10 solid reasons to do a ski season

Not sure whether to do a ski season this winter? There are so many reasons not to hesitate. Brexit probably ruining future seasons, for one. So just do it!

Have you just finished your A-levels/college and are finding yourself wondering whether to do a Gap year and if so what you should do with yourself in that time? Or perhaps you're in your final year of uni panicking about what next, contemplating postponing getting a proper job? Or maybe you have a job, you're thinking about quiting it all together for the best six months of your life? Just do it. Start packing now.

There are a million and one reasons why you should do a ski season abroad. Ex-seasonaires could talk until they're blue in the face about their time in the mountains. Gooey eyed memories of santa snow beards, wipe out reels, and the not so unforgettable après, they’ll urge you to follow in their footsteps. They are right. You absolutely should. Quit putting it off and do it now, and heres ten reasons why…

1. Brexit. ‘nuff said.

Soon it will be impossible for seasonal businesses to employ british workers aged 18-24 in europe on UK terms. With brexit actioning very quickly, here are a few countries outside of Europe that should definitely consider working in for your season.

- Canada

- New Zealand

- Australia

- Chile and Argentina – great back country skiing.

2. The snow is disappearing. Global climate change is imminent.

If the recent climate change report from the UN didn’t persuade you to make more sustainable choices then I don’t know what else will. But here’s another depressing reason why you should get your skates on and do a winter in mountains; global warming has caused glaciers to recede and is creating shorter ski seasons.

Although not an immediate danger to punters and seasonal staff, there’s no denying the worry that came from no-snow starts for three years on the trot before last winter in europe. More people should become snow-loving seasonaires and ski holidaymakers right now. Hopefully this will mean they’ll want to contribute a tiny bit to lessening their life-long impact on the environment to protect our winters to come and for waaaay after we’re gone.

3. The easiest job interview

Getting a job as a ski instructor is almost a right of passage. You've worked really hard to get your qualifications and hopefully some experience too. Your job interview with a ski school is usually over Skype consisting of a few questions to really gauge your passion for skiing and instructing and make sure you're clued up on that all important mountain safety. Your job interview really comes into play hen you get to mountain orientation day and the managers get to see your ski skills and talk to you in your natural setting, on the mountain.

4. 1. Work, Ride, Sleep, Rave, Repeat.

A ski season consists of just that! As a chalet worker, you go to work, if you're lucky working split shifts you go for a hoon, take a well deserved nap, head back to work, get talked into 'going for one' at a bar in town, end up on a bar crawl, crawl into bed at some ungodly hour, even if it isn't yours and wake up a few hours later to do it all over again, hopefully squeezing in a shower and something to eat some time in-between.

Or perhaps you take a lazier day, get up, go to work, go ski, take a nap, go for a swim or a little sunny walk, head back to work and enjoy a social foodie evening with nachos, a card game and a bottle of wine or movie and a cuppa. Us snowsport instructors live similarly, waking up, getting the T in the locker room, catching first tracks corduroy

before first lessons, post-work snack and nap, heading to the pool bar for a few and seeing where the night takes you before doing it all again the next day.

What more could you want out of life!

Some snowsports instructors are on a mission and with the snow controlling our income a lot of us have to fit in that 'extra work' bit somewhere in there and head to the bars after that nap to slog away pulling pints and mixing cocktails for the lucky ones who managed to save enough before their season started. Reality is, we have to earn money sometime somehow.

- see Ski Bum's Guide To A Proper Job In The Mountains

5. Find the love of your life

Become a seasonaire and fall in love with a fellow mountain lover. Seasonaire couples are like no other, it's usually an all or nothing scenario. Most of them though, involve a lot of trial and error, the first person you meet/date may not always be the one and only, but a ski season is a very good opportunity to meet lots of different people. The majority of people on a season aren't looking for a long term relationship, they're out there for a quick or regular lay but there is always that small possibility of meeting someone you have a special connection with and want to spend all your time with, if you're really lucky they won't look half bad getting down the hill.

Relationships can be tough when it comes to the end of season too, it's make or break decision time and you're pushed into thinking about the depth of your relationship and whether it should go further than this mountain. But at the end of the day you have met someone great who loves the same things as you and will more than likely be happy to change their plans to do something just as cool in a different location. If it doesn't work out, yes you may have your heart broken but you're in the mountains full of great people to cheer you up and meet someone new. Check out my post about my love story.

