If you're looking for a chalet host job for the winter you can't go far wrong by taking one of the specific courses aimed at the chalet host job and lifestyle. Whilst giving you the lowdown on preparing a multi-course dinner party each evening, there's also a lot of background information to be learned - from the latest health and safety requirements to table management, cooking at altitude and using local ingredients. What's more many of the companies offering these courses have links with employers - so whilst they can't guarantee you a job they can certainly help you find one. Here's our top picks!
Based in beautiful La Rosiere this course is run by established chalet and hotel operator Snowcrazy. There are obvious benefits of doing a course in the Alps. Firstly you're in the mountains - what's not to like? But also you are actually in the environment that you will eventually be working in - chalet kitchens at altitude, which can present a whole lot of unforeseen challenges.
The course covers menu planning, keeping to a budget, dealing with special dietary requirements and how to keep guests happy! It may seem that the chalet host job is never ending but working with experienced hosts and chefs you will learn how to maximise your efficiency - and that means more time on the hill. Kitchen time is complemented with time out in the hot tub if you like or the opportunity to hike and explore the local area.
The course is a full week and runs on specific dates throughout the summer and autumn. Take a look at The Ultimate Chalet Host Cookery Course for more details.
With over 25 years experience in alpine hospitality, Chalet Savoie Faire's 5 day training course will undoubtedly give you a good preparation for a chalet hosting winter. Run by Nikki Shields, who has worked for and with some of best known ski operators, the course is hands on and covers all aspects of the chalet host role.
Nikki's love and experience of the local area means she can incorporate first-hand knowledge of local, easily-sourced ingredients, and teach you fool-proof recipes that will keep guests happy every week. There's also tips and tricks on presentation, planning, shopping, budgeting and even public speaking!
She also runs courses for those just wishing to learn and enjoy alpine cookery based in her beautiful, rustic chalet close to the 3 Valleys area in France.
The chalet cookery course runs for 5 days - see the website for more details: Chalet Savoie Faire Cookery courses
Orchards has one of the best reputations in the business for producing top notch chalet hosts.
Based near Evesham in Worcestershire, the school runs intensive one or two week courses throughout the year and promises to show you how to master the art of being a chalet host. Orchards graduates come out with menu plans, guides, help with writing a CV and much more. There is also interview training and with such an established reputation in the industry, an Orchards' endorsement is often a good pass to interview stages.
The course promises to "boost your confidence, develop your culinary skills and knowledge of cooking and give you the ability and inspiration to create your own masterpieces in the kitchen." They also have tips on dealing with kitchen disasters, such as exploding cakes.
With life in a ski resort very much in focus there is even a training video from Henry's Avalanche Talk to explain to the new seasonnaire the risks of off-piste skiing and avalanche awareness.
For more information see the Orchards School of Cookery website.
With a dollar exchange rate which is currently pretty attractive for European travellers Helen Brown of Chalets USA tells us what's great about skiing in the Rockies!
"The powder!" you hear the locals cry and yes the knee to thigh deep fluffy powder snow is incredible, but there are all sorts of other elements to the USA ski experience which bring visitors flocking to Colorado ski resorts from all over the world...will you love it too?
Ski resorts in the Rockies are famous for their powder snow - light fluffy flakes that feel like skiing on air. Steamboat Springs coined the term "Champagne powder" from the delicacy & lightness of the snow & its bubbly namesake.
"Powder days" are special & many local businesses will even shut for a few hours to let their employees "shred the pow" if there's over 8 inches of powder snow over night...and yes it happens quite a few times each season! Knee or even thigh deep powder is common and you'll hear skiers & riders whoopdy-doing down the mountain as they float along with just their ski tips poking through the snow.
Ski resorts in the Rockies get a lot of snow! Year after year snow conditions are pretty reliable & the snow total averages are impressive - Jackson Hole gets 459 inches (1166cm) on average, Breckenridge 300 inches (762 cm) & Winter Park 348 inches (884cm).
Wide open motorway pistes are great for beginners & intermediates to master their turns without feeling like they're going to careen over a cliff.
Most of the ski runs in Colorado (except the bowls) are lined by trees which gives you good definition & helps you see even in low light & when it's snowing - whiteouts are rare here.
In many US resorts there tends to be a ski boundary around the whole ski area & anything within that can be skied (avoid closed areas of course & only ski terrain appropriate to your ability level). So in the USA you can pop off the ski run into the powder at the side of the run, nip in & out of the trees or make your own route between runs. It's pretty much all in bounds, making the ski area twice as big as it seems.
So to the bowl skiing - huge wide open, in-bounds, bowls with off piste conditions, often plus some groomed runs, can be found in many resorts - Vail has its 7 bowls, Aspen has its Highlands Bowl, Beaver Creek Larkspur bowl & Breckenridge its Imperial Bowl as well as peak 7 bowl, Winter Park has Parsenn Bowl, plus Jackson Hole has Rendezvous & Laramie Bowls.
Yes some of the bowls are advanced / expert skiing, but there are also blue bowl runs, ideal for intermediate skiers to improve their off piste skills.
