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Whistler Blackcomb 2014-2015 — Official Thread

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PosiJohn - 10 March 2015 10:10 AM

It’s in cheakamus which is about a 20 minute bus ride from the village. I know plenty of people that stayed there and had no complaints.

I dropped off some mates there and it looks really new and nice.

Few things from this thread:

1. Police / Driving checks are only good for 3-6 months. Don’t even bother with them until you need them. Think the police check is for the Visa and the Driving check for a license if you want / need one.
2. As a Victorian, you need a NATIONAL police check. They don’t accept the Victorian one but they do accept the NSW one… it’s weird. Just go to an AFP to get the check.
3. Having a car can be a good idea. Especially if you chose anywhere non-whistler. If you offer people trips and get petrol money every fortnight or so / road trips, it’s not as expensive. For the whole season you will need a license though.
4. If you are thinking of staying for Summer next year and then the following Winter again, it might be wise to look at other resorts first and then do Whistler for your second season. Reasons for this is that Summer in Whistler is still awesome. Get a 1 year lease, make friends, be ready to get a job nice and early etc. Then you can still experience 2 different Canadian resorts including Whistler and can likely get away with not having to pay 100 hours worth of work ($1000+ divided by your $10.25 hourly wage) to get a job.
5. If people who are already there can get some contacts and get a foot in the door, you might be lucky. Make sure you buy the guys some Beer and Sushi if they help you get a job etc. It’ll still be a lot cheaper than the working holiday clubs.

 
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Yeah that’s pretty much the plan stay for the summer and the following winter. Then probably re new my visa and keep going haha. Once I’m over their I have no plans to come back to Aus for a while.
If someone hooks me up with something I WILL buy you dinner and many many beers haha. A good thing about Whistler is there will be heaps of BW crew I can meet up with

 
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People that are in Whistler now, what travel insurance do you have?

 
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leasha101 - 10 March 2015 10:38 AM
PosiJohn - 10 March 2015 10:10 AM

It’s in cheakamus which is about a 20 minute bus ride from the village. I know plenty of people that stayed there and had no complaints.

Cool I think I’ll book that as soon as I know the dates of the job fair as I’m sure places would book out pretty fast.
Do you know of any good hostels closer to the village?

Good idea to have yourself covered for a couple of weeks.

There is also the Southside Lodge which is right in the heart of Creekside, but you still need to bus into the village.
http://southsidelodge.com/

To be honest, I don’t know of any “hostel” options in the village. The bus system is super easy to use in Whistler and most likely you’ll need a bus pass during the season anyway, depending on where you’re staying.

 
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leasha101 - 10 March 2015 11:22 AM

People that are in Whistler now, what travel insurance do you have?

I’ve used http://www.worldnomads.com previously. Decent cover, good price.

Lately I’ve gone even cheaper with http://www.travelinsuranz.com.au/ but it isn’t very comprehensive. I feel it covers the most important stuff so I’ve accepted the lack of comprehensive cover for the cost savings. It works.

Whatever you choose, make sure you read the policy and you’re comfortable with the price and the level of cover. Important: make sure you’re covered for snowboarding (some may require you to select this as additional cover).

Also, this thread: https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/5253

 
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Sweet I’ll check those companies out, yeah I’m thinking I’ll book a hostel for two weeks while the job fair is on. Then if I haven’t managed to get into staff accom after that. I’ll see if I can do some work at the hostel in exchange for accommodation while waiting.
TJ made a point that most lifty jobs go to the holiday working club people. Is that how it goes do I have a very thin chance at lifty? Main reason why I want to work for the mountain is lift pass and staff accom. Bar work does sound good as well but I’m sure they don’t offer those benefits.

 
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If you can get bar work, the extra money and hours will definitely make up for the no lift pass and staff accom.

Plus you won’t drink as much due to working therefore will be saving money that way too.

 
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leasha101 - 10 March 2015 12:57 PM

Sweet I’ll check those companies out, yeah I’m thinking I’ll book a hostel for two weeks while the job fair is on. Then if I haven’t managed to get into staff accom after that. I’ll see if I can do some work at the hostel in exchange for accommodation while waiting.
TJ made a point that most lifty jobs go to the holiday working club people. Is that how it goes do I have a very thin chance at lifty? Main reason why I want to work for the mountain is lift pass and staff accom. Bar work does sound good as well but I’m sure they don’t offer those benefits.

I don’t think that’s entirely true. I know a lot of people who have worked as lifties and didn’t go through the “pay us money, we get you a job” people. I really don’t think you need to spend any money to get a job with Whistler Blackcomb. There a are lots of other jobs as well: guest relations, ticketing, retail, food/beverage, cleaning, etc.