6. Get fit and feel 10 years younger, or better still never grow up.

You will always be outside – you’ll live in the mountains after all! Even the view from your bedroom window will be enough to confirm that you’ve made the right choice. Most seasons, I’ve been able to ski roughly five days a week, as a ski instructor now, I ski everyday I can! In my previous summers it’s the same with hiking or climbing. Staying active and fit is a massive part of it all – no desk jobs, no commutes. Just live, work and play in the moment.

Whether your chalet hosting, ski instructing or working behind a bar, in most seasonaire jobs you'll find yourself interacting with people of all ages. Teaching children keeps me energised, young, entertaining and highly spirited, while teaching the older generations has given me wisdom and an appreciation for things I currently find effortless. And let's not forget the amount of vitamin D you'll be soaking in every day. Don't forget that suncream and you'll have a gorgeous picture perfect 10-years younger tan in no time!

7. Feel excited every day to go to work

Have you ever dreaded waking up in the morning knowing what you were going to have to face when you go to work, or even the commute to get there is a struggle? Well dread no more, being a seasonaire is bliss! I wake up everyday excited about the day ahead of me, the potential people I'll get to meet, the funny stories I'll be able to tell, the food I'll have at lunch time, and that amazing feeling of gliding down the hill on a plank or two with the sun shining and smiles all round. As a ski instructor we meet people who discover they don't actually like skiing, or that they're physically not fit or psychologically strong enough to do it, and that can be incredibly draining, but they're the clients you learn to love because they're so grateful for your patience and passion for your sport.

8. Friends for life

The people you live with and/or work with on your season will become your family and once the season ends you'll be holding back the tears, organising a reunion before you've even stepped on the plane home. These people have supported you through seriously tough times and have made you laugh along the way, they may not be going to the same place next but they sure as hell aren't worth saying sianara to just yet. Keep in touch, social media is your friend, you never know, you could end up on the same season all over again!

Not only will you form a close relationship with your team, but often your guests or students, and the locals will become your good friends too. Immersing yourself in the local culture is a great way to make the most out of your season along side snow-sports. There’s no better way to learn a language than to live in the country. Learning your way around their traditions, food and celebrations can be very rewarding and will create a bond with that place long after you’ve stopped working there. Check out my language learning tab!

9.Time

Working a full ski season is very different to travelling to the snow for a blow-out week of riding; you get to experience so much more!

One thing that anyone will notice the first time they step into a ski resort is that there’s an awful lot of ego flying around. Lots of people can ski fast, but can they ski well? Doing a season is your chance to experience all the different stages of a ski season, the cold windy days, the powder days, the sunny corduroy days, the too warm slushy apres days.

Many only get to ski once a year so time and practice are a luxury they just can’t afford, as a seasonaire you have the perfect opportunity to work on your skills, perfect that carve turn, strengthen your legs and build rhythm through the moguls, perfect that powder slash or seriously tricky tree run, or even brave the 360 or indie grab you've been dreaming of since you were just a kid.

10. Benefits

I saved this one until last because money really isn't everything when it comes to seasonaires but the perks are 100% up there with reasons why you should get a job in a ski resort rather than slob away at home to be able to afford to stay for half of the time without working.

Lift passes are expensive, rent is even more expensive and the quality of food is very dependent on who’s cooking. Luckily, if you choose to work for the right company, all of these things will be sorted for you. You won’t be paid a fortune, but just think about how much you would’ve had to pay out of your own pocket for your housing, food, travel and pass. Living in a ski resort is an expensive business, but if you play your cards right, it’s even quite possible to save money.

If you’ve read through this whole post and are still sitting on the fence, take this as a sign and go! The only regrets come from those who weren’t brave enough to give it a go! Worst case scenario, despite giving it your all, you discover it's not for you and return home having been for a ski and taken some gorgeous photos of the mountains.

Also, if you’ve googled 10 reasons to do a ski season, you’ve probably aslo googled the opposite and I can tell you ski seasons aren’t without their compromises. In a little nutshell, you live in a hole, you work more hours than you ever signed up for, your guests are often unnapreciative difficult people and quite often nothing seems to go to plan.

But what it will be is a thousand times better than expectations and worth every ranting red-faced client, every horrible work-hangover, every divert, delay and transfer day drama, because you’ll get to ski or snowboard almost everyday for the next six months!

The Ski Nomad