Frozen assets

Many people dream of spending an entire season at a ski resort – cruising around the slopes and bars for days and nights on end. So how can you do this, without tapping up your bank manager? Matt Barr tells al

For most people, an annual week in the French Alps combining sun, snow, après-ski and some gentle post-prandial blue runs is enough for them to get home and call themselves a skier or snowboarder. But two weeks in Meribel doesn’t come close to slaking the winter sports thirst of an increasing number of hardcore enthusiasts. They’re sick of the weather ruining their hard-saved-for trip. They want to ride powder in January, dodge the queues in February, hit the park in March and hike the backcountry in April. They want to roll out of bed when they want, and ride or ski whenever they feel like it. They want to feel part of the resort fabric, and be on first-name terms with the fit barmaid in the coolest bar in town. In short, they want to “do a season”.

These three words often send any respectable skier or snowboarder into a swiveleyed daydream – yet for many it’s a reality. The idea of spending up to six months living in a resort either eking out a living or riding on cash you’ve saved up is often a temptation too powerful to ignore. One of the most commonly heard phrases from the mouths of ex-“seasonaires” is: “If I had known how easy it was to do, I would have done it earlier.” So how do you go about it?

There are two ways of spending your winter – you either work, or you don’t. Resort jobs tend to be badly paid and keep you off the slopes during the day. Which is why generations of seasonaires have eschewed employment and taken the old ski-bum route, saving in the summer to live throughout the winter on a strict budget. Sure, they might not have much ready cash, but they’re following the dream in its purest form, and having a better time in the process. Here’s how to do it – on little more than a month’s wages, with a few tips on saving money in the resort thrown in for free.

Pages: