The Ultimate Checklist in Preparation For a Working Holiday Ski Season

The Ultimate Checklist in Preparation For a Working Holiday Ski Season

So you have made the decision to leave home and head to the snowy mountains for a dream winter ski season. Good choice! We are here to help with a list of essential this to do in preparation for the season, and some recommendations on what to bring and what you can leave at home.

How to Prepare:

First off, you need to get your visa. You can do this on your own and do not need to pay a travel agency or working holiday travel company to do it. Simply go on the Canadian Government Website and fill out the online form, pay the fee, and you should be good to go. Heading somewhere else for a winter season? Here are links to the Japanese Working Holiday Visa and the New Zealand Working Holiday Visa.

Second, you will need to arrange your transportation to the ski resort. Assuming you need a flight to get from your home country to the mountains, we recommend SkyScanner as the best website to use to find cheap flight deals.

Once you arrive at the airport, you still have to get to the resort. Unless you have that reliable mate who is going to pick you up from the airport, your best option is going to be a bus from the airport to the resort town. If you are heading from Vancouver to Whistler, your best options are Epic Rides and Whistler Rides. If you are heading to a different resort the best thing to do is check out the website BusBud where you can input your destination and it will find the best available options for you.

Next, you will need travel insurance to cover you when you are travelling. You should be sure to buy some quality travel insurance as you are going to be skiing/ snowboarding on the mountain which can lead to injuries which you need to be covered for. For this, we recommend World Nomads who have excellent options with extensive coverage for all of your adventure seeking activities.

When you arrive to your destination country, you will need to get a phone plan that works locally. In most cases, this requires getting a new SIM card that will work in the country you will be spending the season in. What you need to do before leaving home is make sure your mobile device is unlocked so you can simply buy a new SIM card on arrival and it will work right away. If your mobile device is currently locked to your home network, you can call your phone provider and ask them to unlock it, or you might have to buy a new device.

Next, it would be smart to get some foreign cash so you are prepared for when you arrive. You do not need to take out heaps of cash, just enough for the travel from the airport to the resort town and a short time after that. Best option here is using your local foreign exchange outlets who usually offer better exchange rates compared to the banks. Alternatively, there are some excellent travel credit cards coming out which you can ask you local bank about, or check out options like the new TransferWise Money Card.

Ok, you’re almost all prepared. Last thing you should do is do some research on available jobs in the ski resort you are heading to. It can be smart to lock down a job before you arrive, especially if the employer offers staff accommodation. This way you do not have to worry about finding a place to stay when you arrive. We recommend to never pay to get a job. There are agencies out there who will charge you between $500-$1500 to “sort out a job for you” but to be honest, you can do it yourself. Most ski resorts have plenty of jobs available, you just need to check out the availability and send your resume through! Ski resorts such as Whistler, Banff, Revelstoke, and Fernie always have lots of jobs going, so have a look now to see what jobs might fit your preferences.

Check out our recommendations for top ski resort jobs and tips for finding one.

So, to round things up on your preparation list, you should sort out:

1. Visa
2. Transportation
3. Travel Insurance
4. Phone Plan
5. Money
6. Job

Heading to Whistler for the season? Check out available jobs here!

 

Packing List:

You might be tempted to throw everything you own into your suitcase(s) and head out for your winter season abroad. Don’t do this. There are many things you are better off buying when you arrive at the ski resort, and also some things you might not think of bringing that we recommend.

What Not To Bring:

It is important to remember most international airlines have a baggage weight limit of 30kg/66lb. This means you should avoid bringing heavy and bulky items, if possible, and instead elect to purchase these things on arrival.

You will not need your own pillows and blankets. So you have the super fluffy soft and warm blanket that you might have a name for? Please do not bring it. First of all, your new friends might ridicule you. Second, this will take up tons of room in your baggage which is better off used on more essential items.

Another thing you won’t need to do is bring every single toiletry under the sun. Ditch the 2 litre bottles of shampoo and conditioner, as these items are very heavy and can be purchased relatively inexpensively at your destination. You might not need a duffle bag full of makeup either, as ski towns have the vibes of less-then-dressy and more casual on nights out.

Obviously you will want to be prepared with your ski and snowboard gear, however, in many cases it will be smart to purchase these things at the ski resort town instead of buying them at home and lugging them across the world.

A hot tip is that there is always people in the resorts that are selling used items before the season starts, and you can get a full set-up of gear for cheap while not skimping on quality. Already have some awesome winter jackets, snowpants, gloves, helmet, goggles, etc.? Bring them. But if you do not own these, our recommendation is to wait until you arrive at the resort to buy these things.

Here is a summary of what not to bring on your working holiday ski season:

• Pillows and blankets
• Lots of toiletries
• Every piece of snow gear (unless you already own quality items)

Heading to Banff for the season? Check out available jobs here!

 

What To Bring:

Now that we have sorted the items you do not need to bring, let’s look at a list of essential items you should pack in your suitcase in preparation for your working holiday ski season.

Let’s start with clothing. Warm clothing. Bring hoodies, hats, gloves, socks and thermal underwear. These are all small items that should not take up too much room or weight in your bag. For casual wear, we would not recommend bringing fancy clothes as ski towns are super casual. Guys, you likely will not need too many button up shirts, and girls just bring a couple of your favourite dresses. Leave the high heels and dress shoes at home. As mentioned above, you will not need all of your bulky toiletries, but you should bring the essentials to keep clean on your travels. You can buy the rest of the stuff when you arrive at a Wal-Mart or the local equivalent.

Next, lets make sure you have some other essential items. Do not forget your passport at home. Or your drivers license. Also, some countries require you to have a printed version of your visa which you need to present at the border, so print that baby out as well. Bring that foreign cash you purchased as well, it’s not going to do you any good at home.

We would recommend bringing your computer, tablet, and mobile phone so you can stay connected and have something other then your phone for all of your digital needs, whether it be updating your resume or playing computer games. Make sure you bring an international travel adapter so you can plug in your home electronic devices. You can buy an all-in-one adapter or get one specifically for the country you are going to.

To kill downtime, we suggest bringing books or an e-book reader like an Amazon Kindle and a deck of cards. Some sneaky items you might also want to bring would be small food items you can’t live without and might have trouble getting at your destination (Aussies, think Vegemite – British, think Yorkshire tea).

To summarize, here is a list of things you should bring on your working holiday ski season:

• Warm clothing
• Basic toiletries
• Passport and drivers license
• Printed visa paper
• Foreign cash
• Computer/ tablet
• Mobile phone
• Travel power plug adapter
• Books/ e-book reader
• Deck of cards
• Small home food items

Follow the wisdom of this preparation list and you should be on your way to having the best winter of your life at a ski resort!