SnowSkool Blog

Life as a Ski or Snowboard Instructor

Most of you will have whiled away the two-hour flight home from Geneva, Chambery or Innsbruck asking yourself why on earth you are not living in the mountains, skiing or snowboarding every day... It is just the way it should be for you.

Yeah you’d be happy to wash pots, shovel snow or help people on and off lifts, just to be out there, but we all know that the Kings & Queens of the hill are the instructors.

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How not to be a Punter on the slopes - 5 Tips

A beginner should not expect to be laughed at for asking Jean-Baptiste, the tanned demi-God ski instructor, if there is a right ski and a left ski before setting off downhill. But, should he ask which way the skis should point or indeed clip into skis with the tips at the tail and the tails at the tip, he should absolutely expect to be laughed off the slopes and taken in a taxi to the nearest airport. For a PUNTER he most certainly is… Here’s SnowSkool’s guide on to how not to be one this season…

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Snowboard Instructor Salaries - How much do Instructors earn?

How much does a snowboard instructor actually earn? This is a really common question we get asked, before people embark on one of our snowboard instructor courses.

There are tons of factors that can influence earnings, from qualification levels, experience, country and resort. We’ve spoken to ex-SnowSkoolers, working across the globe, to get you the salary figures.

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Skiing vs snowboarding - which is faster?

It’s a question that’s been around as long as both snowsports have: which is faster - skiing or snowboarding?

With both sports relying heavily on gravity, to get from top to bottom of a mountain, perhaps it’s not as simple as you think? (We actually think it is...)

But let’s look at the detail...

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A ski instructor course on your gap year: 5 reasons you should do one

If you are looking to ski on your gap year, or you’re taking some time off between jobs and want to ski in the gap, you have a few options.

These range between full-time ski bum, and getting qualified as an international ski or board instructor with global job prospects...

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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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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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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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