 Poster: A snowHead
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RN Ski Champs once a year and an RN Ski Team for the Inter-service Champs. That's about the extent of it though, and as I can't make the first after all this year, I can't get a look in at the latter.  paulhothersall who pops up around here occassionally used to coach the RAF team.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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skisimon, ah I see. When are you going out with Interski or have you not selected a week yet?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I'm heading out on the 10th January.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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skisimon, good luck. I hope it goes well.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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skisimon, take the ones that are most trashed.... short flappy and old sound perfect...
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Well, what a thoroughly enjoyable week (for the most part).
I have to say that I thought the admin provided by Interski was fantastic (both pre-departure and in resort). There were a couple of small issues with the accommodation (small amounts of food and a lack of a shower curtain spring to mind). Still, it was basic, but perfectly functional.
I had a beginner group aged between 12 and 16 (plus one beginner staff member), all from the same all-boys school. We made a good start, and by the end of the first day, 7 of the 10 were making very nice linked turns. By half way through the third day 8 of the 10 were producing some nice parallel turns (one of the three weaker members just couldn't do a plough turn, but had a very good parallel turn, by dint, I think, of being a motorbiker). The other two were slightly problematic. One was at least game, so went for it quite a bit and was gradually picking it up, even if he was sticking to a plough for the time being. The final member was very, very annoying as he had very sound technique, he just refused to go down anything he considered too steep (a bit of a problem for a beginner in Courmayeur...) Kind words and encouragement didn't seem to work, so I turned on the military side of me and got him down a long blue run (I had to change the scenery from the two short drag lifts for the sake of the group). After he'd got down it he was chuffed, but became a victim to altitude and was throwing up for the remainder of the week. This at least gave us a chance to explore the resort over the last couple of days. The final day was spent building some miles and travelling from one valley around to the next. What was so great about the last day was the improvement of the other weak member, who gradually build in confidence throughout the day. He didn't want to do one section at the start of the day, but by the time we'd finished he had started parallel skiing down every red run we could find as well as the others (even if not as fast as they). He had stopped falling over and had possibly the best fore/aft balance and separation out of the whole group.
Now, where's my next week coming from...? Expect to see me back in Interski uniform during February half-term (beggars can't be choosers... at least not without an AVMS pass...)
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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skisimon, sounds like a very successful and enjoyable week!  Well done! I know someone out there now who is doing the Interski AVMS course followed by test that spans a fortnight so back next weekend. Did you bump into any of them (I'd guess there are lots of instructors out there)?
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slikedges, I bumped into a few guys who were off to do their AVMS on the ferry, but as I was in Courmayeur rather than Aosta/Pila I didn't see any the rest of the time. rob@rar may have had some more contact with the guys who were taking their tests as he was down the valley working in Pila.
Last week their was only about a 50% pass rate (previously the pass rate was perhaps artificially high) - juding from the Snowsport Co-ordinator's comments in Courmayeur they have really upped the ante this year, and by the sounds of it the GS course was quite tight and tricky, lacking rhythm. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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slikedges, I was in Pila for the week, but didn't spend much time with the AVMS guys as they were training while I was teaching and we were in different accommodation. I only saw a small part of the course from the chairlift and it was set pretty tight on the steep sections, but didn't get to see the flatter bits. The opener set a time of about 45 seconds I think, which was corrected to 43s for a WC time. To pass you had to complete in just over a minute, exceeding the corrected opening time by no more than 40%.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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rob@rar, sounds pretty easy... how did they look in the course
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skisimon, rob@rar, skimottaret, my friend is doing his test end of this week I think so I shall be interested to hear how he gets on. I'd agree 40% sounds quite achievable. IIRC there's no ski radius requirement either! 
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You know it makes sense.
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| skimottaret wrote: |
| rob@rar, sounds pretty easy... how did they look in the course |
I didn't see any of the AVMS guys ski, so couldn't say for sure. I think there was a fairly wide spread of ability, with some people re-taking the speed test after a number of previous failures. From a purely selfish point of view I do think that 40% is a much more sensible target that the 18% required for the Eurotest 
slikedges, I don't think there is an AVMS test this week so I'd guess your friend did it last week and is teaching this week.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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rob@rar, could well be - fairly sure it was a week's training followed by the test week but I might be out by a week as to when he went out
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Poster: A snowHead
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slikedges, training took place most of last week with the test on Friday (race in the morning, language & mountain safety tests in the afternoon I think). Celebrations and commiserations took place Friday evening.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've done a bit of a blog entry about my week with Interski. Probably only of interest to those who are thinking about their first teaching experiences, but here it is in any case.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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rob@rar, Hi Rob, good to hook up with you last week. Powder all this week - awesome conditions today 
The AVMS course looked fast and sweet from what I saw of it. It's certainly not a 'give me' but is not an unreasonable test. I did mine last year and I think the pass rate was still about 50%. This year the language requirement would appear to be harder.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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david@mediacopy, it was also good to meet you and the Mrs, and I'm grateful for you showing me around some of the mountain. That bumps lesson was very sweet wasn't it?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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rob@rar, Excellent. I tried a few on the board this afternoon, but it wasn't quite as good
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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david@mediacopy, on a board? Are you insane!
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rob@rar, Bruised !
