 Poster: A snowHead
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...just double checked....still no burning desire to go find some BASI instructors (no offence intended to any person whatsoever connected or qualified with BASI)
Well off to work now.....clearly in a BASI free zone.
I will look forward to my return home tonight to see how this thread has developed! 
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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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There are a lot of people on SH who have a very narrow minded British perspective
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haha another gem from TTT
@MAYR, sorry buddy you're not worth the effort but keep up the trolling someone will bite for you soon I'm sure 
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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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I cannot explain why I haven't met any BASI qualified instructors in all the time I have skied and worked in the mountains
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How does the fact that you have never met any translate into your claim that there aren't any? I have met quite a few, and been taught by around 8 - 9 over a good many years. But all in France - there seem to be fewer elsewhere in the Alps.
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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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There are plenty of BASI instructors in my neck of the woods in Saalbach. It is the 'local' instructor that is the rarity around here, since many of the locals are busy running hotels, restaurants and hire-shops or working for the Lift Company. The rest have 'normal' jobs (plumbers, sparks, carpenters, office bods, mechanics, school teachers etc) as 'ski-instructor' is a relatively poorly-paid seasonal job.
Here they have hit on the idea that to cater for guests from all over Europe, it would be good to have instructors who also come from these countries and speak their language. As @flangesax, says, some have their own countries qualification, including BASI, and others are working their way through the Austrian system.
As to whether 'locals' know more than 'BASIs' ever could - the older British guys in Saalbach-Hinterglemm have all been skiing for 30-40 years and instructing for at least 10 years, so their experience and local knowledge is at least as good as an 18-year-old Austrian Anwarter, even if the kid can ski faster.
I think that Mayr might well be in a BASI-free zone if his part of Tyrol is less welcoming to BASI instructors and/or if there are few British guests to instruct. In Saalbach, the British instructors are expected to be able to instruct in German and preferably other languages as 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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In Saalbach, the British instructors are expected to be able to instruct in German and preferably other languages as well.
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I should think so too, it always shocks me that some of the British instructors in France seem to lack even basics in French.
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Hey pam w
If you read my previous comments you will also find this..Personally, I do not know any BASI qualified instructors working in any ski resort in The Alps....I expect there are some somewhere, but I do not personally know of any.
Clearly you seem to have misunderstood me when you make your inaccurate claim that I think there aren't any BASI instructors working in the Alps.
Please do not try to twist my words to sway favour in your direction.
And geeo.....your attempts at offensive comments don't interest me.
Happy days here!
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| quinton wrote: |
There are plenty of BASI instructors in my neck of the woods in Saalbach. It is the 'local' instructor that is the rarity around here, since many of the locals are busy running hotels, restaurants and hire-shops or working for the Lift Company. The rest have 'normal' jobs (plumbers, sparks, carpenters, office bods, mechanics, school teachers etc) as 'ski-instructor' is a relatively poorly-paid seasonal job.
Here they have hit on the idea that to cater for guests from all over Europe, it would be good to have instructors who also come from these countries and speak their language. As @flangesax, says, some have their own countries qualification, including BASI, and others are working their way through the Austrian system.
As to whether 'locals' know more than 'BASIs' ever could - the older British guys in Saalbach-Hinterglemm have all been skiing for 30-40 years and instructing for at least 10 years, so their experience and local knowledge is at least as good as an 18-year-old Austrian Anwarter, even if the kid can ski faster.
I think that Mayr might well be in a BASI-free zone if his part of Tyrol is less welcoming to BASI instructors and/or if there are few British guests to instruct. In Saalbach, the British instructors are expected to be able to instruct in German and preferably other languages as well. |
A well put together post thanks Quinton!
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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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Thank you. Now did we ever find out where the OP @andybomb1, is actually going, so that someone can tell him his options?
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| quinton wrote: |
There are plenty of BASI instructors in my neck of the woods in Saalbach. It is the 'local' instructor that is the rarity around here, since many of the locals are busy running hotels, restaurants and hire-shops or working for the Lift Company. The rest have 'normal' jobs (plumbers, sparks, carpenters, office bods, mechanics, school teachers etc) as 'ski-instructor' is a relatively poorly-paid seasonal job.
