A season in Whistler - 5 Things You May Want to Know

Whistler is a hotspot for skiers and snowboarders from all over the world, if you are thinking about heading over to the resort that is renowned for it's powder, have a read.

1. Money
Whistler is catered to its guests, and most of them will have a substantially bigger amount than you do. Wages are low and most seasonairre's live off their tip money, or employee perks. If you are doing a season here, you will most likely be living pay check to pay check. Serving jobs in more upmarket restaurants are the best jobs. Jobs with the mountain give you a free ski pass and other benefits, but usually you don't make any tips. However everyone has no money, and being a close-knit community, the more people you know the less money you will have to spend. For example if you get to know a tuning shop boy, you can get your snowboard waxed for a couple of beers. At my work we get vouchers to spend at work, so I can swap these for discounts in shops, free t-shirts, free drinks, even a taxi home if I'm lucky.

2. Community
As mentioned it is a close-knit community. I have met only two people who were born and raised in whistler over the last 6 months, and because most people have come from another country or town, they all understand what it is like moving here. When I first arrived shop assistants, bar tenders, waitress' were all giving me tips on what I should do to find a house/job. The Facebook groups - Whistler Buy and Sell, Whistler Winter 2013, etc. Are all really helpful. Whether you have lost your phone, need a free sofa or just want to ask a question, people are genuinely happy to help and give you advice. They want to share their thoughts and opinions. It also helps if someone breaks into your house in the middle of the night and steals your laptop - this happened to a chap on a season here and by the next day he had handed the culprit over to the police all thanks to Whistlerites on Facebook.

3. Activities
Depending what time you come depends on what activities you are. In the winter thousands flock for the snowboarding and skiing, in the summer it is for the biking. Aside from these there are other things to do but as a seasoniarre you're time will more than likely be spent drinking and working. If you have a bit of money then you can do all sorts of things; bungee jumping, zip lining, tubing. If you are here in the summer then days are spent down by the lake basking in the sunshine.

4. Housing
Housing in the winter is like a gold rush. There are so many people trying to find somewhere to live for the winter that housing is quite difficult. Dont get me wrong you can find somewhere, but that somewhere might be sharing a room with 3 others or sleeping in an unused sauna! Prices are expensive for what they are. I paid $500 for a shared room a 20 minute walk out of the village. It is hard to find a room you don't have to share or a room in the village for a decent amount of money. In the summer prices go down and there are more options. Check out Facebook groups and craigslist for rooms.

5. Nightlife
Whistler is abundant with drinking holes. You can easily go out any day of the week, as long as you have enough money to! Get a locals sticker for as many places as you can, it will save you money throughout the season. Garfs, Tommy's, Longhorns, Maxx Fish and Bills all do stickers. Moe Joe's also do a membership card. Monday's is 80's night at Tommy's, however Maxx Fish has taken over with there Monday night. They also run a night on Tuesday. Wednesday is Bill's night, Thursday is Garfs. Avoid Saturday and Sunday unless you want to queue for ages and spend the night with city folk. And Sunday is Longhorns and Moe Joes.

Whistler - The Beginning

So I have been in Whistler for almost one month and it has been a pretty good month. I have a job at Splitz as a cashier, I have been living in a flat in the village for the past month and have it for one more, and I have met a few people. 

I still don't feel settled, I think it's because I haven't got a full time home for the season yet, so people have been coming and going and it doesn't quite feel like home. I moved here in September and its a great flat right in the village above Billabong, the girls that were all here when I moved in are really nice and have shown me the ropes of Whistler, which has been awesome. But slowly they have been leaving and new people have been coming in - who are also awesome. A lot of the people I have met so far have already done a year here and are off back home, but I did throw myself out there and just go meet a bunch of randoms on Facebook the other night which was really good fun.

Finding a house in Whistler has proved to be quite difficult. There is a lot of competition for rooms and the rooms that are here, are pretty expensive - and usually shared. I'm not too fussy about sharing a room, I have been sharing for the past month here and the past four months in America, but it would be nice to have my own room for a while! But at the moment it looks like I may have to take anything. 

The snow has started, well on top of the mountain. So it shouldn't be long now until it starts making its way into the village. I could really do with my warm clothes now, which are still in a box at home waiting to be shipped out. The snow is making me very excited, the town is a little odd at the moment as it is dead season, and not many around. However it is quite nice to get in before it all goes crazy.

So back on Craigslist I go, to find my new home!

Check out my video of Whistler so far here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb8S8B2Qgdc

Lauren x

Ski Season. In the beginning.

I first went skiing when I was a young teen, maybe 13. I can’t quite remember where it was maybe France or Switzerland, but there is one thing I do remember, falling in love. No I am not reminiscing about a holiday sipping hot chocolates by a log fire, snow falling outside while we listened to Hoobastank. I was 13. No I am talking about falling in love with flying down a snow covered mountain. As kids do, I picked up skiing pretty quickly. With my adolescent lack of fear it was easy to throw myself down a mountain and hope for the best, picking up the technique with each run.

Over the next few years I was lucky enough to be taken by my dad skiing a couple more times. One such trip my brother decided to hire a snowboard, which of course meant so did I. While he floated down the mountain making it look effortless, I was on my bum the whole way down.

Fast forward maybe ten years with only two more trips as an adult, I always had snowboarding and the rush it gives you in the back of my mind. With each first snowfall in London I was dreaming of chair lifts and apres ski. So after two years of paying off University loans and saving up, I finally quit my job as a PR account executive and set off to join the thousands of travelers chasing the snow dream.

I decided on Whistler, one of the largest ski resorts in North America. Pretty far from home, but hey at the moment I have one shot to have an amazing winter and by the sound of it Whistler promises to deliver.

It isn’t just the snow I’m chasing though, it is also the lifestyle. Just like with surfing or skateboarding, I wanted to be a part of the community that action sports provides. 

It’s unlike any other experience I have had, having dabbled in skateboarding and very briefly surfing, the people I met through it have been amazing and the sense of being part of something, like a big family, has stuck with me. Having moved around a lot as a kid, maybe I am searching for something? But lets not get too deep. I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s having a common hobby, or that generally you have to travel to do it (unless you’re lucky enough to live with it on your doorstep) but the people are some of the best I have met, chilled and friendly, just looking to have a good time and board.

So teaming snowboarding, the people and being in the party town that is Whistler, (B.C. Liquor Distribution recently compiled data showing that the Whistler region consumes more alcohol than any other part of B.C.) what could go wrong? Lets see.