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Season in Tignes?

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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
Anyone else doing one? I will be repping for Esprit/Total, can't wait!
Jul 10 2009 1:02PM
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theFrenchman
Posts: 238 - Karma: 70

wont be there but you will have good time for sho. remeber that the tignes/vald'isere is much more about its backcountry than its park ;)

Jul 10 2009 1:42PM
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OhMyBosh
Posts: 5056 - Karma: 171
Indeed. The park at Val isnt bad but its nothing compared to the good ones in the US. But the amount of terrain is incredible. You'll have a dope time.
Jul 10 2009 1:48PM
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nickyp
Posts: 5673 - Karma: 215
VERY probably. I'm not repping, just drawing on my student loan. I can't bare to spend another season making the 6hr drive up to Scotland every weekend for no park whatsoever.
Jul 10 2009 1:48PM
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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
Haha, I heard that's why the govt give us student loans anyway?! I have just graduated so no student loan for me :-( Still is gonna be a hella good time, Can't wait!
Jul 11 2009 7:54AM
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Matty_C
Posts: 2598 - Karma: 236

solid choice my friend. the park in val is genuinely now one of the best in europe since DC took it over- the number of dope edits coming out of france with riders from val and tignes is testament to this. obviously the big mtn terrain remains as sick as ever.

only thing i would say is that while working for a chalet company will be fun for sure, there are plenty of jobs which allow you to ski more, meet more people and basically have an even better time. think bars. enjoy.

Jul 11 2009 9:38AM
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Matty_C
Posts: 2598 - Karma: 236

solid choice my friend. the park in val is genuinely now one of the best in europe since DC took it over- the number of dope edits coming out of france with riders from val and tignes is testament to this. obviously the big mtn terrain remains as sick as ever.

only thing i would say is that while working for a chalet company will be fun for sure, there are plenty of jobs which allow you to ski more, meet more people and basically have an even better time. think bars. enjoy.

Jul 11 2009 9:43AM
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Binbag
Posts: 56 - Karma: 102

yeh, this is true...i was in tignes last season, working as a ski tech, worked 20 hours a week, skied the rest of the time, had such an awesome season, but was broke the whole time! makesure you get yourself avy gear and some fat skis!

Jul 11 2009 6:55PM
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yoyoho
Posts: 166 - Karma: 38
Tignes is way to expensive for me to even think about going back for the winter. For 2 people we were £4500 for a 18sqm apartment in val claret, fuck paying that again.
Jul 11 2009 7:31PM
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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
Ya well that's why I got a job!

As a rep for Esprit, I get a full area lift pass, all meals, hire (lol won't be using that), accommodation and enough time to ski every day for at least a few hours (except sunday). I also get one full day off a week, and 2 days a week I still get on the mountain as a guide, which hopefully won't be too bad.

I also get a fairly decent pay packet which works out at around £150 a week. Enough to be drinking on!

I can't wait!
Jul 13 2009 7:48AM
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Nicko1981
Posts: 527 - Karma: 180
Still working on my plans Bealbatron; whether or not I do another season; if I do France there's a good chance I'll be Val d'Isere again or possibly Tignes dependant on job availability. There's an apartment in Tignes I can rent pretty cheap in Lavachet. Thinking Austria may be the way forward for me though mainly due to the cost of living.


Jul 13 2009 8:06AM
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Moon_Park
Posts: 413 - Karma: 110
Yeh Austria can be alot cheaper, I'm off to Verbier for the season - Its going to rape my bank account
Jul 13 2009 8:33AM
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T-Nutcracker
Posts: 1056 - Karma: 434
Dude unless you want to ski 100% pow then, then save a little more cash and go to the US.
I've been to many european parks in Europe including Austra, Italy and France and you can't even compare them to any good park in north america.
Jul 13 2009 8:46AM
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Moon_Park
Posts: 413 - Karma: 110
True parks don't come up to the standard of North America in general.
but for me at least, I pay £60 for a flight to europe, get a job in a bar which either gives you free accommodation for 6 months or a free lift pass for 6 months or both if I'm lucky. If I wanted to go to usa, I would get kicked out after 90 days for not being a citizen or have to get a visa for canda - plus pay about £700 or more on flights. Plus also I've got lots of contacts in Europe where I could get a decent job for a season, I don't know anyone in North America.
Jul 13 2009 8:57AM
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michael_bc
Posts: 1386 - Karma: 720
I don't get this type of retarded remarks.

