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Venturing into Instructing

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi Snowheads,

I am looking at a bit of advice on venturing into the world of snowboard instruction....

I am 32 years old and have always loved the mountains, I did do a season as a chalet host in VT back when I was 21, I am a pretty competent piste monkey and after just returning from a week in Cervinia and really would like to take my boarding to the next level. This got me thinking about an instruction course, I would love to do another season and potentially think a instruction course would be great all round personal development with the possibility of carving out a full time job (seasonal) job in resort.

I run a business in the UK, which I could continue to do remotely whilst completing the course.

I am looking for advice on where to start this process, would a 10/12 week course suit someone that is competent on piste looking to develop skills and get into the world of instruction?

I know there are lots of "package" companies that offer this kind of thing in the Alps and Rockies, but they all seem to be targeted at "gap yearers". Is it possible to do independently or can anyone recommend a package?

I know this has been discussed many times on this board, but I am looking for up to date experiences/recommendations.

Any help/advice would be much appreciated Smile

Cheers
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Can you ski? You'll find it a lot harder to get a full season job as a snowboard only instuctor than if you were to be dual qualified. You do find more mature people on some of the 'gap' courses, get in touch with the course organisers themselves and ask them. Also look at where you want to work and take that in to account when looking at what qualification path to follow.
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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?
Hi @newrealm22, mine is not quite the route you're considering, but at the ripe old age of 44, I did my BASI Alpine Level 1 in a week with BASS in Morzine in March 2016, did my 35 Shadowing hours in the run up to the summer at my local dry slope, and have been teaching part time outside of the day job on the same slope since September. And I love it.

I'm thinking about taking things to the next level this time next year, so this season's trips involved a fair bit of training to work on the things that are assessed for Level 2, and this summer's family holiday will find me on a glacier for five mornings doing more of the same.

The 2+ years it'll take if all goes to plan are of course, longer than the 10/12 weeks you're thinking about, but it's working out for me thus far.

Good luck with it, whatever you decide to do.
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
@UkuleleDave, I am seriously thinking of doing the same as you, I have passed the stage of "ripe" and now reached "rotten" at 51!!!!

not sure it would ever lead to a permanent career change but I met up with some British instructors in Austria at xmas who go on school trips, which sounded interesting.

I will look into courses in the alps, though how I get that one past the OH is another matter!!, or alternatively the courses at MT Hemel could be the way to go.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Hey newrealm.

How serious are you about this? Would the OH come along with you for a bit? Have I read it right that the end goal is to get a full time job instructing in resort? To get started, you need minimum L2. To make a decent living doing this, you need a L3 or 4.

The advantage you have is that you say you already run a business - this gives you the opportunity to keep money coming in during the summer and the between periods and accept low levels of work from the ski schools. Gives you more options, and might also let you turn down any skiing beyond a basic quallie needed for ISIA, although I'd get the ski L1 (& probably L2) myself anyway in your shoes.

If you wanted to go all in, then I'd look at a gap year program in New Zealand starting June/July this year. These will give you access to jobs in NZ straight away which lets you work on the snow year round and lets you get involved with the training programs at the big schools in subsequent seasons. You'll not only benefit from being able to earn money on snow pretty much year round, but being in that environment will also let you progress a lot faster than just doing it 6 months at a time in Europe. The courses are expensive, but the people running them are top, top people and I reckon you get good value. You also won't especially stand out at 32 - definitely not in the wider Wanaka community.

Considerations? Most people do this on a working holiday visa - you're too old for that now - and that will hinder getting straight in with the ski schools - ask the gap course directors about this. Also, yes you could apply to work in NZ without coming through a gap program, but it's competitive - I'd say you're unlikely to be successful as a l2 snowboarder with no experience and no eligibility for a WHV. In Australia, it's fairly easy to get in through a season in a kid's program, but I'm not sure I could stand this myself!!!