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| I've done a bit of a blog entry about my week with Interski. Probably only of interest to those who are thinking about their first teaching experiences, but here it is in any case. |
Interesting blog entry Rob - I note you said you found it quite tiring, perhaps more than usual for an 'easy skiing day' - interestingly I find that when I'm coaching sailing then I get more knackered than when I'm doing it myself. One of the challenges in that sport, and I guess is equally applicable to skiing is thinking ahead to the next drill/exercise or learning point, whilst still working on the current one so that you're ready to go without any delay... I found this came more easily the more coaching I did - still pretty knackering though...
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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bertie bassett, yes, I found it very tiring, especially the first couple of days when I was a bit nervous of the whole process and had a couple of incidents to manage. I was constantly thinking about keeping the group moving safely, what to do next, how much progress each of my class of 10 was making, what drills could I do, was I skiing them too fast or too slow, did they look like they were enjoying it, how was I doing for time to get them to lunch/end of the day on time, did I have all 10 with me, etc, etc. Considerably more complex than free skiing, or leading a group of mates around the place. Undoubtedly I found it hard going because it was all new to me, but I do have newfound respect for instructors who make teaching a group like that seem so effortless.
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I have just found this site - I can't believe I have not found it before now!
Just interested what sort of qualifications everyone has for these temp instructing jobs? I was thinking of doing an instructor course this summer, but they seem ridiculously expensive and would certainly look like a waste of money if they couldn't land you the cheeky temp job in a peak week. I woud appreciate any input as to how unrealistic it would be aiming for one of the interski/other temp jobs with a BASI 2 or NZSIA level 2 from one of the 10 week courses? Is it even possible to do it with a BASI/NZSIA level1 (such courses are a lot cheaper!)? Is it in fact mostly experience they are looking for?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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wilko1, welcome to snowHeads.
BASI L2 is the minimum that Interski accept - the L1 qualification does not qualify you to teach in a mountain environment. Most people teaching while I was there, including me, had BASI L2 or the equivalent from CSIA or NZSIA.
You don't have to do an expensive 'gap course' to get qualified. If your skiing is already at the right sort of standard just do the BASI (or equivalent) course. Still not especially cheap, but significantly less than the thousands of pounds that all the gap courses seem to cost.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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rob@rar, blog entry makes a good read. You've described the experience very clearly, conveying the real world stress and the expectant rewards very nicely! I'd've guessed managing the group on the mountain and managing the eventualities would be the most challenging bits, and the ski teaching perhaps the least challenging bit. After all that's what the course really teaches. Must be a good feeling to finally do it for real on a mountain though. Well done!
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hi, I'm teaching Interski in Courmayeur week commencing 28th Feb - is anyone else going out there for that week?
Also, does anyone know about the AVMS test? Is it easy or hard? I looked at the Interski site, and the course leading up to the exam costs something like £700 - is the course needed?
thanks
Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much  on Fri 13-02-09 18:39; edited 1 time in total
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You know it makes sense.
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snowqueen11,
I think it depends on your racing background. If you've never raced before then you will certainly need training of some kind.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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snowqueen11, I agree with beanie1. I was teaching for Interski in Pila a few weeks ago last time they ran the AVMS test, and the GS course would have been a scary prospect if you have never skied gates before. The course that Interski run also gets you up to speed for other aspects of the AVMS test (mountain safety and the language test).
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Poster: A snowHead
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Rob@rar - just read your blog - it was really useful, and fun to read - thank you
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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thanks Skisimon, I've not taught Interski before, so i'm really looking forward to it!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Heading out to Pila, March 28th to teach for Interski and then stay on for a weeks cheap holiday. rob@rar, Is Pila lively in the evening? heard a few reports that it can be pretty dead! (although sounds like you had at least one blinder of a night from the Blog )
Anyone else heading out there that week?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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rob@rar, where were you staying? In Pila? Gosh i thought instructors normally stayed in Aosta? Which is far from dead - I've spend a season there. The Old Distillery is generally where the instructors head, and things get very messy...
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beanie1, yes, sorry should have made that clear we were staying in Aosta. We all gathered in the Old Distillery on the Friday, but for the rest of the week it was fairly quiet although it was very low season so there weren't that many instructors working that week.
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rob@rar, ah low season guess that would explain it.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Its listed on the Interski info pack that I'm staying in Hotel Le Pageot which I guess is down in Aosta, rob@rar, beanie1, do you guys know if its close to the gondola?? don't really fancy lugging gear each day.The Old Distillery sounds good, there are 4 people I know teaching that week though so if it is quiet suppose we'll just try and rope a few other instructors along with us - must remember to bring plenty of chewing gum/mints for the mornings
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SkiTigger, AIUI they are not using Le Pageot any more. I was also due to be staying there but when I arrived they took me to "Motel Pila" which is a B&B (but each room also has a min kitchen) just 30 seconds walk from the gondola. It's in an unattractive location (on the main road at the edge of the gondola car park) but is very convenient for the gondola, the Interski office, has a supermarket next door and is about a 10 minute walk from the the centre of town and the restaurant you'll use most evenings. Most people leave their skis and boots in a restaurant up in the resort that Interski use for one of their lunch venues and where the morning meeting takes place each day, so not much hauling kit around.
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FAQ
That really has got me in a spin. I'm ruling out the GS skis, so Tigersharks (good alrounders), Fischer SL skis (short and manageable) or my old 
). The only downsides were the pig of a journey to get their (if you're coaching it), the slight lack of beginner terrain and the hotel's isolation (one hotel behind it, and then about a twenty minute walk in either direction for a bar 
).
).