Vail is famous for its Back Bowls & Blue Sky Basin, Aspen for its Highlands Bowl & Ruthie's Run, Beaver Creek for its Golden Eagle Birds of Prey downhill course & Jackson Hole for Corbet's Couloir. For keen skiers these are "must ski" runs & not to be missed!
Yes you need to be pretty good (and pretty brave!) to attempt Corbet's Couloir, but intermediates can definitely give blue Ruthie's Run in Aspen or some of the blue runs in Vail's back bowls a try.
Most of the ski lifts in the major resorts are chairlifts or gondolas, so you can rest your legs between runs. Poma / draglifts & T-bar's are rare, so you can avoid achy legs and not have to worry about falling off half way up the lifts.
Many times you'll ski in the Colorado resorts without having to queue for lifts at all, especially during the week. On the whole lift queues in the USA are orderly, with skiers / riders politely alternating taking turns to get on the lift from left & then right. Unlike Europe you tend not to have little kids or angry Frenchman (!) barging in front of you to get onto the lifts.
Especially on weekdays the slopes tend to be pretty quiet & uncrowded, leaving you free to whizz at top speed down that run or wind your way gently down through the glades at your leisure.
The Americans are hugely customer service orientated and will greet you & be friendly at every opportunity. The "lifties" help you get on the lifts & have a chat, staff at your lodging ask about your day & want to make sure you know about the latest great restaurant or event. They all just want you to have a great ski holiday...
Many of the luxury hotels / apartments have ski valets, who will bring your gear to the slopes & even help buckle your boots for you if needed!
Well they say everything is bigger in the USA and to some extent its true. Accommodation in the USA tends to be a lot more spacious than in Europe and often homes includes rec rooms with pool table / table tennis / full size bar, family rooms with big screen TVs and even home cinemas complete with stadium seating in leather, reclining chairs & projector screens.
Yes the portions are bigger! The Americans are pretty used to eating out regularly as in several times a week, so you'll find a large variety of restaurants in resorts and often many affordable options which are pretty decent. The huge portions mean you can share dishes to keep the cost down or it really is the norm to take a doggy bag home, perfect for a snack or lunch / dinner the next day.
Ask us about skiing in the USA
We first skied in Colorado USA back in 2001, fell in love with the snow, ski resorts & people, moved here & never looked back.
We're thrilled to be able to share this fantastic USA ski holiday experience with our guests from all over the world, so if you haven't already, it's time to give it a try...
Happy Skiing!
With a gold medal in Giant Slalom, where she was nearly three seconds ahead of the rest of the field, fourteen year old Honor Clissold from Richmond, North Yorkshire, defended her British Children’s Overall Ski Champion title in the face of tough opposition in Meribel last week.
The three part competition was a challenging week for Honor, who is a member of the British Children’s Ski Team and trains with Team Evolution in St Johann, Austria. In her strongest discipline, the SuperG, she missed the gold medal by 0.2 of a second in what was supposed to be the training race. The Championship race, where she had planned a more attacking approach, was cancelled because of poor snow cover. Slalom is Honor’s weakest discipline, however she skied really well and in to third place in the tight technical course of the first run. The second, more open, course was less suited to her abilities so she finished the race in a disappointing sixth position.
On the final day of the championship, the Giant Slalom, which is the most important and technical of the three disciplines, the snow was hard-packed and icy. Several of the stronger skiers in the competition fell or made line errors and others chose a more cautious approach. Determined to retain her title, and putting everything she had learnt in training into practice, Honor skied a strong and fast line, not fazed by bumps and ruts, and finished the first run two seconds ahead of the field. With encouragement and guidance from Team Evolution coach Sega Fairweather, she held her nerve and repeated the performance in run two resulting in a clear win in both the Giant Slalom race and Overall Championship points.
Honor has now won three British Children’s titles as she was Children’s Champion in 2011 and was Children One Overall Champion in 2010; this season she also won three titles: the British, the English and the British Schoolgirl’s. And Honor had a third ‘hat trick’ on the international stage with three silver medals in Andorra in January.
Due to a change in FIS regulations, Honor has one more year in Children’s ski racing. This will be spent mainly working on technique, especially in slalom, and of course, defending her titles one last time. She comments: ‘I have really enjoyed ski-ing this year. My coaches have really helped make it happen and I am fired up to work hard and get results again hext season.’
It's great to start skiing at an early age - and as families head to the slopes for the February half term weeks, it's clear that a lot of parents recognise that.
However just because you didn't start young doesn't mean that you can't learn later in life. Don't let preconceptions about what you should or shouldn't be doing at a certain age stop you enjoying yourself - that's what we believe - and if you want to learn to ski in your 40's, 50's, 60's or later who's to stop you except yourself?
So with that in mind we asked Lynne Stainbrook, independent ski instructor based in France's Grand Massif, for his thought's on "senior skiing".
"It’s our prime time. We’re still very much alive and eager to ski, enjoying the mountains, the moment and ourselves. We have achieved significant success in business and our family lives. As we get older we understand our capabilities and limitations and set our own personal realistic goals. We don’t measure our personal worth by speed of descent, hang back recoveries or number of vertical metres logged. We appreciate the joy of blending gravity, snow condition, weather, equipment, physical condition and emotions.
