Ski Season - Whistler, Banff or Fernie?? Where would you go?

A snowHead

Hi, hoping to do a ski season on my gap year. Have found a site that offers ski instructor courses in all the resorts listed above with a job for the rest of the season providing you qualify. Can't decide which place to go to and have never been to any of them so was just wondering which place people would generally recommend for a ski season. Skiing and nightlife are both important so somewhere with a good balance I suppose.
Thanks a lot
Olly

A snowHead

There are LOADS of companies offering those courses, and in many other resorts besides, so it's worth looking around. It could also be worth going to one of the Euro resorts and getting a Euro qualification so you can use it in Uni holidays (assuming you going to uni after a gap year?).

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

clarky999 is right, generally the deciding factors for these things are if, and where you want to teach, how much you want to ski and how much you want to party.

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clarky999, you can use Canadian ski qualifications to teach in your uni holidays. Look at Interski.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

arv, fair enough, just most of the Gap Year course in Canada (certainly the shorter ones where you work the rest of the season) seem to only take you to CSIA level 1, and I was under the impression it was hard to work in Europe with that.

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clarky999, usually around 3 weeks for level 1. 11 weeks for 2.

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Yeah - so if you do one of the longer one's there isn't so much time for left to work after. I did a four week course in St Anton to get the Anwarter (qualified around Christmas time, then worked), so it's pretty easy for me to find work in Austria when I need to top up the beer/flight funds. Just something for the OP to think about, although for a one-off experience I'm sure Canada would be ace.

After all it is free

clarky999, you could get a CSIA1 and an open visa, then teach and work towards a 2. I assume there's only so much improvement you can make in 4 weeks, but no clue what kind of level Anwarter is anyway to compare. When I hear "gap year" I pretty much always assume the "instructor" part is moot anyway.

For the OP though, I assume you're talking about Nonstop, and they definitely can't guarantee a job in Fernie if you pass in Fernie. I think their guarantee is they'll find you a job somewhere. If you do want to teach, research the certs and decide which country and what's best for you. Tons of info in the "Becoming a ski instructor" thread somewhere on here.

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arv, Think I'd probs go Fernie for the pow.

Just wanted to point out to the OP it's worth looking around.

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clarky999, that'll be BASI/CSIA1, I'm pretty sure. CSIA1 teaches "fast track to parallel", which is progression up to euro blue runs and paralell turns, which is a 3 week ish course with Nonstop including the 4 day exam.

arv, can't really recommend any of them over the others given ollyollyolly's request, but I'm always up for less Nonstoppers in Fernie, so I'll say Whistler or Banff Wink

DaveC,

You know it makes sense.

thanks for all the replies everyone, was not expecting so many replies this soon. Yes I am going to uni after my gap year. Also the instructor course I was looking at was nonstop. As I want to do a ski season the course they offered with a job at the end (of which I now understand is not guaranteed) seemed like an easy way to do it as many of the jobs I have found on the internet working in chalets etc seem to require qualifications or previous experience that I don't have. So basically the instructor qualification isn't hugely important as long as I can afford a season somewhere. I will definitely have a look at some of the euro ones though. I appreciate that the 11 week courses are more useful but they are a lot more expensive. Any more advice/views would be much appreciated

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

ollyollyolly, use google to search the site for info. There is loads. Something like 'instructor courses site:www.snowheads.com'.

A snowHead

Try natives.co.uk too, if you're not fussed about teaching chalet work or similar will get you a lot more snow time.

A snowHead

Whistler..

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ollyollyolly, a lot of places, including Nonstop, do improvement courses without an instructor cert in it. These are awesome, and will likely make you a better skier than the majority of people in the UK, and given you get a lot of tuition, better than most working seasonaires. However, they cost a lot instead of breaking even-ish. I don't really see the point in wasting time learning to teach if you don't actually want to - spending time perfecting your snowplow will probably improve your skiing but it's not exactly riveting. You don't really need any kind of qualifications for the normal TO type jobs, besides being able to cook and not being a spaz to chalet host, etc. I'd definitely recommend Canada as a place to spend a season, but you're best off working out what you actually want to do before you commit to anything specific.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

If you have the cash (or parental support) for a course, then skip that bit , find nicer digs and just go ski. Spend the balance on hookers 'n blow unless you're a girl when you can skip the hookers bit due to ski town demographics.

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I did a gap year Season with YES Tours in Whistler. I had the most amazing time, met some awesome people and the instructors that helped me get my CASI qualifications were the best instructors working in whistler!

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After all it is free

Given I work with a lot of coaches who teach for Nonstop, will entirely disagree with parlor and fatbob. While an instructor cert is a waste of time if it's not what you want to do, the training you'll get to be a better skier is obviously effective. The CSIA 3s and 4s that teach and coach people on courses are amazing skiers and even better teachers. I spent my first season in Fernie as an unemployed bum, which was awesome, but my skiing improved my massive factors when I started teaching, and being taught by the same 3's and 4's that teach the Nonstop program.

DaveC, actually I'll back you up, some of the guys who used to coach Nonstop in the early days were really good and if they are still around or their successors are as good then I don't doubt it.

