Canada Mega Thread - Information and Advice
I agree Mizu.
I’m glad you saw my point, Deano!!!!!
I see all.
Come to the dark side.
Can I bring a torch?????
Since there is already a ton of Whistler threads, I thought since I have some time tonight, I’d post a bit more Canada information I have got over the last week or 2 which thinking about doing it myself.
First, here is a map of major snowfields in Canada. There are many more smaller mountains but since most people are already looking at Whistler, here are the other ones you might want to consider.
Ok, now that you have realised how close all these mountains are, here is the check list posted by Rider26 that you should be making when thinking about moving to Canada.
This would be my checklist if I was in your situation:
1. Apply for your visa now (if you haven’t already). http://www.whpcanada.org.au/
2. Make sure you have a solid resume and have it printed out. Here is mine for reference: Resume. To do the line thing under each heading, click enter and type—- and enter really quick.
3. You need to apply for a criminal record check and have this with you when you apply for a job with any snowfield. You can apply for this through your local police station. It can take up to eight weeks to come through, so make sure you do this with time to spare. In NSW you need to fill out this form before you go to the police station: http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/about_us/structure/specialist_operations/forensic_services/criminal_records_section
4. Get to the closest major city (Vancouver / Calgary / Montreal) before the Job Fair. Apply for your SIN. http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sin/apply/how.shtml
5. Get to the snowfield before the Job Fair. Make sure you have accommodation sorted temporarily, i.e at one of the hostels. Get a phone activated and open a bank account with RBC or TD Canada Trust. (Check with other staff / where ATMs are etc. as to which bank is best for your mountain. RBC or TD for Whistler)6. Make sure you get to the Job Fair. You will probably need to check details on the snowfield of your choice’s website (not sure if you need to set up a time or something).
This info was so much help thank you! The only problem for me is I wouldn’t be getting to Canada until mid to late November and will miss the job fairs… Will this be a problem? What is the difficulty in trying to find a job once the season has started? Would perhaps certain mountains be better to find a job at that point than another?
Sorry to bombard you with questions!!!
Hi Jade, I’m glad you liked the thread. I’ll be posting a new one for next season with everything I’ve learnt from being in Canada this season.
1. You didn’t say where you want to go. If you want to go to any of the following, you’ll likely have to sign up with the Working Holiday Club to get a job with the mountain corporation.
Whistler, Big White, Silver Star, Lake Louise, Sunshine or Kicking Horse
2. I’m currently at Sun Peaks. To be a lifty here, I needed to apply in September / October and have a Skype interview. We had to be in Canada for training on the 13th November.
3. If you want a job with a private company on any of the mountians, you can likely find something by just rocking up at the start of the season or by searching the net. If you don’t mind doing housekeeping, than just rock up at any resort and you’ll walk right into a job.
4. If you get a non corp job, I’d try to make an effort to make friends with a few lifties or other corp people so you don’t get lonely / isolated. So many people I know here are way happier now that they know more people and have more riding buddies etc.
5. If you don’t mind being at a tiny resort, find a small one like Manning Park (which I visited last week, see my post / video in the Sun Peaks thread). They have no phone reception, sketchy wifi and the staff accom is shared with large groups of people but they all seem to be having a blast and it’s a whole new world! Getting a job at a place like this is likely much easier as they quite often struggle to find people since most people go to the larger resorts as per above.
(Personally I couldn’t do it as I use technology too much haahaha)
Thanks for the info TJ… I’m not 100% sure which mountain I want to go to yet, I’ve heard a lot of good things about Whistler purely because there are so many other aussies/lots of other people there its easy to make friends… but at the same time it will be harder to find a job.
Heard good things about Big white, silverstar and sunshine as well.. I just want to go somewhere with a good vibe and easy to find a job. When you applied for your job in September was that through sun peaks website? I’m considering emailing some places and asking if they would do Skype interviews with me before the season.
And as for a type of job, i’d probably prefer a corp job purely cos more likely to get discounts/staff accom from that but again, just whatever is easiest to find.
Thanks for your help!! 
Unfortunately, Sun Peaks is the only major resort that does Skype interviews. All the rest go through the working holiday club and will cost you $1000ish to get an interview with them.
Bit of a stretch but I guess this question kind of fits in here.
Who’s done Niagara Falls in Winter and was it worth it?
I have nearly everything booked for my upcoming USA/Canada trip and I’d been looking forward to 1 Day/Night in Niagara. I’m generally more into natural wonders vs famous buildings etc so it seemed like a no brainer.
However as my planning went on it’s starting to slip into the “is it really worth it” category.
The initial plan was to slot it in between New York and Whistler. Looking closer at it it would mean I’d have to leave New York fairly early, fly to Buffalo, hire a car and drive to Niagara. I would probably then have half a day or so to explore, stay the night and then have a full day of travelling (drive to buffalo, fly to Vancouver, transfer to Whistler) to hopefully make it to Whistler late that night.
So definitely doable but then I discovered that the planned highlight (maid of the mist) doesn’t run in winter which will detract from it a bit.
My alternate option would be an extra night in NYC (I’ve got 8 booked ATM), a night in Washington or a night in Vancouver.
Open to opinions!
mate I did a day at the falls and i’ve also done 7 days in NYC (+boston +washington DC + Chicago + San Fran + LA + Vegas - All in all i was traveling for a month after my first season in Whis), it was pretty cool. I did the walk behind the falls and to the viewing platform which is half way down the side of the falls rather than the boat. People told me the boat was over rated as you only see it from one angle and all you see is mist.
If its a huge hassle/loads of money then maybe not worth it. I did a trip down there from Ottawa just for the day so it wasn’t really a big effort. Depends if you’re going to come back to this part of the world again or do you think its a one shot kinda deal?
If its a huge hassle/loads of money then maybe not worth it.
Depends if you’re going to come back to this part of the world again or do you think its a one shot kinda deal?
Thanks for the input mate, I’m now strongly leaning towards scrapping the night at Niagara and adding a night in Washington (though the photo from the sky down at Niagara in riders thread didn’t help!).
That’s the tricky thing I don’t know if this is a one shot kind of deal probably not but the doubt makes planning a little tricky but no matter what I’m not going to be able to fit everything in anyway.
Just received my two-year work permit for Canada! So pumped to get back there in October! 
So did I on Monday.