Canada Mega Thread - 2017 /2018 edition
Thanks for the tips guys! I did speak with TWHC after what you said and they have told me they were at capacity after June interviews however they are doing a second round of interviews in August as WB have come back and said they need more F&B staff. So after what you’ve said, I’m really not sure what to believe! I did mention I didn’t want to be a dishy or something like that, but they mentioned food & bev cashier jobs are available, for example.
Getting there in October isn’t an issue for me to make it for the Oct/Nov job fair and I am happy to travel for a bit to fill the time until November, however I’m just stressing out a bit over the accom situation and ideally I would like to start off working for WB. Just hope I haven’t left my run too late with everything!
@tammy22 It’s a tough one. Is food and bev cashier something you’d like to do? If not, I’d go to the job fair. If you’d be interested in that then go for it.
Unfortunately for yourself, you’ve stuck all your eggs in the fullest basket so it might be wise to suck it up and take something rather than being disappointed. If you don’t mind the idea of going early to the job fair and then if it doesn’t pan out, going to another mountain for their job fair and making some new awesome friends, you can definitely get something that may be a bit more involved or fun than standing at a register for 5 hour shifts.
But it’s up to you to make that choice, I don’t want to be the one to sway you either way.
@tammy22 It’s a tough one. Is food and bev cashier something you’d like to do? If not, I’d go to the job fair. If you’d be interested in that then go for it.
Unfortunately for yourself, you’ve stuck all your eggs in the fullest basket so it might be wise to suck it up and take something rather than being disappointed. If you don’t mind the idea of going early to the job fair and then if it doesn’t pan out, going to another mountain for their job fair and making some new awesome friends, you can definitely get something that may be a bit more involved or fun than standing at a register for 5 hour shifts.
But it’s up to you to make that choice, I don’t want to be the one to sway you either way.
Thanks heaps. I’m keen to get there in early October and just give it a shot and see how I go with landing a job and accom. Totally understand there’s a risk with Whistler as the most popular choice, and I am happy to try my luck with another mountain if Whistler doesn’t work out. I haven’t done much research on the others, but are there any you’d recommend?
Really appreciate the frank advice!
Red would probably be my number 1 to work at after doing seasons. Because they pay higher and the mountain is amazing. The party scene is a lot less though. Due to the higher pay though people tend to keep returning so getting a job is harder.
If you want steep and deep terrain, any of Revelstoke, Fernie or Kicking horse would be awesome
If you want a party town atmosphere like Whistler, go to Banff or on a smaller scale, Big White, Fernie or Revelstoke
If you want good staff accom, look at Sun Peaks or Panorama (Silverstar has some too but it’s dorm rooms which isn’t as nice as the other 2).
All of the mountains are really special in their own way, and these are my personal preferences. If they don’t work out, some of the smaller resorts like Apex or Manning park can be awesome too since you end up with a special sort of small community but the mountains aren’t nearly as big.
hey fellas,
top job with the threads uve got here. definitely a lot clearly and easier to read.
Just curious if you know of any landlords in big white or banff? Ive been regularly sussing out craiglists, kijiji, Facebook pages and what not, all coming up empty or just missing out.
Cheers
It’s generally easier to get a place closer to the date. Unfortunately I haven’t lived in either of those towns to be any help but when I moved to Fernie I just stayed in the hostel for a week at the start of November and just looked every few hours and applied for all the non-overpriced places.
Maybe there is a real estate agent in town that could help too?
Me again! Have successfully submitted my visa so getting pretty pumped now.
Just a quick one on the insurance required for getting into Canada on the working visa - says you need it for the duration of your stay. Is this just your normal travel insurance, or is it health insurance within Canada? Hope that makes sense!
Appreciate all the help so far guys.
Me again! Have successfully submitted my visa so getting pretty pumped now.
Just a quick one on the insurance required for getting into Canada on the working visa - says you need it for the duration of your stay. Is this just your normal travel insurance, or is it health insurance within Canada? Hope that makes sense!
Appreciate all the help so far guys.
Travel insurance. And at Vancouver airport they generally don’t check much, they just give you a 2 year visa anyway.
Now if you were to drive across the border, watch them follow all the rules to a tee. This is why if you’re getting a visa, I’d always suggest flying into Van International.
@TJswish @rider26 and anyone else who may want to chime in.
The advice has been fantastic so far. I’ve been in touch with more mountains. Manning offered me the position as lift ops and maintenance. I’m a little concerned cause I was really hoping to be in a more accessible bigger mountain. I’ll keep it in mind. Also the dates probably won’t work out as I’ll only be there for three months. Flight in on 27/11 and out 28/2.
