Canada Mega Thread - Information and Advice
Yeah, I just want applications to open already, I hate waiting lol 
I know!!! mit(sp?) to late july my azz the suspense is killing me!!
Well I heard Late July / Early August. So don’t get your knickers in a knot yet 
im going to have a dig around for openings on the smaller mountains this arv. have u guys settled on your flights and insurance?
Let us know what you find Joy, it probably won’t hurt to apply and see how we go etc. Though I still got my heart set on Sun Peaks
Flights, I’m hoping for mid october for $900ish, but if I can’t secure a job, I’ll be out mid September so I can go to the Whistler job fair etc. It’s still 900ish but I don’t know for how much longer. (Direct with Air Canada (14.5h flight))
Travel insurance, I’ll look into closer to the date. Most likely shouldn’t be more than 400-600 bucks.
hey everyone, noobie here and thought i’d say a quick hello and hopefully get some advice.
I’m a spa therapist/ massage therapist so i’m hoping to get into a day spa but i’m not getting over there till mid november thanks to a giant work stuff up!
i’m an advanced skiier and a hopeless boarder (i hope to at least improve a little bit while i’m over there lol) so i figured whistler has pretty much everything i need but now i’m tempted to look somewhere else.
i’ve also done plenty of waitressing/retail/cafe work so i’m kinda hoping i can find something through a resort part-time/ casual so i can at least get a staff pass but i’m not liking my chances getting there so late.
any suggestions folks?
Hi Alleria,
I think as long as you are enthusiastic, approachable and well presented, you shouldn’t have too much of an issue getting a job when you are there.
There will likely be quite a few people who start the season and about a month into it (November / December) realise they don’t like the cold, can’t ski/snowboard and/or get homesick and miss their loved ones, then you just need to be in the right place at the right time to get a job. (Also injuries might send a few people packing…)
With all the experience you have, it shouldn’t be hard. Whistler will probably be the easiest since it will be the biggest and therefore have the most jobs open up. Just make sure you have enough money to get by until you do pick up that job .
Maybe try to apply at hotels early where you can, they might actually like the fact that you are arriving late, they can slot you in once it starts getting busy rather than trying to share the minimal amount of jobs during early season…
As always, feel free to keep posting and I’ll try to help with my minimal knowledge. I just like talking about Canada and seeing new posts in here Welcome to BW and make sure you hit up the people at “your” mountain when you get there
Because I like talking about Canada, here is a video from the Sun Peaks Rockstar Terrain Park I found on Youtube: (Mainly for JacksonFlower)
hey everyone, noobie here and thought i’d say a quick hello and hopefully get some advice.
I’m a spa therapist/ massage therapist so i’m hoping to get into a day spa but i’m not getting over there till mid november thanks to a giant work stuff up!
i’m an advanced skiier and a hopeless boarder (i hope to at least improve a little bit while i’m over there lol) so i figured whistler has pretty much everything i need but now i’m tempted to look somewhere else.
i’ve also done plenty of waitressing/retail/cafe work so i’m kinda hoping i can find something through a resort part-time/ casual so i can at least get a staff pass but i’m not liking my chances getting there so late.
any suggestions folks?
Hey AlleriaParis, welcome to Boardworld. 
There are a lot of spas and massage therapy businesses in Whistler. Given your particular line of work, and I assume the fairly high demand in Whistler for your skills, I would suggest getting in touch with as many as you can before you get over there. Email them, call them, send your resume, let them know your plans. I am sure you will find somewhere to work as a therapist.
Here are some of the spas I can think of:
http://whistlerspa.com/
http://www.scandinave.com/en/whistler/
http://www.vidaspas.com/
http://www.ecospawhistler.com/
http://farfallahair.com/
http://www.whistlerhiddenspa.com/
http://www.fourseasons.com/content/fourseasons/en/properties/whistler/spa/
http://www.whistlerhiddenspa.com/
Because I like talking about Canada, here is a video from the Sun Peaks Rockstar Terrain Park I found on Youtube: (Mainly for JacksonFlower)
That looks incredible! Imagine how much your park skills would improve if you rode that for a whole season
Yeah mate. Looks like they got stuff for every level as well. So you can grow your skills. Not like Perisher where you have to go 1/2 way around the mountain to see if you’re game enough to try something a bit bigger.
Smiggs > Leichardt > Blue Cow > Front Valley
Or Thredbo is pretty similar:
Merrits > High Noon > Antons
So I went to two travel agents today to see what kind of quote I would get on flights and travel insurance, I was genuinely shocked at how much they wanted me to pay, and the amount that the two places differed, even though they have the same parent company.
they both had the same brand of insurance (Cover-More):
Place 1:
-$1127 for 182 days (6 months)
Place 2:
-1164 for 212 days (7 months)
They have the exact same inclusions:-
-Excess 100
-Snowsports (except off piste (nobody will do that apparently))
-Dental/Medical unlimited
-Luggage 6k
-Money 100$
-Car rental
-Travel delay
-Resumption of Journey
- Disability 20k
-Accidental death 20k (preferably doesn’t happen)
-work cover
From what ive seen online, this is a load of bullchit charging more than 2x and almost 3x as much
From Cover-More’s website alone, for 6.5 months (1/2 between both your dates) they want: $1090.00 for their top cover with $100 excess.
This is cheaper than both offers and still not that great.
If you’re actually keen on saving some money, get in touch with travel agents you know, or hit up some of the travel agents through here.
Or organise it yourself.
Remember that if you get the cheapest cover, they may not cover everything or might be really hard to deal with if you need to claim!
Flights, make sure to check out http://www.kayak.com since it seems to be the cheapest on the net. Seems a midweek flight with Air Canada is still around the $900 US mark.
1Cover and Ski-Insurance both say they cover off-piste an most other things.
I think the online quotes came out to about $900 and $1100 respectively for 12 months cover.