B – beer. This will become a staple item in your diet. You’ll find beer is globally the cheapest drink to purchase when travelling, so will usually be your go to if you’re watching the pennies.

C – cold. That’s right. You will need to wrap up warm and toasty. Make sure you get good quality stuff in or you’ll be living up to the phrase ‘buy cheap and buy twice’.

D – dedication. You’ll need this to get through the season. It’s all a case of remembering that you need to earn your keep. Things might get tough at times but it’s all worth it for the amazing life experiences you’ll gain.

E – exhausted. You will be this most of the time. No time for catching up on sleep when you’re making the most of your free time!

F – friends. Get ready to make loads of lifelong friends. Although you’ll only be with them for a few months, you will be eating, living, sleeping, working, socialising and skiing/boarding with these guys and you’ll become closer than you can ever imagine. Seasons are intense and lifelong friendships can be made.

G – get the most out of it! Sometimes you might lack motivation to head on out, or join your pals on piste. But don’t waste a day! In the long run, seasons are relatively short so make sure you’re making the most out of your experience.

H – heartbreak. Sometimes you’ll find love on a season. Sometimes just friendship. Either way, you’ll find it difficult to say goodbye. The friends you make on season will have gone through a truly intense, manically magical part of life with you and it might just break your heart saying goodbye.

I – icebreakers. At the beginning of the season you’ll be meeting tons of new people. There might be a few icebreakers in your company’s training, so prepare your answers for questions like ‘if you were a biscuit, what biscuit would you be?’ and embrace all those awkward silences!

J – jacuzzi. If you manage to sneak into one, make it count!

K – knees. Look after your knees. Most injuries are knee related on a winter season and it’s a rubbish reason to have to go home early.

L – local delicacies. Make sure to embrace the local town you are living in and try the local produce! Whether it’s weiner schnitzels or fondue, indulge yourself in your surrogate culture.

M – mountains. These will be all you see for months. Don’t take their beauty for granted and always remember to treat them with respect.

N – new languages. Make sure to make an effort to at least learn the basics of the local language. A few phrases really can get you far. Don’t forget you’ll be working amongst the locals and will probably befriend a few of them over the months too. You scratch their back, they scratch yours. Don’t forget to take them the left over afternoon tea cake to make sure you get those mates rates in the local stores.

O – opportunities. You’ll be amazed at the amount of opportunities that will come your way through season work. Whether it’s through colleagues, new friends, guests or the company you work for there is always an opportunity for great things. Whether it’s a potential job or new experience, make sure you’re saying ‘yes’ to it all!

P – people. You’ll meet so many new faces! Names might be hard at first but you’ll get it.

Q – quick. The season may feel like it’s dragging at times. But it will all be over before you even know it. So make sure you make the most out of it.

R – ride. Make the most out of each ride, but make sure to stay safe. Don’t do anything risky and make sure to let people know if you’re going out alone. Simple rules of the mountain prevent nasty accidents.

S – snow. Snow will be your best friend and your worst enemy. You will find yourself obsessing over the weather reports and waiting on the promise of that ever so sweet bluebird day. Of course, when they come around, they usually do so on a changeover day when you’ll be working. You will be living in snow for the entire season. Walking through it, rolling in it, snowball fighting in it, boarding/skiing on it … and also snow shovelling it.

T – tips. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll be able to live off the tips left by the guests. Spend those beer tokens wisely. And hopefully you’ll get a nice big tip on sales week in the local shops!

U – upset. You may find at times you might become upset. Maybe from being overwhelmed, or something going on at home, or perhaps just a bad day at work. Everyone will be going through something like this at some point in the season, so you’re not alone. Embrace every emotion you have and don’t worry about needing some time out. Seasons can be intense but you’ll be surrounded by loads of friends to help you through.

V – vodka. Toffee vodka. Avoid avoid avoid! More often than not, you’ll find that someone has purchased an entire bottle and will be pouring it down the throats of all the surrounding people at the bar. Dependant on the pourer, for those with long hair especially, this can be sticky business! And for the day after, let’s hope you’re not making Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert – the smells won’t help your recovery!

W – winter wonderland. The great thing about working a season is that you actually get to experience SEASONS. You arrive in resort not long after the first snowfall has set in the village, then work all the way through the winter, experiencing deeper snow and harsher conditions than you probably ever had, then at the end it turns into a sludgy tropical sun soaked spring. But watch out for those dodgy t-shirt tans and goggle burn – it may seem the norm in resort but once you return home you really will stick out!

X – X-Rated stuff. Sometimes you learn a little too much about the guests. Gossip on season is always the best.

Y – YOU. Do the season for you. It’s nice to reflect and see what you’ve learnt / beforehand work out what you want from it. Whether you’re gathering skills to move onto a different job or simply to improve your ski/board skills you can get something out of every part of the season.

Z – zoos. If you can find any alpine zoos make sure to visit! If you’re working in St Anton, Austria, Innsbruck’s Alpine Zoo is a must! It’s one of the highest elevation zoos in Europe and is accessible by cable railway.