A place like Tignes/Val d'Isere has a ton of things that North American resorts can't even come close to offering.

It has 27'000 acres of skiable terrain and over 6'000 feet of lift served vertical drop. On top of that you don't have ski patrol restricting where you go. It has so much snow that you can ski there all through summer on two separate glaciers, one for Tignes, one for Val d'Isere. Having a park that is slighly less perfect than Breckenridge or Mammoth is a small sacrifice to make given the mountains you can ride.

Besides next year Tignes has the X Games, so the park can't be THAT bad. Parks like Val Senales and Laax do come close to American parks. I say this after spending 2 winters skiing parks in Breckenridge, Keystone, Aspen, Copper, Park City and others.
Jul 13 2009 10:14AM
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Legoman
Posts: 533 - Karma: 13
Well seen as the visa situation is shit for Canada and the states im probably going to be doing the same.

Really want to get an instructor job but finding places to apply for is really hard and with the whole visa thing more people are going to be looking for jobs in europe.

So im pretty pumped still to just go ski bum it for the season, I'd really like to do France or Austria, preferably France if im gonna bum it.

Anyone got any tips other than using something like natives, and yeah I would much rather do ski tech jobs than chalet hosting but open to anything I guess. If anybody knows anything that can help that would be sweet or just what is the best general area to do a season with a fairly good park and lots of pow pow. Only been to 3 valleys in france and valmaral or whatever its called when i was a tinky tot.

Was looking at deux alpes, serre chevalier, les arcs, and tignes/val and lookign to get a small studio apartment for the season but nothign over £4500ish.

Hopefully see some of you guys out there :)
Jul 13 2009 10:55AM
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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
X GAMES! Yeah I literally cannot wait for that, does anyone know if Airwaves is happening again? I hope so, that was sick last year! Fingers crossed that Candide is gonna be okay this season, I know coreUPT's home town is Tignes so hopefully will see him and their incredible team shredding there this year :-)


Jul 13 2009 11:06AM
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Moon_Park
Posts: 413 - Karma: 110
No they are replacing Tignes Airwaves with European X games but at a different date.  airwaves was first week of January, while euro x games has been moved to march as not clash with the original X games (correct me if I'm wrong anyone)
Jul 13 2009 11:18AM
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partyalex
Posts: 131 - Karma: 11
gonna be there early season for a week with my buddies. hoping on good snow, got such a cheap deal.
Jul 13 2009 12:36PM
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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
cool well I go out there mid way through november to start training. should be pretty sweet. See you there!
Jul 13 2009 12:50PM
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Nicko1981
Posts: 527 - Karma: 180
Not to mention the best thing season in Europe has over USA; the young drunken girls.

I don't think you can get a better nightlife vibe than european seasons; and there's none of this silly 21 year old drinking age; so there's a lot of young, fairly innocent girls getting rather pissed and throwing caution to the wind.

Mmmm, seasons.
Jul 13 2009 2:09PM
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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
Hahahaha, Nicko, this is a great quote to be putting on a public forum! How old are you again?!!!

personally I wouldn't let the innocent looks allude you. In my experience the ones with the cuter faces and the ra ra hair do way more stuff.


Jul 13 2009 2:16PM
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Nicko1981
Posts: 527 - Karma: 180
I don't think that posting that on a public forum is any worse than posting your complaints about your girlfriend's pubic hairstyling, or lack of it, on a forum where many people she knows could easily see it.

And as for my age, if I was a Hobbit, I'd be really young.

Yep, sometimes the more innocent-looking girls are a lot more adventurous; this is what we call a win-win situation.
Jul 14 2009 5:54AM
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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
Agreed. I am enjoying my humble pie... mmmm pie.

