#winterintherockies

[ghxstloser]

winter activities vail colorado travel guide travel blog Calling all snow enthusiasts. Embrace the magic of winter in Vail, Colorado with our comprehensive travel guide. Discover thrilling adventure, charming mountain towns, and unforgettable experiences that will make your trip truly unforgettable.

[jso129]

🌧️❄️⛄️ It’s been a loooooong time since it’s snowed this much!! I’m grateful for the option to #WorkFromHome in cases like this. This storm dumped 24 inches of snow at my house!! #CrazyBlizzard

📸 1: Snowmageddon Night

📸 2: Snowmageddon Day

#BeautifulColorado #LittletonCO #Snowstorm #WinterStorm #TheAftermath #ColoradoRockies #WinterInTheRockies #HelloMarch2024 #ThisIs2024 #2024Strength #SnowSnowSnow #DoYouWantToBuildASnowman

[leafandlily]

A winter scene on a cold and crisp day. Sometimes just a dusting of snow can be the most beautiful. . . . #rockymountainsinthesnow #mountainlife #coloradorockymountains #getoutsideandplay #getoutside #winterintherockies https://www.instagram.com/p/CXW3OetJfY_/?utm_medium=tumblr

[waltoutwest]

View from the office this morning. #sunrise #alpanglow #rmnp #ilovemountains #ilovesunrises #winterintherockies (at Estes Park, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/CI4XjkmFSAT/?igshid=8nv0k8c20jv

[theoutdoorsociety]

Sometimes, imperfections can be the most beautiful things in the world. #outdoorsociety #yellowstonenationalpark #yellowstone #nationalpark #naturephotography #wildernessearth #wildernessculture #perfectlyimperfect #natureisbeautiful #lonetree #winterintherockies #wyoming #strength #embracedifferences #leaningtree #meditationdestination #publicland #publiclands #findbeauty #gooutside #optoutside (at Tower Falls)

[mindbodysoulcolorado-blog]

plan B worked out pretty awesome, dog park with my top dog 🐕 #elkmeadowdogpark #dogpark #evergreencolorado #outdoorworkout #exercise #winterintherockies #snow #hiking #outdoors #nature #freshair #denalithedog #stonehenge #timerselfie #trees #getoutside #mindbodysoulcolorado (at Elk Meadow Open Space Dog Park)

[rcpopart-blog]

#readyforwinter #snowfall2018 #winter2018 #snowshoeing #winterintherockies

[ronspomeroutdoors]

Lovely winter view from the “back 80” yesterday, although the hike to reach it was a steep price. A foot of snow grew to 2 feet by the time I’d climbed 400 feet over 1/3rd mile. Called for coyotes while catching my breath and brought in 18... mule deer. I doubt anyone’s called in more than 6 or 7 coyotes from one stand in one session. Or have you? BTW, the dark shrubs are bitterbrush, a top winter deer forage. #mountains #winterintherockies #snowcappedpeaks #coyotecountry #muledeercountry #godscountry #dancingspringsranch #ronspomeroutdoors #wildlifehabitat #bitterbrush https://ift.tt/2EHpLje

[lawraloo]

It's after 8pm and it's light as daylight outside. #prayingforasnowday #winter #winterwonderland #hellowyoming #winterintherockies

[allsignspointoutofengland-blog]

Winter in the Rockies

With a job secure we only had around 3 weeks to prepare, which mainly consisted of goodbyes and tying off lose ends such as phone contracts, informing the bank you might be using your card abroad etc. We booked our flights through Canadian Affair which cost approximately £500 for a one-way ticket, for us it was the cheapest option as we had no idea how long we would be staying but I’m also aware of people who booked a return for 6 months and was able to pay a fee to extend it when they stayed longer. As Jasper is a small town the nearest airports were 4 hours away, either Edmonton or Calgary. We chose the latter but both cities are ample choices. We never ventured into downtown Calgary but we chose a hotel that was near a bank and a mall and found the city to be a great introduction to Canada. Some months later we spent a few days in Edmonton, and although terms like ‘murder capital of Canada’ was thrown around and downtown didn’t look as welcoming, it does have one of the best malls in the world http://www.wem.ca/ (yes that is a water park inside it).