 
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After knowing people who have been cleaners, unless it’s something you love doing, this should be a very last resort job…

All the other ones are good choices though.

 
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rider26 - 10 March 2015 02:48 PM
leasha101 - 10 March 2015 12:57 PM

Sweet I’ll check those companies out, yeah I’m thinking I’ll book a hostel for two weeks while the job fair is on. Then if I haven’t managed to get into staff accom after that. I’ll see if I can do some work at the hostel in exchange for accommodation while waiting.
TJ made a point that most lifty jobs go to the holiday working club people. Is that how it goes do I have a very thin chance at lifty? Main reason why I want to work for the mountain is lift pass and staff accom. Bar work does sound good as well but I’m sure they don’t offer those benefits.

I don’t think that’s entirely true. I know a lot of people who have worked as lifties and didn’t go through the “pay us money, we get you a job” people. I really don’t think you need to spend any money to get a job with Whistler Blackcomb. There a are lots of other jobs as well: guest relations, ticketing, retail, food/beverage, cleaning, etc.

Yeah I don’t really want to pay $1000 to do something I can plan myself they are a joke.
Yeah I’m sure I’ll find something out of all of those jobs, I’m just going to get to Whistler nice and early and get my hands on whatever I can. Then aim for a lifty job when the fair opens. What’s it like trying to find a bar job in dead season?

 

 
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leasha101 - 10 March 2015 03:11 PM
rider26 - 10 March 2015 02:48 PM
leasha101 - 10 March 2015 12:57 PM

Sweet I’ll check those companies out, yeah I’m thinking I’ll book a hostel for two weeks while the job fair is on. Then if I haven’t managed to get into staff accom after that. I’ll see if I can do some work at the hostel in exchange for accommodation while waiting.
TJ made a point that most lifty jobs go to the holiday working club people. Is that how it goes do I have a very thin chance at lifty? Main reason why I want to work for the mountain is lift pass and staff accom. Bar work does sound good as well but I’m sure they don’t offer those benefits.

I don’t think that’s entirely true. I know a lot of people who have worked as lifties and didn’t go through the “pay us money, we get you a job” people. I really don’t think you need to spend any money to get a job with Whistler Blackcomb. There a are lots of other jobs as well: guest relations, ticketing, retail, food/beverage, cleaning, etc.

Yeah I don’t really want to pay $1000 to do something I can plan myself they are a joke.
Yeah I’m sure I’ll find something out of all of those jobs, I’m just going to get to Whistler nice and early and get my hands on whatever I can. Then aim for a lifty job when the fair opens. What’s it like trying to find a bar job in dead season?

 

Likely pretty impossible. I’m sure there are like 10 bartenders tops in Deano’s team at the bar and probably 100+ people would have applied. Sometimes its all about charisma and sometimes it’s getting lucky.

At Sun Peaks, the bar tenders had all been there for years cause they make more money doing that than regular jobs and stay there. I would too…

 
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leasha101 - 10 March 2015 03:11 PM

I’m just going to get to Whistler nice and early and get my hands on whatever I can. Then aim for a lifty job when the fair opens.

This is your best plan of attack. Get there early, have all your documents in order, have your resume printed out, go in and show them how you would be a valuable part of the team. You’ll be fine. I’ll share more info with you as I find out re: dates and processes etc.

 
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rider26 - 10 March 2015 05:06 PM
leasha101 - 10 March 2015 03:11 PM

I’m just going to get to Whistler nice and early and get my hands on whatever I can. Then aim for a lifty job when the fair opens.

This is your best plan of attack. Get there early, have all your documents in order, have your resume printed out, go in and show them how you would be a valuable part of the team. You’ll be fine. I’ll share more info with you as I find out re: dates and processes etc.

Sounds good that’s what I’ll do, do you think second week of October would be early enough? Because our season goes till like end of September at it’s best.

 
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Our season can go to the October long weekend if it’s a good one. Though as a first year staff, you’d be unlikely to be working full time hours by then and they wouldn’t care if you quit (there will likely be staff still)

 
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Hey leasha
you should watch for positions opening up on the WB website and apply for those, usually around september you will see jobs for the winter start popping up
whistlerblackcomb.com/employment/jobs-at-whistler-blackcomb/index.aspx

as far as bar work goes, if you have experience as a bartender then you might have a shot at getting straight behind the bar, but if you don’t you will most likely have to start out as a host, porter or something along those lines.