Win Win indeed. I was the only guy in my interview and of those girls about 70% had just done their a-levels. They have much to learn....
Jul 14 2009 6:09AM
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partyalex
Posts: 131 - Karma: 11
nice! totally jealous of your season, i did a couple on NZ and Canada when i was 18/19. but now i have a job... and awesome job but a job none the less.

looking forward to hitting Tignes, only problem being that i like my pow and the park kinda isn't my thing. Gonna hit up Hemel ski centre every couple of weeks to get confident on the rails and booters again just in case the snow isn't great but the park is open.
Jul 14 2009 9:27AM
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Moon_Park
Posts: 413 - Karma: 110
may see you in hemel during the summer then
Jul 14 2009 9:29AM
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dom_uk
Posts: 1560 - Karma: 12
bump? One more potentially here, either tignes or verbier its looking like, just the pesky subject of university to sort now, can u say extended gap year?? :S
Aug 30 2009 4:30PM
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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
haha do it dude! Uni is fun though... you could rep for one of the student tour operators during the holidays? Always a hoot, plus you don't miss valuable lecture/drinking time back at uni.

first year is a waste of time anyway, so why not try wasting it on the snow?!
Sep 11 2009 11:32AM
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skiingonskis
Posts: 2076 - Karma: 262
i agree with this statement
Sep 11 2009 1:32PM
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THUGwife
Posts: 1909 - Karma: 301
100% gonna be in val d'isere in april. season just gone the park in val was much better but there would be days where it was all perfectly groomed but just everything would be closed. so the wee i was out there it was only open about 4 days. hoping they dont do the same thing this year.
Sep 11 2009 1:39PM
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PintSizedSteeze
Posts: 26 - Karma: 12

can't wait for x-games!! 10th of march! TIGNES. ps : i have a chalet in ste foy to rent out (about 25mins away from tignes which is gonna be packed) http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/france/FR1538.htm

Ste foy's also perfect for freeride cos it's only a small resort with some amazing runs, look it up , in my opinion the best backcountry, tree runs, endless fields of powder i've ever seen ;)

Sep 11 2009 1:52PM
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rorybw
Posts: 141 - Karma: 15
I did my season in Tignes and it was so sick!! You'll have an awesome time!
Sep 11 2009 3:45PM
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al_britskiier
Posts: 419 - Karma: 23
Exactly...Deux Alpes was class for that shit all last season.   Doing some peak season work again there this year.  Id imagine it will have remained the same.
Sep 11 2009 6:42PM
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EMK
Posts: 1632 - Karma: 669
This is the first time i've actually caught you posting!
Sep 11 2009 6:48PM
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skiingonskis
Posts: 2076 - Karma: 262
Deux Alpes is sick, L'Avalanche!
Sep 15 2009 2:16AM
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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
I lost my phone in there and then got picked up and thrown across the street by the aggressive black bouncers!
Sep 15 2009 6:47AM
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jim=armada
Posts: 18 - Karma: 10
hey im doing a season in val this year. going out on 26th november working for mark warner. gonna be awesome. anyone else working for mark warner??
Sep 15 2009 6:58AM
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EMK
Posts: 1632 - Karma: 669
That place is mega wack for that sorta shit. Those guys are total douch bags, i stoped going by about halfway through the season last year.
Sep 15 2009 8:06AM
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MagSeven
Posts: 1000 - Karma: 412

That place is a shit hole, but it'll always mean something to me! I met a girl in the Avalanche in 2003. Five years later I married her. True story!

Sep 15 2009 8:29AM
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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
wow! cool story!
Sep 15 2009 9:46AM
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buckers
Posts: 448 - Karma: 12
2 days guiding, your going to be guiding boring piste skiers around all the red and blue runs.  On your day's off, your guaranteed to have someone calling you saying their lift pass isn't working, or their kid fell over in ski school.

Seriously, I have done two seasons, Reps are the hardest working people in a resort.

When you get to Tignes, start getting real friendly with all the bar owners.  Bars always have to fire people for getting too drunk, or people leave, usually around December/January, because they miss home, and this is your oppertunity to get a better job.

Bar work, you don't start till 4/5pm, 11/12 if the bar opens for lunch/apres.  Most bars close at 2/3, that means you'll be in bed by 4 latest, so you can easily still get up for first tracks and have a nap in the afternoon.

