Working a season can be great fun but there are a few pitfalls that you can avoid if you
Burning the candle at both ends
When you first arrive in a resort everyone is getting to know each other and it’s not uncommon to find yourself out several nights on the trot. That is fine if you do it for a week and then go home to recover but when you work a season you seriously have to pace yourself. The first few weeks is fine but once you’ve got New Year out the way, you’ll find that colds set in and suddenly your energy levels hit the floor. Have the odd early night, your body will thank you for it in the long term.
Mid Season Blues
Believe it or not, you can get sick of life in a Ski Resort and it usually occurs mid season when you have the guests from hell and you’ve just had enough of the routine. Season workers can often get lazy about going skiing because they can go ‘whenever they want’ and it is easy to get sick of your co workers when you live in each other’s pockets. There is however life outside the resort and if you are creative with your days off there are some beautiful places to visit
Resort Life
Resorts thrive on Gossip, and it doesn’t start and stop in the pub, in my days as a Chalet Girl we had a local English radio station, and every week on a Friday season workers listened in as Kevin recounted all the gossip and scandal. I was very proud of the fact I’d never been mentioned, despite Kevin popping in for tea on a regular basis, as he sat down for his last cuppa he admitted defeat having aired the ‘last show’ and having never had the dirt on me. I laughed and told him I’d been with a certain ski instructor all season, only to find myself busted on the actual last show. The moral of that story is don’t expect any privacy, no matter how hard you try, there is always someone who will catch you sneaking out of a chalet in the early hours of the morning.
Your Love Life
Its a given that everyone flirts and relationships are rampant. Some last a night, some few days, weeks and now and again beyond the season. A holiday party atmosphere, mixed with high quantities of alcohol usually results in a lot of sex, so pack condoms and practise safe sex. Don’t be surprised if you do pull to find yourself the talk of the resort.
Your Day Off
Days off are precious as make no mistake you’ll be working hard during the week. If you aren’t too hammered the night before this is your one chance to hit the slopes early. If you are knackered it is the one day of the week you can sleep. There is also life outside of the resort and there are some beautiful places to visit. Days off can be expensive, when I was a chalet girl, I made sure I delivered a Banoffi Pie to the guys at the pizza take out and was guaranteed a free meal on my night off.
Change Over Day
For most this is the worst day of the week. If you are a resort manager or a ski rep it is not uncommon to find yourself doing twenty hour days. By the time you have dropped the passengers at the airport you often face long delays, punters missing luggage and all sorts of horror stories – bring an iPod and something to read. For chalet girls you don’t stop, laundry, spring cleaning, preparing food. Brace yourself as it is an altogether unpleasant experience.
Punters
Variety really is the spice of life in ski resorts, one week you may really like your guests, find yourself sorry to see them go and become their friends long after the season has finished. Others you may despise. I had one women that walked in opened my fridge, checked the micro wave and then ran her finger over the skirting board before telling me “the fridge was too full, there was split milk in the micro wave and the skirting boards needed a wipe. Nothing was good enough and I couldn’t wait to see the back of them. The good news is that if you don’t like them chances are they’ll be gone by the end of the week. For the ones you like you can have a cracking week and some very generous tips, for the ones you don’t, be vague about where you hang out and don’t recommend your favourite places.