Whistler Winter 2013 - help!
Awesome thanks! I’ve also been told by an Aussie here who was in Whistler for 3 years that Brio was the nicest and to try and get in there, I’ve read that Glacier is a bit of a nightmare. The only accommodation I’ve found as an alternative at this stage is about $5000 each for 5-6 months which seems rather pricy… Is it best to just look on Pique News Mag and Whistler Question for alternatives?
Thanks again!
I have always used the Pique for accommodation. I know people also use craigslist.
http://classifieds.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/long-term-accommodation/search
Staff housing will definitely be cheaper, and if you are travelling with someone you guys are pretty much guaranteed your own room to share.
Personally, Glacier would be my last choice as well. They do have a lot of fun there though (party central). The ride in, ride out situation is also a plus.
Yeah Brio is the nicest. It just got renovated 2 years ago.
However glacier means you don’t have to do any kind of walk to work. And Board in/Board out accommodation is pretty damn awesome. But it’s bunk beds so if you are travelling with a partner you will probably end up in brio i think.
Yeah Brio is definitely the pick of the 3 locations, rooms are the same size as westside but location wise it definitely wins out of the two. Glacier is the cheapest but you get what you pay for, tiny room and as mentioned it is party central.
Don’t feel as though you’re locked into staff for the full season, you can easily give notice and move out elsewhere. If you’ve got your job secured with the mountain then get a room in brio for the two of you to stay for when you initially get here and use it as a cheap alternative to going for a short term rental somewhere else whilst looking for somewhere else. You may actually like brio and end up staying there the full season. A lot of people who stay in glacier over winter try and move to brio for the summer as it’s far more convenient for when you lose the Blackcomb Gondola as Jeremy mentioned.
Great well fingers crossed for Brio then! Fingers crossed for Whistler first! Haha. We won’t find out until July where our job is so we’ll have to wing it and hope that staff accommodation is all good, and if not try our luck at getting something when we arrive.
Also with the US Visa - spoke to the American Embassy today and they said yes I do have to get the B2 visa….I’m a little sceptical cos it seems others have been ok without it…not sure if it’s a risk we want to take. The guy didn’t speak English that well so couldn’t have a proper conversation with him which makes it difficult…and info online seems very hard to find!
Hey guys,
Well this is what has happened. We’ve got to the stage of getting our screening interviews from our program and they sent us through a list of jobs to choose from at different resorts…and Whistler wasn’t on there!!!! I wrote an email back to him saying what is going on and he said:
“When we spoke Smaller Earth did indeed have a Whistler resort on our list, who have since dropped out of our partnership. The reason for this is following suit with other Whistler resorts in only recruiting internationals who are already in Canada (essentially they have so many Aussie’s who turn up in Whistler asking for work they don’t need to recruit from abroad)”
With 3 options:
1 - We can continue to look to find a guaranteed job placement at any of our other resorts in say Banff or Lake Louise.
2 - We can move you onto our Independent program where you would head over in October, we help you with tax numbers, access to the local ski job database and CV writing workshops, and you find your own role focusing on Whistler.
3 - We can offer you a refund to withdraw from the program.
Any suggestions on what to do? We’re really upset as we did so much research on getting the right program to get to Whistler and then this happens and now we’re too late for any other program. We arrive 9th October in Canada, is this going to be enough time to just do it ourselves? After this we just feel reluctant to continue with them….
Appreciate your help!!
re read this post. go back to the earlier posts where we gave you better advise just after you paid for this program.
And call me - i pm’d you my number.
Definitely going to go back over everything you guys told us - could have worked out for the best! Will give you a call in about half an hour. Thanks again!
Jumping on this thread as it is recent and relevant
So glad I stumbled across BW, it’s an absolute wealth of knowledge and have found more answers than I knew I had questions!
Bit of background, Aussie, travelling alone for the 13/14 season, first full season but have spent time at Big White, Tignes, St Anton and Mt Buller.
Now to a few questions…
Accommodation
I am leaning towards finding accommodation prior to a job and arrival to have that reassurance as well as more choice of quality and location. I have followed a link to find rideonwhistler and this seemed pretty good as it appears to be nearly all inclusive would like to know:
1) would you recommend rideonwhistler or not and would you suggest something similar (i will do some more digging)
2) how does mountain staff housing compare to rideonwhistler and the like
3) do the larger hotels or other companies have their own staff housing and how does this compare
4) what are the advantages/disadvantages to staying closer to creekside
Money is not unlimited but willing to pay that little bit more to ensure comfort and convenience/location.
Jobs
I am an Engineer with 4yrs concierge experience at a 5 star resort so hoping this will put me in good stead for lining up a job or at least interviews with the hotels before I head over.
