The La Tania Ski Blog
Latest news, snow, pics, gossip and information from the locals in La Tania – latania.co.uk
All the latest news from around the Three Valleys from the La Tania locals. A real blog since 2006, not just endless re-posts for search engine optimisaton! Photos, gossip, snow reports, what's on and all the latest on the Apres Ski scene... Now fully optimised for iPhone, Touch and Android Mobiles - just go to latania.co.uk/blog and view on your phone. Our other past blogs & favourites here
La Tania podium finish in Teenage Games in Courchevel – Go Hard Jake!
La Tania local Jake stepped onto the podium not once but twice today. Good work!
Happy Bastille Day! 1789 & all that – but the fireworks man!
The French really do know how to do fireworks no matter how small the village across the whole of the French Republic tonight… Happy Bastille Day / French National Day!
New Biollay Lift Station
Bottom station of new Biollay chair lift now installed. The lift will finish in a slightly different place giving direct access to the little blue piste (Super Pralong) leading to the Suisse chair thus avoiding the sharp right hand corner and track.
Nick www.nickskithreevalleys.co.uk
New Gym down the road in Le Praz under construction
New Le Praz gym is under construction. Above is a photo from the hoarding outside the Olympic ski jump area in Le Praz. It is projected to be finished in the spring of next year. We hope they’re going to put some top fitness equipment in there so that we no longer have to drive up to 1850 for a workout.
Andrea and Phil
General advice for working in a ski resort
General advice for working in a ski resort – guest post from Julian at www.bestskijobs.co.uk
Every year, a new wave of people (lets face it, mainly, though not exclusively, students who have finished their exams and want to take some time out before resuming their studies, or getting their feet ensconced behind a desk in an office somewhere), are struck by the idea that working in a ski resort would be the perfect way to pass the cold and wet British winter months. Given the choice of cold rain or fluffy snow, who can blame them? But not everyone has a clear idea or understanding of how ski resorts like La Tania work, nor how to find gainful employment that will allow them to live there.
The first thing to remember is that working in a ski resort is definitely not the same as holidaying in a ski resort. You have probably enjoyed some wonderful holidays on the snow, but save for your one day off a week, while you are there to work, you can forget about wandering about the centre of the village, trying to decide where to sit and people watch for the next few hours. There are not many jobs that will give you this much time off, certainly not if you are hoping for a decent wage.
As you will already know from this blog, ski resorts spend most of the summer months preparing for the winter season. Each year there is investment in transport, infrastructure, facilities and accommodation. Resorts prosper by attracting more holiday makers, and more people visiting ski resorts means more jobs need to be filled.
Choosing a resort
La Tania is a smaller and more family orientated resort than its 3 Valley neighbours like Meribel. If you do have the luxury of choosing a resort (most season workers will get a job with one of the bigger tour companies, and are then told where they will be working during the coming season) then smaller can often mean better value, and the beauty of the 3 Valleys is you can still ski in the bigger resorts and access their nightlife if that is important to you. You will also find that the most fashionable resorts attract the most CVs, so it is definitely worth searching away from the more popular areas.
Job Types
The main resort jobs fall into the categories of representatives for the ski companies, instructors of either skiing or snowboarding, child care staff, chalet hosts who look after the accommodation, chefs and catering staff who keep everyone fed, bar staff who keep everyone watered, plus a host of other occupations ranging from drivers to ski boot technicians. If you are already experienced in one of these areas then your decision is probably an easy one, but if you are completely new to resort work or work in general, then chalet staff is perhaps one of the easier jobs to get into. While chalet hosts generally have previous experience, cleaners and assistants are more often first timers.
Improve your chances
As with any type of work, the more experience you have the better your prospects. Mindful of this, many companies now offer very useful and practical specialist courses designed to teach you the skills that employers are looking for. Examples include chalet cookery courses, ski technicians and running a ski chalet.
Another way to improve your chance of finding work is to apply as early as possible. If you have not started applying until a couple of months before the first snows, then you may have left it too late as the majority of positions are filled during the summer months. Don’t be too disheartened though, while you will improve your chances by applying early, there are always drop outs, even once the season has started. So it is never too late to find work.
If working a season is an idea you want to pursue, there really is nothing stopping you heading out to a resort like La Tania to spend your winter living and working with the locals.
Click through for a live list of French ski resort jobs
La Tania local carrying the Olympic Flame!
La Tania apartment owner Paul Mears with the Olympic Flame today.
He is the father of British diver Chris Mears, who in 2009 suffered a serious training accident while competing for Team GB at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney.
Paul maintained a bedside vigil, together with his wife Katy. Chris was placed in intensive care and diagnosed with a ruptured spleen. He has made a full recovery and will compete at the 2012 Games in the 3m Springboard and 3m Synchro (with Nick Robinson-Baker).
The 3V Mountain Bike Weekend – 20km (2km vert) Downhill & 80km Tour
The Weekend of 7/8 July sees the 13th Edition of the 3VTT (Les 3 Vallees Tout Terrain) Mountain Bike Races.
Saturday see the downhill race from the top of Saulire to Bride Les Bains – 20km long and 2,000m of verticle with the top riders completing it in under half an hour!
Sunday is the Rando Tour an 80km circuit of the 3 Valleys using parts of the lift system for SOME of the uphill sections.
Go hard everyone – hopefully Yorkshireman Ollie will be representing La Tania if he’s not injured (again)!
Full Map PDF (5MB) link http://latania.co/NHjq2N
Large Pic http://latania.co/LtG58V
3VTT Website http://www.les3vallees.com/3vtt/
Tuesday, beautiful bucolic day up the Tania telecabine.
What run am I stood on?
Fergus Grant, Ski Deep. La Tania, Courchevel. 0033 (0)660 999 749 ferg@skideep.net
The first pints of the Summer season poured at The Ski Lodge – Now Open for Summer!
Nick and Joey of Nick Ski among the first drinkers this Summer….
