Working in Ski Resorts: Europe and North America (Working in Ski Resorts: Europe & North America) [Paperback]

'Turn ski bum for a season with help from Pybus' guide, which covers jobs from chalet girl to instructor in more than 80 resorts'. The Mail on Sunday.
'A must for would-be ski staff. It will tell you everything you need to know and more'. Company Magazine.
"'Thoroughly recommended.'" ISCO Careers Bulletin.

The fourth edition of the essential book for everyone who wants to find one of the many thousands of jobs that arise during the skiing season in Europe, the USA and Canada. Working in Ski Resorts explains how to find a job as a ski instructor, disc jockey, chef, courier, chalet girl or boy, shop assistant, au pair, resort rep, ski lift attendant, ski technician, courier, snow cleaner etc. from Verbier to Vail, Banff to Borovets and Andorra to Aviemore.
For those who wish to arrange a job in advance the book includes a directory of ski tour operators that lists their projected staff requirements, wages and the addresses to contact. But it also includes reports on the prospects for finding work on the spot in over 80 resorts in Europe and North America that give inside information on where the best jobs are to be found and explains where to find affordable accommodation.

INTRODUCTION
The English bartender who pulls the pints in Verbier, the Scotswoman who makes the beds in St. Anton, the New Zealander who escorts skiers in Courchevel and the Welsh chef in Whistler are all part of a growing group of thousands who live for the winter months on the slopes. For many, skiing has taken over their lives; jobs and travel revolve around a return to the mountains for another season.

For other travellers, a winter spent working in a ski resort is a way to earn a little money and have some fun through the inhospitable months from November to April; for them the skiing is an added bonus.

The route to a job in a ski area differs from person to person. Some arrange a job from home, some make use of contacts from friends who have previously worked in a village and some just head out to the mountains and travel around until they find something.

Steve Rout, who worked in ski resorts for over seven years, found his first job from a conversation on a train in Switzerland, where he had gone to try and save for a trip to North Africa. He recollects:

When I first got to Switzerland I had no intention of skiing - in fact I had no idea what the sport entailed. The only reason I was there was to earn money and paying for equipment and a season ski pass was certainly not one of my priorities.

However, Steve was dragged out on to the slopes by friends and soon became hooked. Now by September I start getting itchy feet and dreaming about skiing; by November I have to be back on the snow and waiting for the lifts to open.
A JOB BEFORE YOU GO
At the last count there were over 350 British-based companies arranging skiing holidays overwhelmingly in Europe but increasingly in North America. Such operators range from the giants: Airtours (01706-236464), Crystal (0181-240 1000), First Choice (01273-677777), Inghams (0181-780 4455) and Thomson (0181-200 8733) who between them go to nearly a hundred resorts in a dozen countries, to the one-hotel or couple of chalet enterprises like Hotel les Belles Pistes (+33 4-50 30 00 17), Val d'Ise[gr]re a[ac] la Carte (01481-721250) or Ski Verbier (0171-738 0878). Each season seems to bring a new crop of companies into business while many existing ones expand their operations, merge with or takeover other companies, and only occasionally do they disappear (usually for personal, rather than economic reasons). The overall growth of the market means that the numbers of staff required for the winter season are going up - estimates of chalet staff alone vary between 5,000 and 8,000, compa!
red with 1,000 in 1985.