I think I would prefer a rental shop type gig to learn the trade or working for the mountain which seems to have pretty good advantages.
I cant get there until the end of October, just in time for the job fair, so any comments on my chances of landing one of these or suggestions of places to seek out?
Any other tips you think of whilst reading this would be appreciated!
Cant wait for the 2013/2014 community to start up.
Cheers!
Hey, I will follow suit ^ and make my first post regarding whistler in this thread as well. :D
I’m planning to go over for this season and decided on Whistler. From many of the posts here it seems like working for the mountain offers a lot of perks and is perhaps the least stressful way of working a season in whistler. I would like to work for the mountain and intend to make it there in time for the late Oct job fair. However if you don’t secure employment with them is it then too late to find accom? Or shall I tee up accom and then if I get a job with whistler reneg on the accom?
Also if the job fairs are in late oct can anyone comment approx when work would begin? (is this a good opp to checkout vancouver etc.)?
I’ll be keeping an eye on the whistler jobs page online, is it possible to get a job via online before you leave the aus?
super pumped for this!!!!
Hey i’m also heading for whistler later in the year and super pumped. I’ve been asking alot of questions already and you can look into my profile and see my posts for alot of information.
Have a good look at the whistler website:
http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/employment/jobs-at-whistler-blackcomb/index.aspx
I’m lucky to be able to get there for their September recruiting trip but still waiting for the visa to come before I arrange any accomodation.
@900steve: I was also looking at rideonwhistler and others that offer it but until i get the visa nothings set in stone yet.
Have a good look at the whistler website:
http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/employment/jobs-at-whistler-blackcomb/index.aspxI’m lucky to be able to get there for their September recruiting trip but still waiting for the visa to come before I arrange any accomodation.
Yeah I actually miswrote in my above post, I was also intending to make in time for the late September Fair in Whistler. On the site it says that the late sep one is for full time roles, whereas the early nov is more for part time/ volunteer roles.
With the low (relatively) pay in Canada im guessing we are all going to be angling for full time roles, which means its pretty important to be there for the sep job fairs right?
good to see other people super excited for this. will be good to meet some people from boardworld over there!
Hey 900steve and joy89, welcome to the Boardworld community. 
The guys from Ride On Whistler post on here occasionally. I’ll be perfectly honest about everything. The Ride On Whistler program offers you an all-inclusive deal and peace of mind. That’s a good thing. You can probably find cheaper accommodation elsewhere but you don’t have the all-inclusive and it can be very hard to hunt down and secure a good house if it’s your first time in Whistler. Not saying it can’t be done, but it definitely takes work. That’s my honest opinion on the matter. Both options have their pros and cons. I will shoot them an email now to see if they can hop on here and answer some of your questions.
Creekside was the original village back in the day. There’s everything you need in Creekside and it’s definitely my preferred location. You have the Creekside gondola, so you can go straight up the mountain from there. There’s a supermarket, shops etc. and it’s quieter than the village. Chances are you won’t be walking distance to the village if you stay elsewhere, so if you are walking distance to Creekside, that could be a huge advantage. Price-wise, I don’t think it’s more expensive than anywhere else.
For jobs, just make sure you have a good resume ready to go. Hit up as many places you can before you go. You shouldn’t have any problems getting a job if you get there early enough and have yourself sorted (SIN, bank account, phone, resume etc).
Let me know if you have any questions.
Also, here’s some thread you might want to read through.
https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/352/
https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/5367/
https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/3409/
https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/4904/
https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/4048/
https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/3053/
Please feel free to ask us any specific questions and we will be more than happy to help you.
Have a good look at the whistler website:
http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/employment/jobs-at-whistler-blackcomb/index.aspxI’m lucky to be able to get there for their September recruiting trip but still waiting for the visa to come before I arrange any accomodation.
Yeah I actually miswrote in my above post, I was also intending to make in time for the late September Fair in Whistler. On the site it says that the late sep one is for full time roles, whereas the early nov is more for part time/ volunteer roles.
With the low (relatively) pay in Canada im guessing we are all going to be angling for full time roles, which means its pretty important to be there for the sep job fairs right?
good to see other people super excited for this. will be good to meet some people from boardworld over there!
It is definitely advantageous to get there for the main job fair at the end of September. This also gives you some time to settle in, get familiar with Whistler, get everything sorted, and enjoy a bit of relaxation time before the season kicks off. If you can make it there for the job fair, my suggestion is to do it.
Once you have a job, you can get sorted in staff accommodation. At least then you have security and you’re free to try find a house if you want to upgrade. Staff housing is pretty decent though. If you have a choice, I would try to get into Brio.