Here they have hit on the idea that to cater for guests from all over Europe, it would be good to have instructors who also come from these countries and speak their language. As @flangesax, says, some have their own countries qualification, including BASI, and others are working their way through the Austrian system.
As to whether 'locals' know more than 'BASIs' ever could - the older British guys in Saalbach-Hinterglemm have all been skiing for 30-40 years and instructing for at least 10 years, so their experience and local knowledge is at least as good as an 18-year-old Austrian Anwarter, even if the kid can ski faster.
I think that Mayr might well be in a BASI-free zone if his part of Tyrol is less welcoming to BASI instructors and/or if there are few British guests to instruct. In Saalbach, the British instructors are expected to be able to instruct in German and preferably other languages as well. |
Well, kindof.
Yeah you have to understand some German when you do the written test for the Anwärter (and I understand you also have to do the same to 'swap' your BASI 2 for an Anwärter), but it's not really the same as being able to instruct in German... Even during the practical teaching assesment of the Anwärter you can basically just memorise a couple of phrases from the translation book they give you and pass.
I spoke barely any German when I was teaching in Saalbach, and I know some Brits teaching there now (one first season, on 20+ seasons, though he does at understand German) who don't really speak German.
I guess Mayr is in Ischgl, which is probably the most 'un-British' of the big Austrian resorts (in terms of clientele)?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@mayr, do you go around wearing a blindfold, with your fingers in your ears singing "la, la, la, la NO BASI, la, la, la, la"? Just curious.
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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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@stevomcd, Hahaha....no.
Is this another attempt at insult...because what a person writes, you cannot comprehend? Or maybe you didn't read all of what they wrote?
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SHs really is like reading the daily fail sometimes because you really don't whether to laugh oor cry at the crass stupidity if you read it from an outsiders perspective. You would have to be a troll or not very bright to recognise this.
Lack of language ability is a major factor in brits generally having less ski instructor opportunities. Instructors and punters should be investing their time in learning another language rather than moaning about other countries having different cultures.
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You know it makes sense.
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There's a lot of chat about "BASI instructors". I'm always a bit perplexed by this because I don't think there's such a thing as a "BASI Instructor" that you can uniquely identify. I don't believe I teach in exactly the same way as all other instructors qualified through BASI. The coaching I've received from BASI Trainers does not form "cookie cutter" lessons that are identical regardless of the guy or the girl who is doing the coaching. The most influential coaches I've skied with have also been qualified in Canadian and Austrian systems, so am I receiving a "BASI training"? The author of the technical resources I use the most is American (by comparison I rarely look at the BASI manual). The instructor whose skiing I most admire is Canadian. I draw on a whole range of experiences, resources, teaching I've done and coaching I've received (technical and pedagogic) to arrive at my teaching style. Obviously this is informed by the exams I've undertaken with BASI, but there's a whole lot of other stuff which is much more influential.
To the OP - I don't think there are "British" ski schools in Austria in the same way that you find in France. The best advice I can give in terms of finding a good instructor is, in order of priority:
1. Use instructors that you have already worked with, who you trust and who already know your skiing
2. Get a recommendation for an instructor from someone you trust, who has skied with that instructor
3. If booking group lessons, use a small ski school rather than a large one as I think they are better at quality control
4. Go cheap, so if the lessons are bad you can bail out without wasting too much money
Language can be an issue, so if that's important for you make sure you specify the level of language proficiency that you want. That might mean a native speaker, but not always. For kids in particular I don't think instructors need a good technical level of language proficiency because their teaching should not involve that many words. For me, first and foremost an instructor needs to have a "good eye" before they have a "good tongue" (Cue: smutty jokes...).
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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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Lack of language ability is a major factor in brits generally having less ski instructor opportunities. Instructors and punters should be investing their time in learning another language rather than moaning about other countries having different cultures.
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The last ski lesson I had in Austria my instructor was bemoaning heavily how all the Austrian ski schools seemed to be interested in nowadays were the language sklls and were employing loads of foreigners who couldn't ski very well.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@rob@rar, very much agree with all that. Good commonsense as usual. The fundamentals of good skiing and instructing are international. Any focus on any one country is just xenophobia.
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