SnowSkool Blog

Banff Instructor Course 2020 - Week 1

With all things running smoothly toward commencing the Banff 2020 SnowSkool course, the week began with the students departing to Calgary from not only Gatwick, but also places like the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, Australia, America and Taiwan. With a diversity of different people already mingling before even leaving the airport, the bus ride flew by as the students began getting to know one another. To welcome the students to their new home at the HI Banff Alpine Centre, the Food and Beverage staff catered for the post-flight appetites with a burger and beer night hosted in the hostel bar. With the students sharing stories of their pasts and excitement for near futures in one of Canada’s most epic locations in the Rocky Mountains, energy was high and the night was not without pleasantries and badinage.

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Three Valleys Instructor Course 2020 - Week 1

The thought of starting SnowSkool brings with it the same questions that accompany the first week of a new term at school/university. Questions such as, where do we get food and how often? What time are our classes? Will they be hard? What will my classmates be like? However, unlike school, with SnowSkool, instead of being inundated with homework and getting lost, we were introduced to our lovely hosts and rep who had all the answers to our questions upon arrival! Even better was that we were on the slopes within less than 24h of arrival!

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A Guide to Freestyle Terrain - Three Valleys

If you are heading to France in the New Year to join the SnowSkool snowboard instructor course, your lift pass will cover you for a whopping 600km of piste that, together, form the Three Valleys – the world’s largest ski area. As well as the world-class riding on offer, there is also some world-class freestyle terrain and this is not only a bunch of fun but essential terrain for learning to become a snowboard instructor. It’s not all about falling leaf turns and carving groomers…you need to master every riding skill for success on a snowboard instructor course.

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Fine-tunin’: How to look after your Skis & Snowboard.

For a budding ski or snowboard instructor, keeping your skis and snowboards at a great standard is key to success during both our instructor courses and your future careers in the Snowsports industry. Whilst riding your equipment day in, day out you’ll find that you progress much quicker and easier on a consistently tuned and waxed set of skis or board.

Despite what you may think, keeping your equipment in tip top shape is not actually that hard! Once you’ve had a go at it yourself, you’ll be a professional ski or board tuner in no time! Especially if you’re maintaining your gear for an entire season.

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Sharing a Room on Your Ski Instructor Course? 7 Tips from Uncle Adam…

For those heading to Austria, Canada, France or New Zealand for their SnowSkool ski instructor course, possibly the biggest shock will be having to live with other people! Whether that is a private double room in one of our ski-in/ ski-out apartments in Big White or a twin room in one of our lovely, traditionally-Alpine chalets in Méribel or Zell am See or a dorm-room in the super-social Lodges in Banff or Wanaka, you’re going to be surrounded by a whole bunch of new people on your SnowSkool course!

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Five Best Boards for Snowboard Instructor Courses

You’ve booked on for your SnowSkool snowboard instructor course and you need to buy a new board to facilitate you to become a snowboard instructor! But where to start? Adam Sharps, CASI snowboard instructor and Head Rep for the SnowSkool Banff course, provides a few tips that will help get you the best board for you and your SnowSkool instructor course...

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Ski Instructor Courses in Canada. 7 Reasons to go to Banff

If you have ever considered training to become a ski instructor in Canada, it is likely that you would have come across the SnowSkool in Banff, Alberta. Banff is probably the best place for gap year ski instructor courses. Here are seven reasons why...! 
 

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How to become a ski instructor in Switzerland

Keen to live and work there? That’s understandable. Let’s go through 5 easy steps to secure a job in one of Switzerland’s many mountains….

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SnowSkool’s Ski Instructor Courses in New Zealand - My Experience

SnowSkool's Jacob Harley-Beckett tells the story of his journey from Bristol, UK, to Wanaka, NZ, to launch SnowSkool's ski instructor courses in New Zealand for 2019. 

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What qualifications do you need to be a ski instructor?

Thinking of doing a ski instructor course? Here's the info on how to get started and the qualifications you'll need to gain before becoming a ski instructor.

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