What I do doubt is that for the majority of participants they will ever get payback from instructor earnings on their initial investment so the whole "we'll get you a job at the end" of course organisers in general is a bit of a sham. Lets face it the business model for the gap year demographic is to make things look as organised and worthwhile as possible so parents don't mind subbing it. However I'm sure everyone who does the courses has a whale of a time and develops enormously though I think a freeskiing course would be better than purely instructor training for many.

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fatbob, yeah pretty much. Instructor training for 70%~ is just a way to sell to gap year-ers. I think something that might get a bit brushed over in the "just go ski" thing is that people like you and parlor are strong freeskiers who could just rock up for a season and ski. Someone gap year aged just won't have that level of skiing, and it's a really good opportunity to improve a lot as a base for a life of skiing.

I don't think many people who dedicate themselves to instructing even do well out of it, nevermind gap year instructors doing it for a year. I might break even if I'm lucky on year 3 of teaching, and I didn't even do Nonstop and only outlayed the exam fees rather than the £8k that a gap year course costs. Saying that, it's not really about money anyway, but coming back with less than you went with is pretty difficult to sustain..

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DaveC, I think one of the things the instruction industry ignores is that lots of people get reasonably proficient at skiing just by doing a lot of it, usually with people better then them. Of course garbage in, garbage out also applies and I'm sure we've all skied with seasonnaire chalet boy/girl types who can hoon around and "get down" anything without ever troubling the style or efficency scales.

I'd argue that a well paced course is one with 2 days of instruction a week for a sustained period rather than one that is totally intensive.

fatbob, I wouldn't say ignores - I've recommended people don't have lessons with me the next day and just go ski on their own/get mileage. I agree to an extent though - but it's difficult balancing a "season" package and getting the most efficient and effective course that suits a range of abilities too. Nonstop does 4 on, 3 off coaching - which is pretty reasonable I think, especially when teaching is being taught at some point too. I can't speak for anything but Nonstop really, but they do push a lot of guided off piste and just push their groups to ski harder off piste. I wouldn't really say they're oversaturated with instruction though.

You know it makes sense.

Definitely Whistler.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Go straight to uni + gap year after.

A snowHead

DaveC, I get to see a slightly different end too. People who come out, do the course, pass it and still can't ski for toffee at the end of it. How do you think I became a strong skier? It wasn't by perfecting my wedge turn, hockey stop or working on 'correct' inner edge lead wink

It was by pushing myself and skiing with people who are better than me, not by instruction or coaching.

No question, I have seen an even larger number of chalet girls (and maybe boys) that have often done more than one season and really can't ski.

I'm not saying the courses are wrong but if you want to ski, and improve, doing a course could be an expensive way of doing it.

A snowHead

ollyollyolly, go fernie with Non Stop Ski if so il see you there thats were im off to for 11 week course Very Happy

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ollyollyolly, go fernie with Non Stop Ski if so il see you there thats were im off to for 11 week course Very Happy

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I went to uni, dropped out after 6 months to do the gap year I wish I did... still going... might go back to Uni in a few years!

parlor, I disagree completely that anyone that passes their 2 "can't ski for toffee", and it'd take a lot of wilful ignorance to do a long course and not improve even if you don't get a cert. They'll likely be in the top 1% of UK skiers for a start,. They're learning exactly like you mentioned though, being pushed and skiing with (instructors) that're better than them, while being coached too. People being coached will progress much faster than people that aren't, unsuprisingly? I do get your POV, I just think you've watched an ESF lesson 10 years ago and assume that's how we all teach now.

Likewise, I'm not saying you *have* to do a course to become good at skiing, but it's a pretty reliable fast track. I did 1.5 seasons just doing my own thing and could ski the whole mountain at Fernie from going out as a total newb, then I started being trained as a l1 instructor and realised how bad I was - as I've trained more, I can see how technically poor the gnar bar "brb hucking a 30fter" types are and just make up for it by holding their lack of balance in straight lines Wink

I don't regret not doing the Nonstop thing, but did find it irritating how the ex-nonstoppers I worked with had a better technical approach than me and it took more work than it should to fix some fundamentals in my own skiing as I'm working towards my 3.

(and as a footnote, parlor is almost definitely still a better off-piste skier than me)

chelt881, see you out there snowHead

After all it is free

oz5000, I just read through this thread and was amazed I've been so nice to Nonstop! In fairness you nailed exactly the problem I have with it in the irritating clique sense. Best bit of advice - when you pass your level 1, don't go round the bar telling everyone you're a ski instructor. I don't think the course itself is actually bad value, in fact it's quite cheap if you break down what you get from it - just need to be sure that you want everything in the package.

oz5000, id dont really feel that exploited i mean £6500 for an 11 week holiday including 25 hours a week instruction, 1-1 coaching, lift passes, accommodation, flights, food,lift queue priority pass, exam fees, work experience, day trips to banff whistler, extra activities including cat skiing, guided backcountry and snowmobiling. especialy when it would cost me £850 for the week for the basic holiday. Puzzled

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Ski Season - Whistler, Banff or Fernie?? Where would you go?

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