I don't mean any hate, but like I said, I've done two season, one with a tour operator and one working in a bar, the bar season was far better.
Sep 15 2009 12:34PM
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rorybw
Posts: 141 - Karma: 15
got to agree, you don't want to get your hopes up and then find out when your there thats it not quite that perfec! I worked as a Kitchen Porten/Dish Pig in Tignes and I didn't even ski for the first week or so after telling myself I'd be on the slopes every day. Remember its a lot of hard work but still, it will the sickest thing you ever done! enjoy
Sep 15 2009 3:55PM
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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
yeah for sure, I know it will be hard work, but I will get a few hours ski time each day, and my day off is my day off...maybe I will have to sort out some shit but my feeling is that it will be the most rewarding job? IDK, maybe I am wrong, we shall see. I am looking forward to it though, I know it's a job, not a holiday but it's worth it.
Sep 17 2009 4:51PM
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dom_uk
Posts: 1560 - Karma: 12
Ok so in the process of booking my apartment for the season, STOKED. so sure i will meet most of you guys in the park but do any of you have avy equipment etc. and up for some training in resort? where you guys staying in in lavachet next to le lac
Oct 11 2009 10:05AM
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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
Hey Dom,

I'll be in "halls" which apparetly are near le lavachet. I'll no doubt see you in the Alpaka or Yeti at some stage!

I'm also gonna be running a photography business whilst I am out there, taking pics in the park. So let me know if you want your picture taking, i'll make it look like you are getting much bigger air than reality!
Oct 11 2009 10:10AM
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nickyp
Posts: 5673 - Karma: 215
Who cares? You'll be living the mountains, surrounded by skiers and the snowsports culture, in a beautiful part of the world, learning new skills and meeting new people. Sounds pretty awesome to me. And getting to ski on top of that is the icing on the cake.
Oct 11 2009 10:14AM
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dom_uk
Posts: 1560 - Karma: 12
Hopefully if they build the kickers up for the x games you wouldnt need to! The kicker in Les Deux Alpes on my last season was a 26m table, in past years i don't think val/tignes have been quite so ambitious but maybe theyl build something i can do my knee in on again! can only hope! What will the business entail then? I was going to sell beanies for a friend last year but ended up just drinking instead and forgetting about the idea, after this my friend did instead and made enough money to fund his trip to the brits! so good luck! you may well find it very hard to sell photos of seasonaires to themselves though as they are notoriously cheap!
Oct 11 2009 10:27AM
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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
Yeah man I think they will build up some pretty huge kickers! I was originally gonna take photos of guests and sell them a DVD of the week, but apparently Esprit don't allow you to sell independent services to guests, so I guess I won't be pimping myself out either.

So instead, when I get free time I am gonna take photos in the park and put a poster at the top of the lift or something so that people know I am doing it. I'll shove em on a gallery page on my website with a watermark and if they want to buy the photo, they can pay over paypal or something.

But you're right, I will probably end up drinking!
Oct 11 2009 11:56AM
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al_britskiier
Posts: 419 - Karma: 23
Claim....i hit that shit.  :)
Oct 11 2009 12:04PM
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dom_uk
Posts: 1560 - Karma: 12
Since your guiding that sounds like quite the good idea, what camera set up you going to be using? and trust me whether esprit allows it depends entirely on how sound your boss is and how much they like you. its probably almost certain they dont know this rule exists, i know one of my friends is a chef and is selling his beanies through reception in a crystal hotel.
Or another idea is just taking your camera out on nights out and take pictures of hammered people in embaressing situations/pulling fat birds and blackmail them to pay you or youl upload the pictures to the internet. business expansion!!!
Oct 12 2009 11:34AM
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Oli_jgb
Posts: 985 - Karma: 95
I may have made a mistake in asking, but I asked the area manager for Tignes and they said that I couldn't do it. But you never know, things could change when I get out there. It's also pretty standard for chalet hosts to do things like honesty bars etc. So I don't see why I can't do something like that.

Camera set up is:

Canon 400D
Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II Lens
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 IS Lens
Nissin Di622 Flash Gun for Canon
Sony VCTR640 Tripod
Samsung HMX20 - C HD Camcorder


So if anyone wants me to film I can do that too!
Oct 13 2009 2:01PM
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