We’re never too mature to increase our level of physical activity and quality of life. I personally recommend skiing as a lifetime activity to improve and maintain our quality of life."
"Winter activities build coordination, strength and fitness while participating in a fun sport in fresh mountain air. There is always great camaraderie with like minded friends with whom we can make that special connection, on and off the piste.
If you are looking for the motivation to start skiing again, or just ski for the first time, let me help you count the reasons.
Skiing can do all the following: improve your overall fitness, create a positive emotional state, lower stress levels, reduce pain, increase flexibility and help you sleep soundly
So seniors; get active, ski for life, recreation and everyday better health. Get out of the armchair and onto the chairlift."
So whether you're 6 or 60, learning to ski is great activity to get into and with so many benefits what's not to like!
If you're a non-skiing "senior" who is eager to learn or refresh your skills, take a look at Lynne's ski clinics. With over 40 years of experience he can produce a programme specifically tailored to your needs and objectives. You might not want to be the fastest down the mountain but you could certainly develop the skills and confidence to enjoy it, whatever your age!
For more information on Lynne Stainbrook and his ski philosophy, and to book a clinic, take a look at: www.flaineskiclinic.com
After the one of the best starts to the ski season for several years, it looks like 2011 will be going out with a bang! Many alpine ski resorts are expecting something in the region of 80 - 110cms of snow over the next 3 days. There are already record snow depths, great conditions and snow cover even in lower resorts.
This all means that Europe is well and truly set up for this ski season!
If you're going to be skiing when the snow is falling and the fog is closing in around you take a look through our top tips for skiing when visibility is limited.
1. Wear goggles not glasses. Goggles really are the best kind of eyewear for white out conditions. If you really must wear glasses then look for glasses with interchangeable lenses. When skiing in heavy snowfall you will usually be experiencing "flat light" - this is when you can't make out any contours of the snow beneath you. Red, pink or orange/yellow tinted lenses will help.
2. Ski/board where there's trees. Skiing above approximately 1800-2000m (in Europe) means that you'll be skiing above the treeline. So there are fewer "landmarks" around to provide definition to your surroundings. Staying a bit lower, in and around tree-lined areas help to provide that definition so it will be easier to see where you're going.
3. Keep the piste markers in sight. If you're high up and in very thick fog it can be disorientating. Keeping sight of the piste markers at the edge of the piste will guide you. Piste markers on the right hand side of the piste have orange or yellow tips - whilst those on the opposite side are all one colour ie the colour of the piste; red, blue, green etc.
4. Do not venture off piste. It may be tempting when you know that there's untracked powder all around you, but as a general rule of thumb in poor visibility - stick to what you know. Foggy, white-out weather means you can't see holes, bumps, rocks, drop offs. Fresh snowfall can easily disguise hazards. If you don't know the area - and even if you think you do - stay on piste.
5. Buddy up. It's always best not to ski alone in extreme white out conditions - at the very least make sure you let people know where you're going.
There can be some great aspects to skiing in a white out. The first few piste runs are often the best of the day - a layer of fresh snow on top of a smoothly pisted run can be the closest thing to heaven on a foggy, snowy day. Get there before anyone else and you'll have had the best skiing of the day!
After that it's also a great opportunity to work on your technique and will provide challenges that you won't get on a sunny, blue sky day.
We all love fairweather skiing - but white out skiing and snowboarding is just as much part of the mountain experience. It's just Mother Nature reminding us who's boss!
Here are a few top tips for how to ski a drop off. Watch the sequence of shots.
By Mark Gear Head Coach, All Mountain Performance
Mark runs off piste & freeride ski courses in Chamonix where you can actually learn how to do this. Of course, you choose the size of your jump.
You may have noticed in the last week or so that we have been joined by some illustrious company.
All Mountain Performance, based in Chamonix, offers courses and training aimed at improving your confidence and technique both on and off piste, whether you are a hesitant intermediate or a top level powder hound.
The school was founded in 2004 and has been garnering a great reputation for excellent coaching ever since. Its two directors, Mark Gear and Simon Halliwell, both English, successfully completed the arduous process required by French law to become fully qualified ski instructors. They are now part of a very small handful of English coaches operating in the Chamonix Valley.
So we're very proud that they have agreed to be regular contributors to The Ski Blog throughout the winter. The first AMP post covers the painful process of dusting off those ski legs and getting used to the sensation of having two planks on your feet again - timely advice for the large number of British skiers who will be heading for the hills and doing just that this coming weekend.
As Mark advises, start off gradually - "Its always best to start on an easy piste, greens or blues are sufficient –even pros don’t hit the blacks until dialled back in!".
Throughout the winter All Mountain performance offer courses for intermediates upwards - from taster weekends to 5 day courses for intermediates to experts. So if you're keen to take your first turns in powder, or to perfect your powder skiing and discover some of the legendary terrain that Chamonix has to offer, with expert guidance and feedback, then take a look at what All Mountain Performance has to offer.
See more offers on our Promotions page!