We purposely chose to stay in Calgary four days and used the time to buy some winter wear, open a bank account and recover from jetlag. Obviously Canada has much more option for winter clothing and most of the time it is cheaper than England, although not by a huge amount but it beats carrying them over. We researched what banks were in both Jasper and Calgary and thought it would be better to open an account immediately to have bank details ready by the time we met with our employer. This worked for us because luckily the manager was extremely friendly and knew the town and company we were going to work for, although she still expressed concern that usually they wouldn’t open bank accounts without more proof of employment (we only had our introductory contract). So I would recommend waiting until you reach the town or city where you are working and have met with your employers then open the bank account there.

Getting to Jasper was extremely simple.  A coach journey can be booked from Calgary airport, even in winter when the journeys aren’t as frequent. Upon reaching Jasper we had arranged to pick up our apartment keys from the Hotel’s front desk and here’s where ‘staff accommodation’ should be explained. This accommodation is very cheap and you do get what you pay for. For us there was a choice of shared dorm style rooms or because there were two of us we could have our own apartment for a few more dollars a day. We chose our own apartment and we grew to love it, yes it was small and yes I’m pretty sure there was a family of mice living behind our oven but it was a two minute walk to work and meant we only had to work an hour and a half a day to pay rent.

We settled into work fairly quickly.  A massive upside of choosing a tourist town like Jasper or Banff is that the majority of workers are under 30 and from all over the world. The work is seasonal so people are coming and going every summer and winter, meaning it is easy to meet new people and make friends. As a small conclusion to this part, you have read that my friend and I were able to do this by ourselves. You don’t need to pay a large sum of money to a company to help you with your visa and tell you how to get a job, yes if the fee is small enough these sites may be a useful link to employers but some ask for ridiculous amounts, start emailing prospective employers yourself.

Winter Activities

Unsurprisingly winter in the Rockies mainly consists of snowboarding or skiing. With zero experience in either we had a lesson in both to decide which one we were going to opt for (book a group lesson in an off peak time like November if possible as chances are it will pretty much be like a private lesson). Instead of getting into the whole skier’s vs snowboarder’s argument I will explain why I chose snowboarding. From what I was told and experienced, it is easier to learn to ski but harder to master and harder to learn to snowboard but easier to master. Snowboarding is a frustrating start as you spend the majority of it falling over, but if you are working the full winter you have plenty of time to get into it and progress beyond beginner level as the Canadian ski season is long, usually ranging from November-May. This also means you get to experience all different ‘types’ of snow, from the -30 degree icy snow, to waist deep powder and spring time slush, something you couldn’t get from a vacation. Winter work is usually quite slow except for the two weeks around Christmas and New Year, so if you’re not interested in going up the ski hill frequently I’d rethink working in a mountainous town.

A massive part of Canadian winters are the sports. Ice skating on designated frozen lakes is a cheap activity or if you don’t trust the frozen ice, the local sports centre will most likely have a rink where you can get involved with skating, ice hockey and curling. If you prefer watching the sports you need to get back to the bigger cities to really experience it. There are of course other activities you can do. We took part in a frozen canyon ice walk, which is a great chance to get up close to the frozen waterfalls and see some amazing views. There is also dog sledding, we didn’t do this because of the expense but was told it was a great experience.

The next blog entry will cover summer activities in the Rockies.

[waltoutwest]

One of the last four rooms available. Got lucky. #snowstormintherockies @silverthornecolorado @visitsilverton @visitcolorado #winterintherockies #2020 (at Silverthorne, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHlhcWxl5Rq/?igshid=1eo3950p4orce

[waltoutwest]

So this was a fun start to the drive. Snow in the Big Thompson Canyon on Monday night. #snow #winterintherockies #fundrive https://www.instagram.com/p/B8sj6QXl3Lo/?igshid=tbz8jwn9837k

[waltoutwest]

View from the office. #snow #winterintherockies @visitestespark https://www.instagram.com/p/B8efBOhFEUU/?igshid=11j9k0hyz7w6a

[waltoutwest]

Resting frozen face. #cold #frozenfacial #winterintherockies (at Estes Park, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8bkZxqliQh/?igshid=1dphbj1wczh8z

[waltoutwest]

Dragging my wide body out for a run. Gotta get the work in. @therock @vfuel @oldschoolindustriesracing #coldweatherrunning #winterintherockies (at Estes Park, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8ZZi_VFPuj/?igshid=q0wke3vytxxz

[waltoutwest]

In case you can’t quite see it, the ruler in the snow on my south deck measures 13” of the white stuff here at 7,600 ft. @visitcolorado @visitestespark #winterintherockies #snow (at Estes Park, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5VrRzQFf25/?igshid=gkxr0f7p2lnr