I probably should have mentioned that earlier. Its for uni and it seems to be a sticking point for most jobs not doing the full season.What are peoples thoughts on finding work in towns for shorter periods? any places you know of that might not be so worried about time frame?
I’ve also been on the Facebook and website pages for share accommodation for a lot of these places. I wanted to ask. Would you guys say that living in town like Kelowna or something and working wherever is a pain if you want to ski Big white because of the distance? I feel like it’d be a good base for when I want to visit the other mountains nearby. I suppose if working at the resort it’s better to live up there?
SO many decisions haha, I’m a little confused. Thanks again
Personally I understand why you have to leave early but it will be a massive downside to any potential employer. They all want you to stay until April because otherwise they have to hire someone else.
If it was me, I’d not mention it and if anyone asks, lie and say you can stay. Otherwise you just flat out will not get the job. Then when it comes up, say your great uncle is sick or something and you’re flying out in 2 weeks. It sucks that you have to do it but otherwise you probably won’t get a decent job. In regards to town jobs, I’d be looking more at Fernie / Revelstoke / Golden (kicking horse) / Rossland (red) which all have the town close to the mountain and you could probably get a job at the local shopping centre which would tide you over till you find something better and would still give you the chance to go shredding.
In regards to Kelowna, I’d say it’ll suck. Driving up the mountain for up to an hour each morning and afternoon is a long way. You also need to pay for petrol at least once a week and your friends would be on the mountain so you’ll be isolated in a town where most people probably don’t care too much about the mountain. The money you save in rent would be exceeded by petrol pretty quickly imo.
In regards to Manning Park. I’d be saving now and trying to get a vehicle. That way if you do get multiple days off a week with no riding you can at least road trip around to the other resorts close by.
Biggy / Silverstar / Sun Peaks are all 4 to 5 hours
Apex is 2.5 hours
Mt Baker in Washington USA is 2.5 hours
Steven’s Pass in Washington USA is 4.5 hours
Whistler is 3.5 hours
So while you may not get that big mountain resort to live in, you’d at least have a small, tight knit community feel with some great options right around the corner to go visit and get those numbers up.
Hey, thanks @TJswish sorry about posting in the old thread. didn’t realise. So wow. Bit of a reality check. Now I’m not sure what to do. I mean I know it’s not nice to up and leave, but surely there are uni kids and kids who get homesick or flat run out of money who leave early every season right?
Do they actually make you sign a binding contract?
I might have to make the most of seeing the country and give myself a week here or there of really hitting the mountains hard and staying up there because I feel like it’ll be easier getting short term work travelling in the major towns and crashing air bnb or hostels.
Flights are paid for so I gotta do something haha.
@Quincy People leave all the time, there is no binding contracts just that they will want you to stay. We had a massive turnover in Feb / March from people going broke, people getting homesick, people getting fired, people going back for a wedding, people getting over the cold and not actually going riding as much as they thought they would (not loving it like some of us other crazies do) etc.
Hell we lost a chick after 3 days cause she couldn’t handle the cold and outdoor work. All of these people got hired to do the whole season but we just bring in people from other departments etc. Snowmaking finishes in like Feb so they are prime targets to join lift ops and tickets.
You could definitely do time in hostels and travel but I doubt you’ll find much work for a week here and there. Too much contracts signing people up unless you get paid under the table. And with so many “legit” workers these days, it’s better to just get a real job and deal with it.
Hey guys! I leave for Whistler in exactly a month today which I am pretty excited about. Thanks again for all your help and info supplied, definitely made everything a lot easier.
With my flight and visa all organised, I now have insurance to tick off and I am a bit confused about what I need to ensure it covers (other than repatriation, and snow sports). Are there any special conditions or particular companies I need to look into for travel insurance that cover working? And would I be alright with 12 months if I have savings that show that I will have more than enough in a years’ time to extend it if necessary?
Also TJswish - I saw on another thread that you have a code for Tangerine potentially? Feel free to shoot this through as I was so sad about going without a bank like ING and looks like I’ve got an option now for Canada!
@tammy22 22 I only got codes for ING and Transferwise. Unfortunately I used Scotiabank and their exorbitant fees in Canada. Maybe you and @Coops can sign up and refer the other one?
In regards to travel insurance, they are all much of a muchness. I use Fastcover but haven’t tried to claim through them before. They have specific options for Snow Sports and include heli and cat skiing with a guide.
Yeah not a bad idea TJ.
Hey tammy22 my wife and I land in Vancouver on the 17th of October when are you getting there? We could catch up for a beer if it’s around the same time. We are going to go with Tangerine, fee free and free scotia ATM access.
Also I probably going to use Fast cover as TJ has said they cover pretty much everything, just for your info insurance companies only cover you on groomed runs (so no tree runs) unless they state otherwise.
And tree runs are siiiiick!