Finishing up after NZ, you'd find yourself in November with a L2 Snowboard under your belt, and you should be able to find work in Austria or Andorra - Switzerland if you're very lucky. You can then just keep doing back-to-back seasons in Europe/NZ and ticking off qualifications until you're allowed to write ISTD behind your name. In fact, if you're happy in Switzerland, ISIA will do (L3).

Considerations? You might find it tricky to get a job in Europe without much experience and without a ski qualification. You should be able to get a ski quallie very easily, a L1 after a bit of practise on the side of a season riding is very achievable, and you could sit this back in the UK in a fridge in November. It leaves applying for jobs a bit late, but I bet you'd still find somewhere - especially in Austria. Without this, you could also convince your new ski school boss that you'd be happy with limited (could be very limited!) snowboard hours and just wanted to be part of the setup/training scheme, but tbh I'd just get the ski quallie. Teaching sliding is fun no matter how many planks Smile

Other things to think about - if you do the above, you're limited to getting your quallies through BASI (British) or NZSIA (New Zealand). I know that BASI have a solid pathway in place to let you work as a snowboard instructor worldwide - including France. I'm not 100% sure about how to get a snowboarding ISTD through the NZSIA - that's the key to much higher wages in France. Ask the gap course directors what they'd recommend. I wouldn't recommend mixing and matching qualification bodies - you'll end up paying membership fees multiple times, and sometimes it can be tricky to advance to the next level if you want to swap across bodies.

Is it a problem sitting BASI or NZSIA? I'd say no - I'm BASI myself, and the NZSIA guys are top blokes, but choice of examining body does seem to be something people get passionate about. The Austrian system also looks really good, and you can get gap courses in that run by SIA, but you need to speak some German as part of their exams.

If you did want to wait until winter 17/18 and do a gap course in the northern hemisphere, that would also be great and you'd come out with a L2, but I think you'd struggle to get employment in the southern hemisphere until you'd got a fair bit of experience behind you and probably a L3 - especially as a 32yr old snowboarder. You'd get your L3 eventually, and could still work in Europe in winter 18/19, but I think it would be a much longer progression.

Good luck!
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
My own opinion is that the gap year BASI L1 & L2 courses aren't a great investment of time (only you can decide if it's worth the money). The pass rates aren't as high as you might think, and the level of qualification isn't all that useful. Don't get me wrong, L2 is hard, and it's an achievement especially for someone who starts relatively late in life. But it's not enough to build a career on. There aren't that many places you can teach with an L2 and many of those will require a visa that's very hard (impossible?) to get over the age of 30.

If you're wanting to make a living from snowsports you should aim to get to ISIA level (BASI L3 or equivalent) in one discipline and realistically you'll want to be dual qualified as Sitter suggests. You can get visas with an ISIA.

Or if you want to get really good at boarding there are other options that will cost you less and probably will be more fun.

What's your priority?

For reference, I did BASI L1 ski (Hemel) at age 30ish, BASI L2 (Lauterbrunnen) at 34. I am teaching at Hemel part time but I work full time in my other job and it's hard to do both. I might do some L3 modules but realistically unless I get a full season to train I won't get through all of them. And even then it'll be hard.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Forget the season-long courses.

Do your level 1 in a fridge and take the trainer's advice on how to progress from there.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I've been talking to a few companies very briefly about something similar for Jnr and possibly me eventually. These impressed me the most...
https://siaaustria.com/product/2-in-1-ski-instructor-course/ a friend's son did this route last year, enjoyed it and got on really well.

I'll admit to having no direct experience though unlike some of the other posters 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.
So much to add to this, but it's late and I've had a few.

But here's one.

Whether the season long programmes are value for money or not - only the person purchasing one can determine that - what they offer over all the other options recommended is concentrated, focussed time on snow with constant evaluation and feedback.

There is no substitute for mature, recreational skiers/boarders looking to make the big jump to instructing IMHO.


Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Sat 15-04-17 9:36; edited 1 time in total
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
stevomcd wrote:
Forget the season-long courses.

