Argentina Ski & Snowboard Instructor Course...

What makes this course different?

• Only Peak Leaders run BASI courses in Argentina
• Team building trip to Buenos Aires
• More qualifications and certifications than any other programme
• Buffet breakfast, cooked lunch on mountain training days,
  afternoon tea & dinner 7 days a week
• Spanish language classes
• Avalanche awareness
• Mountain medicine
• SNSC Resort guiding certificate (optional)
• ILM Leadership Award (optional)
• Trip to Esquel mountain resort for race & freestyle coaching
• Trip to Traful with gauchos
• Experience dancing the Tango
• Argentina offers incredible value for money - a beer in a bar costs less than £1
• End of course party
  

The Course...

Buenos Dias! Peakleaders in Argentina offer more qualifications, certifications and included extras than ANY other instructor course.

This is one of our favourites and with good reason. Your Argentina course offers a unique opportunity in August and September to become a BASI (British Association of Snowsport Instructors) ski or snowboard instructor in the spectacular Andes of South America. You'll be amongst some of the nicest people on the planet and thanks to coaching from Argentina's and BASI's finest instructors and examiners, your technique and all-mountain skills will dramatically improve. The training is high tempo and applicants should be strong intermediate skiers or riders (or better) before applying. After gaining the qualifications on offer in South America, you are ready to apply with confidence for employment in North America or Europe. As well as the sense of adventure of being in the high Andes of Patagonia, you'll also experience (included in the price) plenty of South American culture.

Course Outline...

• Group flight from UK (payable to Trailfinders) usually with course leader
• 2 Day Buenos Aires Trip with course leader & Argentine guide
• Travel to Bariloche
• Welcome talk and overview from course leader and Argentine Coaches & mountain familiarization tour.
• Coaching begins 5 Days per week with night video sessions
• ILM Certificate City and Guilds NVQ level 3 award in Leadership (optional)
• Ski / Board maintenance clinic
• SNSC Resort Guiding
• BASI Level 1 course & exams
• Mountain medicine including First Aid Course
• Avalanche Awareness Course / Backcountry Module: Learn about route selection and trekking in the back country, risk assessment, avalanche dangers and snow pack conditions
• Spanish Language lessons
• 5 day trip to Esquel Ski Resort for freestyle & race coaching
• Trip to Welsh community at Trevelin
• Traful trip with Gauchos to view the Andes by horseback
• BASI Level 2 exams

Hotel And Food

In Bariloche we stay at the magnificent El Retorno Lodge right on the shore of Lago Gutierrez (see photos) a brilliant expanse of deep crystal water behind Cerro Catedral. There is a restaurant, where we eat together, bar and free Wi Fi & Internet Services with a nearby gym and swimming pool open daily for Peak Leaders' use.

Bariloche

Is the main ski resort town in Northern Patagonia. The town is also a favourite party destination for students from Buenos Aires and Peak Leaders' trainees as well as being an adventure sports' town.

Qualifications and Certs...

In Argentina we offer the British Association of Snowsport Association qualifications. The qualification is recognized worldwide and is crucial if you want to teach in France later on in your career. BASI level 1 is the introductory level taken early on in the course, with BASI 2 (more advanced) taken towards the end of the course. In 2007 we had 100% pass rate for BASI 1! Other qualifications on offer are the first aid course, avalanche awareness & backcountry Module, ILM Management certificate, SNSC resort guiding award. Click below for more details!

The Resort

Cerro Catedral & Esquel Ski Resorts: The ski area at Cerro Catedral is the largest in South America with 67 km of trails and 27 major lifts with a capacity of 20,000 skiers per hour.  The top of the mountain is 2050m and the vertical drop is 1000m. It is one of the best places in the world for ski / board freeriders where you can blast your way through thigh deep powder in one of the mile long chutes and take in the stunning views across Lake Nahuel Huapi to the surrounding high Andes. The off-piste runs on the best tree covered slopes of South America are magical.

Argentine Culture & Trips                       

(Buenos Aires, Esquel, Trevelin, Traful horseback trips)
During your time with Peak Leaders in Argentina, and included in the price, are trips when you'll experience the richness and fun of South American culture. You'll go from the Atlantic to the Andes, ride with gauchos, learn spoken Spanish, see the soaring condors of Patagonia, travel across the pampas on the Patagonia Express steam train (optional), stay in vibrant Buenos Aires and watch Tango danced in the streets ( have a go maybe...), visit Evita's house and the thriving La Boca. Life, happily, will never be the same again.

Job Opportunities

Once you have your BASI qualifications you can apply for jobs in the Northern hemisphere winter. From previous experience and feedback from Peaks trainees we have found that our combination of qualifications, certifications and experience offered by the course is very attractive to ski schools looking for more instructors. Peakleaders have excellent contacts all over the world and can assist you in achieving your ideal job.