BootsnAll's Travel Community

Hey all,
Looking for ideas on where to spend some time living/skiing. I'd rather not work, I have enough $ to live for a few years probably. I just want to stretch it as far as I can. I'm looking for skiing like either in Jackson Hole or Whistler or something comparable (will likely spend time in both of those places for awhile anyway) but looking for other reccomendations in other parts of the world, especially southern hemisphere for July-Oct.

They should have great lift served skiing and lesser expensive housing available for someone who is willing to share accomodations with just about anyone. Some sort of an idea of the cost of living would be helpful too.

Thanks!

I don't know if living in Whistler is such a good idea if you're looking for cheap housing/living expenses. I recommend Whistler highly for a visit to ski, the terrain is some of the best in the world and that's not biased, it's fact!

However, I lived up there about 10 years ago and by all accounts of friends of mine still there it's only gotten worse. Like all resorts, Whistler is run on poorly-paid youth power (mostly Australians, interestingly enough) and the accommodations to house them are dismal (if you can find them) and outrageously expensive. Only a few of the major employers up there have subsidized housing (Whistler Mountain Corp., Delta Resorts and Fairmont Hotels off the top of my head, one or two of the other major hotels may have developed some since I left.)

Don't get me wrong, IF you can get in someplace where a half dozen of you are sharing a chalet for $500 Cdn/per month it's great and the reason most people are living up there is to only make enough for beer and skiing on their days off so the party atmosphere is second to none. But it's an if. A few years ago accommodations had become so scarce that chalet owners were holding auctions on their driveways and giving the place to the highest bidder and a friend of mine ended up sleeping in a sauna all winter because he couldn't find anywhere else to stay. (True story, he was on the news.)

Long story short - check out some of the smaller resorts if you want to live in BC as an alternative option. SilverStar, Sun Peaks, Fernie, etc. Have good terrain, if not as extensive as Whistler, and the cost of living should be a lot lower.

You don't have to rule out Whistler, just do your homework first. If you want to, you can PM me with any questions if you find anything and I can tell you if you're being ripped off or not!

Cheers

And to answer your question re: the southern Hemisphere, Queenstown, New Zealand is the place to be July-Oct, from what I've heard. Warren Miller used to film there quite often.

Big Mountain at Whitefish, MT in the USA.

Small town, no sales tax, cheap rent, good snow, still a favorable yuppie-to-cowboy ratio. Oh, and the train goes right through town, so easy access to larger cities like Chicago, Spokane and Seattle.

A few of my friends have made the ski bum journey in Crested Butte, CO. Badass town too... They were living in tents though, so no info on rent, haha.

I have also seen this documentary on ski bums... I even think it was titled just that, ski bums. Really good watch, especially if you are interested in it!

quote:

Originally posted by Skimaxpower:
Big Mountain at Whitefish, MT in the USA.

How long is the season there?

quote:

Originally posted by sinahptik:


I have also seen this documentary on ski bums... I even think it was titled just that, ski bums. Really good watch, especially if you are interested in it!

I am interested, I'm looking for it now. Thanks for the tip!

quote:

Originally posted by sinahptik:
I have also seen this documentary on ski bums...

I saw it on the Documentary Channel. It is a Canadian film about the Whistler/Blackcomb skibum community.

Not exactly a very wide-angled look at the skibum lifestyle - but good fun nevertheless.

quote:

Originally posted by sinahptik:

I have also seen this documentary on ski bums... I even think it was titled just that, ski bums.

I saw it, too. And it is called just that, Ski Bums. (Scroll down to Documentaries.)

I really liked it. I liked the girl that just loved the outdoors, and fixed up a little cabin on a river outside of Whistler, and skied in the winter and did river rafting in the summer. She looked so happy and wholesome. At least, that is the way I remember it - it was several years ago when I saw it.

quote:

Originally posted by m0loch:

quote:

Originally posted by Skimaxpower:
Big Mountain at Whitefish, MT in the USA.

How long is the season there?

I think approx Dec-April depending on your luck.

go SOUTH ....all the way South :

A R G E N T I N A has the best powder of the below Ecuador line

quote:

Originally posted by Skimaxpower:
Big Mountain at Whitefish, MT in the USA.

Small town, no sales tax, cheap rent, good snow, still a favorable yuppie-to-cowboy ratio. Oh, and the train goes right through town, so easy access to larger cities like Chicago, Spokane and Seattle.

True, there's no sales tax, but there is a 2% resort tax just in Whitefish.