Becoming a snowboard Instructor

Why choose a snowboard instructor course with Peak Leaders?

Peak Leaders  have created courses that balance the coaching  necessary to gain maximum qualifications with having fun on a life enhancing experience full of good memories.

The courses - We have first hand experience of years of leading mountain expeditions and teaching. During the course itself, you'll gain the all round knowledge essential for working a winter season with help after to find a job. You'll get more hours coaching on and off the hill per week than other courses and whether you go on to work in the snowsports' industry or not, your technique will improve beyond recognition.

The Coaches - All of our coaches are specifically chosen for their love of the sport, professional attitude and excellent experience. they will help you dramatically improve the all round aspects of your riding.

Off the mountain - You'll get excellent accommodation and food (no bunk beds nor shopping in expensive supermarkets and trailing home with plastic bags to cook after a knackering day on the hill!). You'll also get the option of those trips out to experience the local culture. Think heli-boarding in NZ, cat/skidoo snowboarding in Canada, exploring the vast off-piste in Europe.  Return flights from the UK (Argentina & Canada) and transfers are included.

During the course - Peak Leaders courses focus on personal development and the acquisition of skills for both immediate employment and for life.

After the Course - You get job advice and are put in touch with prospective employers round the world. Peak Leaders courses deliver an excellent range of vocational and transferable skills providing a strong basis for gaining employment in similar or complementary fields.

Make a career in snowboarding

When you complete the  course and get your instructor's qualification you will be able to teach in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. With the massive growth in indoor slopes in the UK, you could instruct part-time whilst at uni/work.

Look at previous course diaries & see what the guys are saying...

Snowboard instructor courses with Peak Leaders...

Argentina:

In the spectacular Andes of South America, you can become a BASI snowboard instructor. Peak Leaders work with a team of dedicated Argentine snowboard instructors from the Alpine Club Bariloche.

You can learn spoken Spanish, go to vibrant Buenos Aires, visit Evita's house, watch and learn to tango, travel across Patagonia to the picturesque city of Esquel; ride out with gauchos and see the Andes on horseback and swim in natural thermal pools, not forgetting to sample the world famous Argentine steak and their excellent Malbec.

This is an ideal course for people taking a career break and equally if you want to teach the following winter. With the qualifications from the course added to your C.V. you will be ready to apply with confidence for a job as snowboard instructor the following winter in North America or Europe.

New Zealand

You can train to be a NZSIA qualified snowboard instructor at Coronet Peak, Queenstown. Queenstown is renowned as the adventure capital of the world and home of the famous Shotover River jet, bungee jumping and white water rafting.

Coaching is at Coronet Peak 5 days a week with back country and advanced training at The Remarkables. You take a Certificate in Snowsport Instruction followed by the NZSIA Stage 1 Instructor Course. Heli-boarding comes as part of the package!

When the snowsports training is over, you can opt to join the popular 2 week trip to Australia to snorkel off the Great Barrier Reef, hot air balloon, trek the Australian outback, learn about the ecology of the Coral Sea and conservation of the oldest tropical rainforest in the world.

The NZSIA qualification is internationally recognised and many of the successful Peak Leaders from the NZ course get jobs in Canada, USA and Europe the following season.

Canada - Whistler

Whistler is Canada's Number 1 resort and gives you the opportunity to experience some of the finest powder on 2 huge mountains.

Top Canadian professional coaches from Whistler Blackcomb snowboard school prepare you for the Level 1 and 2 examinations. You have the flexibility to gain experience with the ski school, do freestyle, adaptive ski, and race coach modules or switch disciplines so that you are an instructor in both skiing and snowboarding.

Weekends are for eating out in downtown Whistler with all your new mates. Unlike other courses in Whistler, flights & weekday evening meals are also included. Optional trips are almost too numerous to list - firm favourites are heli skiing, cat-skiing, snowmobiling and the trip to Vancouver to see the Ice Hockey.

Canada - Banff:

This course gives your C.V. the maximum boost especially if you want to move into the snowsports' industry. You are taught by top Canadian pros based at Sunshine Village - more than 20 hours per week with video sessions and ski school experience.

You'll stay in a great hotel, ideally located for the town and mountain.

Unique to Peak Leaders are certificates in team leading (ILM Level 3), resort guiding and an introduction to ski patrolling. Also available is a certificate in first aid and an avalanche awareness course.

Banff is a great place to be based with Canadian 'wild west' culture at its best. There are still some 'old style pioneers' kicking around town. Optional trips include - retail therapy and ice hockey trip to Calgary, snowmobiling and trip to Kicking Horse.

Switzerland - Zermatt:

The world famous Matterhorn towers above the village where you live for 10 weeks.

Training is carried out by the official Swiss Snowsports School in Zermatt (founded 1929). Top Swiss professionals train you to take BASI examinations.

You sit your Trainee instructor course with BASI in the early few weeks of the course and the Instructor Training Course is run at the end of your programme. Many successful students are offered jobs in resorts the following season.

You stay in comfortable modern apartments near the après action and a short distance from the Sonnenblick where we meet and eat together.

What makes this course unusual is that it is endorsed by BASI and the Federation of Swiss Snowsport Instructors with the aim of providing a pool of BASI-qualified instructors for employment in Switzerland with English speaking clients.

Switzerland - Verbier

Spend 10/11 weeks in one of the off-piste meccas of the world. We love Verbier for its excellent varied terrain and its vibrant town.

We offer the BASI Level 1 and 2 qualifications and your training is delivered by a team of highly qualified, professional and dynamic coaches who'll make sure your all round riding improves dramatically. There's all the normal extras on offer with a Peak Leaders course including first aid and avalanche awareness, with extra options including ILM and snowsport leader award.

There's plenty to take advantage of in Verbier. All our accommodation is within walking distance of the lifts and shops/bars/restaurants. Many of our trainees stayed on in Verbier after the end of the course as they were having such a great time.

Switzerland - Saas Fee in the Autumn

An ideal course for you if you want to get qualified in time for the Northern Hemisphere winter. This is an 8 week course offering BASI Level 1 and 2.

Saas Fee is a fantastic all year round resort with plenty to do when you're not riding. There's a sport centre with great facilities, skatepark, walking trails, mountain biking - the list is endless. It's a typical alpine village with a good variety of bars, restaurants and shops. There are often test weekends running through the autumn, so you'll have the opportunity to test out the new season's equipment.

You'll stay in a 3* hotel in the centre of the village. It's extremely comfortable and the food is excellent.