A Ski Instructor’s Journey

Ever wondered what it takes an average Joe to become a ski instructor? This is my guide based on my gap year in which I have trained to become an internationally recognised ski instructor.  I am only one person so this guide is far from comprehensive or definitive, however I thought it might provide some insight to one or two of you.

A little about me first: I started out skiing as soon as I could walk and enjoyed the annual family skiing holiday. At about the age of 10 I started to get involved with race training at my local artificial ski slope. Ever since that day I have a regular at weekly training. And, in this last year, I have spent most of my time on the real stuff training hard to become a ski instructor.

First of all, what do you need to be a ski instructor? Well of course the ability to ski. I would say that about 4 intensive weeks on snow would be the bare minimum one needs going in to the type of course I did. You will also need the motivation, as sometimes you will be out on the beginner slope practising your wedge turns when all you want to do is go and rip up the big stuff further up the mountain.

Sadly, another thing you are going to need is quite a bit of spare cash: when I say quite a bit, I mean quite a bit. For a good length course you are looking at forking out around £6-7000. But it has to be said that if you go with the right company and you put a lot into it, that sum turns out to be pretty good value for money.

Once you have decided that you have the finances, motivation, and ability, you should start researching options.  At this stage, options are something you will not be short of.

What should you be looking for? A company that offers good value for money, i.e. look at what is included in the course cost.  A company that offers you a good range of off the slope activities and courses id ideal as it is not all about the skiing. 

Consider whether flights are included? Self-catering or half/full board?  Are the exam fees included?

You should think very long and hard about which qualification system you want to work your way through and this is when you will need to be sure why it you want to do this.  What are your short and long term aspirations once qualified?

Choosing which qualification system is going to dictate where in the world you head off to do your course.

How widely recognised are the qualifications (as this will affect how and where you can work as an instructor)? Do you need to do any recorded hours of teaching to get the full qualification, and are there any extra qualifications needed to validate the main ski instructor part?
Once all your research has been completed and you know the company, qualification system and country—all you then need to decide is which resort to go to. The company you have chosen may only go to one place, in which case there is no problem, but many companies have a choice. From previous trips you should know what you like out of a resort. Whether it be a vibrant night life or a good snow record. Just keep in mind that you are going to be there for a while and you are primarily there to learn how to teach skiing so there may be things to consider that you might not for a normal holiday.

What I did and why:

I started out in Fernie BC, Canada, on the Nonstopski program to do my Levels 1 & 2 CSIA (Canadian Ski Instructor’s Alliance).

Why CSIA?: You don’t need to do any recorded teaching to get the qualifications. This I think is a very good thing as you can work your way up the grading relatively quickly. You will probably find that most Ski Schools will ask for experience (but of course you have to start somewhere).

There are no additional qualifications needed to validate the skiing part. I know that some schemes ask for first aid certification, which can be one of those extra things to organise and get in the way of your main aim, but on the other hand extremely useful for many obvious reasons. CSIA qualifications are quite widely recognised and I particularly enjoyed the structure and teaching methodology.

Why not CSIA?: You cannot teach in England at higher than Club Instructor level with the CSIA levels 1 & 2 as recently Snowsports England have stopped recognising these levels.

Why Nonstopski?: First of all they specialised in providing Canadian ski and snowboard courses. The fact that they were specialised I found important in light of my later ventures in New Zealand—it meant that all the people involved with running the course were there for me and my fellow course participants.  Basically, not spread too thinly.

Another massively important factor that Nonstopski offered me that other companies didn’t was a vast array of other activities and qualifications such as a first aid course, recreational avalanche course, foreign language classes, and photography.

As for the activity side, you had Cat skiing, ice hockey matches, back country touring, snowmobiling, and multiple trips to other resorts in the area to name but a few so it was tricky to be bored. The accommodation setup was also top notch which was based around 10 houses dotted around Fernie in which you had between 4 and 12 residents. For breakfast and dinner on weekdays you went to a communal eating place. Having a house based setup instead of, say, a hotel based room setup allows you to keep some form of normal living, in addition to meaning you get to know your housemates well, which is important on the social side.

Why Fernie: A big deciding factor for me was the fact that Fernie is branded as Canada’s powder capital. I also liked what I had read about Fernie. Having spent a season there I would strongly recommend it to anyone else unless you only really like big commercial resorts.

When I got back to England I got an email from the CSIA advertising a course run in New Zealand, on which I could train for and take my level 3 exam, which is recognised by the ISIA (International Ski Instructors Association).

I figured that this was probably my best opportunity to go for my level 3 as all that I had learnt in Canada was fresh in my mind. My main concern was that I hadn’t done any real teaching, but I was assured that the course would compensate for this fact. The course I went on was run by the Rookie Academy at the resort of Treble Cone and was 5 weeks long. In comparison the course was much more intense (it had to be). For instance in Canada we would have a go at an exercise for about the length of a reasonably long run and that would be the end of that until it came up again another day, but in NZ we would do an exercise for 3 hours straight, up and down the same run (sometimes on just one leg, up and down the beginner hill for a morning) until we had it nailed. Although this was somewhat frustrating it did the job where my skiing ability was concerned.

However, there were a few shortcomings of the Rookie Academy course.

The accommodation was self-catering and quite far out of town (on the plus side though the houses were brand new and well equipped), the flights were not included in the course cost and there were no additional activities.  Simply, we were just left to our own devices. All this would not be a problem, but this setup was not reflected in the price.

The Rookie Academy run quite a few different courses, which overlapped over the time I was there, which, meant that there was a less personal feel about the course. The tuition was second to none though. So I guess if you pass, it’s worth the money, but if you fail then it is a pretty big waste. 

It is worth noting that you may get the chance to meet Herman Maier like I did, as the Austrians are there for most of the season. The reasons why I went on the course were because it was my best chance to go for my level 3 and there were no other companies offering a level 3 course at that time.

So in short: if you decide you want to train to become a ski instructor then I would strongly recommend going on a Nonstopski course out in Canada and if you are good enough and more importantly keen enough then head Down Under and further your qualifications. I am sure that whatever you do, you will have the time of your life as at the end of the day, it’s all about the passion!

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