My boy is thinking of doing a gap year ski instructor course, any one done one or have any advice ?
He is looking at 11 weeks in Canada but would Europe be better ?
Thanks

Not for this year I imagine. I have a friend who’s son did one (Snowbording) and then worked for a season in Canada. I’ll get some details. It’s not really an economic choice for just one season as you’ll not earn anything like the cost of the course. If it’s just for one year IMO you are better off just taking the money for the course and renting a cheap apartment and going skiing whilst trying to do some odd jobs / bar work to make the money last. Not sure if this works in Canada re visas but it certainly does in Europe.

A mate did a season with Warren Smith academy in Verbier and really enjoyed it.

Warren and his crew are fantastic instructors and that would certainly be my choice, plus afterwards it would be easier to remain in touch with the others from the course. My mate also did a Japan powder week with Warren shortly afterwards.

Only went to Canada once and that was their worst year for snow for 54 years ( 🙁 ) but I prefer the ‘sprawling’ way the mountains are laid out in Europe.

Be careful with Canada – getting visas to work can be a real issue.

way the mountains are laid out in Europe

🙂

It’s Gods’ work, innit !

Canada would be far better especially around Whistler, though weather is a mix of snow and rain and can have bad seasons.

Bonus though is you can extend the season into bike season 😀

Europe – watch out with local laws / ESF mafia that defend local instructors and try to prevent foreigners instructing. Make sure the instructors are fully qualified under local law (especially in France) and have all the paperwork to approve your tuition. France has taken many to court of ski instruction without the right paperwork. Guiding is illegal now also unless you are an acceptably qualified instructor (which has hit a lot of tour operators).

My daughter did this a few years ago in Tremblant with Ski le Gap. She loved it and worked the next year in the States with the qualification.
I’ll see if I can get her to give a fuller answer when she gets in this evening.

Thanks guys

Plan would be to do course starting in the new year and look to work the following season maybe.

I can recommend Non-Stop ski/boarding instructor courses in Canada based on my friend’s experience in 2003 and my wife’s last season.

They run courses in a number of resorts in the Rockies, 11 weeks starting sometime in January I believe.

Great instruction, accomodation and organisation.

Getting a work visa in Canada is a piece of piss, if you’re under 30.

http://www.nonstopsnow.com/courses/11-week-ski-instructor-course-fernie/

One of my cousins did a snowboard instructors course around 6 years ago as a gap year type thing. Ended up getting a half decent living as a pro-snowboarder.

Had been looking at https://www.simplysnowsports.com/

Are Canadian qualifications actually worth anything outside of Canada these days? They didn’t use to be

Nonstop does have a great reputation.

I’m biased because the guy who runs/owns it is a good friend, but he cares more about his job (his company, his employees, his customers, his reputation) than pretty much anyone I know.

Good time to go to Canada, too. best CAD:GBP for us since the early 2000’s. And early signs are for it to be a good season over there, I think. don’t know! As soon as I wrote that I became less sure!

Just in terms of resort choice, Non-Stop gives you more to choose from than Simplysnowsports who only appear to have Jasper.

As far as I know, the CASI qualification is recognised everywhere except France.

Please, please , please let it be a good snow season! I had 4 weeks in BC last season in the worst snow conditions for a generation. I need the healing powder.

My old employer. Note the Christian element.
http://www.abernethy.org.uk/our-centres/ardgour/school-adventure-leadership/

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2lqITN6Msk[/video]

Crewlie’s daughter here…

I did the Ultimate Ski Course, which was 12 weeks long, with Ski le Gap back in 2005 and loved every second of it. We had 6 hours of coaching Mon-Fri (iirc), and every person on the course, with the exception of those injured, got at least their level 1 qualification, CSIA or CASI, and did a week work experience teaching at the Tremblant ski school. They also offered cross-overs if you wanted to get your levels in both skiing and snowboarding, plus freestyle, race and disability coaching levels too. A fair few of the course worked to get their 2nd levels in CSIA or CASI, and one guy got his level 3. All the accommodation is at one specific site, with their own bar and restaurant (including hot chocolate and freshly baked cookies after each day on the slopes) with more socials than most could handle. They also put on weekend trips away to nearby cities, and other things like igloo building and french lessons. The support team were wonderful too, they were our family out there so we were very well looked after.

I’d recommend the course to anyone in a heartbeat! I came back with my CSIA 1 and CADS 1, then I ended up spending the next season teaching out in America. Depending on the level, the Canadian qualification isn’t as highly regarded as the British or French versions, but it does still allow you to teach in a lot of countries.

Hope this helps 🙂

Jasper / Marmot basin is a bit in the middle of nowhere even by Canadian standards. It has the potential to be really cold for long periods of time and the snow is either fantastic or sparse. It’s also not that big (5 lifts) so if you’re used to European resorts it’ll certainly feel small after 11 weeks.

I’d echo above that Fernie might be better from both a resort (bigger, warmer, in general more snow) and social (more visitors, more bars) perspective. Whistler would be even more “euro like” although with added cost.

Canada is the greatest country (possibly) on Earth and I had the best 3 months of my life there (fact) so I highly recommend it. The snowboarding is outstanding and the F-250 trucks are out of this world.

Thanks people.

The first part of the training in France is the “pré-formation”. To get onto the course you need to have passed your “test technique” which involves doing a slalom spécial (the tight one) within 20% of a time set by a top skier. The time junior was up against was set by the French champion and 3/85 candidates got through. After the “pré-formation” it’s the “Euro test” and so it goes on, plus you have to be handy on a snow board. It takes years and every step is highly competitive/selective.

Other national qualifications are accepted in France, but not the ones that fall far short. It’s the same in swimming, my nephew was a lifeguard at a pool in the UK at 15 IIRC with very basic training. In France you have to be over 18 and complete a course that is much more demanding in both swimming and medical terms – you have to pass the same first aid course as firemen.

Cycling too, it took a very competent mountain biker from our club a year to complete the training for his cycle guide qualification – first aid, how to run a business, how to teach, skills test on a BMX, MTB, trials bike and roadie, orienteering/map reading, multiple field/practical courses, a log of rides and teaching practice.

@crewlie – so how much did the 12 week course cost inc food and lodging ?

Probably about 7 grand upfront (few years ago now), but there were quite a lot of extras that came in on top of that, clothing, drinking money etc. Not the cheapest way to do a gap, but it has lead to a pretty interesting life so far for her.