Please ignore all the usual sh*t in this thread from people who don't know anything.
Intrawest offers staff housing. First, curb the English thing, most of your roommates will be Aussies & Kiwis. Second, staff housing isn't a given, you have to apply for it, fight for it, suck up for it, as finding housing in Whistler is like trying to rid a rabid dog of fleas. Third, all Intrawest jobs get a free pass, and there's something to be said for that, and working liftie isn't that bad. Nor is working kitchen on the mountain, for that matter. Any job ON the mountain basically gives you the chance to grab a line or two during break, and that's what counts.
The best job to hold in Whis is something like 4-midnight, or at least afternoons, as what you really want is the morning off. But these jobs (bartending, night kitchen, whatever) are the hardest to get your paws on.
Finally, Whistler is a Catch-22. Without a job, you can't rent, and without a place to stay, you can't get a job. A lot of people in their first year, if they can't get staff housing, a) couch surf (at a cost of hundreds a month.. for a COUCH) and b) pay someone off to use their address for mail (to get a job).
But face it. When else are you going to do this. DO IT & MAKE IT HAPPEN.
There ARE more underground options. In the '90s I lived part of a season in a VW van in the Delta Hotel parking lot. This isn't possible anymore, but I can tell you that there are still squatters in Whistler.
These days, I'd go for staff housing. Just remember that while living the dream, one should expect to sacrifice sleep, privacy, health and sanity, and when sleeping with Aussies, use a rubber, or be prepared for the dreaded herpes. Whis has the highest rate of STDs among the young in North America, no fucking shit.
