It's much easier to find a job in New Zealand. Plan a trip to Wanaka (the best spot) and look for a job in one of the ski resorts (Cardrona is a good employer). New Zealand is a lot of fun to travel to. The resorts are very small and it's not THAT much better than skiing the European glaciers, but the whole experience of visiting this country makes it worth it.

If I were in your shoes, looking for a first summer season experience, I would look into Zermatt and Wanaka. PM me if you have more specific questions...
 
Saas Fee has and english summer camp, great park and a good competition in summer, either work their or go to NZ. And what you said about NZ not having good parks is stupid, they have some of the best parks in the world!
 
Really? In terms of infrastructure or ski area, or both? Il be looking to work next summer in New Zealand ski instructing, Chile and Argentina seem really cool and Id like to go there but seems it would be harder to get a job there with my non-existent spanish etc whereas New Zealand seems like a better option for breaking even and seems alot easier to set up? I havnt done that much reasearch though into Chile and Argentina but seems like I would prefer to do a long trip there instead of working.
 
Both. For example, have a look at Cerro Catedral, Las Leñas and the Tres Valles resorts (Valle Nevado, La Parva El Colorado)

There's not really a point to working in South America because the wages are so low. You'd be better off working beforehand at home.
 
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