Do your level 1 in a fridge and take the trainer's advice on how to progress from there.


This! then you should get an idea of what is needed to pass your L2, which you can take without the expensive GAP course.

List of progression and courses can be got from here. After you get your L2 I'd then be looking to spend a season in the mountains as prep for the L3 IMHO

http://basi.org.uk/BASI/Courses/Snowboard/BASI/Courses/Snowboard/Snowboard_Qualifcations.aspx?hkey=2b590d81-0e33-4eca-b756-b5e0ff206539
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
kitenski wrote:
stevomcd wrote:
Forget the season-long courses.

Do your level 1 in a fridge and take the trainer's advice on how to progress from there.


This! then you should get an idea of what is needed to pass your L2...


Agreed!
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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.
newrealm22 wrote:
... I am a pretty competent piste monkey and after just returning from a week in Cervinia and really would like to take my boarding to the next level. This got me thinking about an instruction course, I would love to do another season and potentially think a instruction course would be great all round personal development with the possibility of carving out a full time job (seasonal) job in resort. ...
If you want to ride better, then learning to teach beginners is unlikely the most effective way to do that.
If you want resort work, well there are lots of people who probably ride pretty well already and who likely also ski... it's a tough market and it's hard to differentiate yourself....

Programme-wise, I'd try to assess if the "course" is intended to take money from gap year kids' parents. I think most of them look like that. Get connected with someone in the business (not someone trying to sell you something) and this will all be pretty clear I think.
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 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
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
@philwig, but the course you need to pass to teach beginners will improve you a lot in my experience .
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
hammerite wrote:
I've been talking to a few companies very briefly about something similar for Jnr and possibly me eventually. These impressed me the most...
https://siaaustria.com/product/2-in-1-ski-instructor-course/ a friend's son did this route last year, enjoyed it and got on really well.

I'll admit to having no direct experience though unlike some of the other posters though.


The thing I liked about this course was that you do the initial course (Anwarter) in October and finish by Christmas. You're then given a job in one of the many ski schools the company works with. Work the season and then go back and do your Landes.

My friend's son worked the season with the Rote Teufel ski school in Kitzbuhel.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
hammerite wrote:
hammerite wrote:
I've been talking to a few companies very briefly about something similar for Jnr and possibly me eventually. These impressed me the most...
https://siaaustria.com/product/2-in-1-ski-instructor-course/ a friend's son did this route last year, enjoyed it and got on really well.

I'll admit to having no direct experience though unlike some of the other posters though.


The thing I liked about this course was that you do the initial course (Anwarter) in October and finish by Christmas. You're then given a job in one of the many ski schools the company works with. Work the season and then go back and do your Landes.

My friend's son worked the season with the Rote Teufel ski school in Kitzbuhel.


I did the same thing in 2008, but with Peak Leaders in St Anton. Totally changed my skiing. As well as the Anwärter course we spent 3 weeks skiing with mountain guides/Staatliche instructors - improving our own skiing, not just training training for the Anwärter.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
clarky999 wrote:
hammerite wrote:
hammerite wrote:
I've been talking to a few companies very briefly about something similar for Jnr and possibly me eventually. These impressed me the most...
https://siaaustria.com/product/2-in-1-ski-instructor-course/ a friend's son did this route last year, enjoyed it and got on really well.

I'll admit to having no direct experience though unlike some of the other posters though.


The thing I liked about this course was that you do the initial course (Anwarter) in October and finish by Christmas. You're then given a job in one of the many ski schools the company works with. Work the season and then go back and do your Landes.

My friend's son worked the season with the Rote Teufel ski school in Kitzbuhel.


I did the same thing in 2008, but with Peak Leaders in St Anton. Totally changed my skiing. As well as the Anwärter course we spent 3 weeks skiing with mountain guides/Staatliche instructors - improving our own skiing, not just training training for the Anwärter.


Yes SIA do a similar thing with the mountain guides. They give German lessons too.
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