FIRST TURNS TO LAST TURNS: 10 WEEK SKI INSTRUCTOR COURSE

Posted: December 22, 2015

Ever wondered how good you need to be (and will become?) on a 10 week ski instructor course? Well, take a look at some first turns and last turns from Saas Fee … and how to book on the next courses in Morzine & Banff starting in January 2016 or Bariloche, Argentina in July 2016 …

How much skiing before the 10 week ski instructor course?

Have a listen to Guy and Tom from the Saas Fee course in their videos posted at the end of this blog.

They both had done quite a lot of skiing on holidays with families. Even some racing and coaching.

Some great skiing on the “race coaching” day of the Saas Fee course 2015

For how many weeks skiing experience prior to the instructor courses we run in association with the BASI qualification – the next courses are Morzine and Banff (CSIA/CASI qualification) in January 2016, and Argentina in July 2016 – the official BASI page gives this advice:

Be able to ski parallel confidently, coping with a variety of conditions
Be able to ski parallel on red runs, making rhythmical short turns at a steady pace
Be able to ski parallel long turns on a green or easy blue slope with the skis carving the last two thirds of the turn
Minimum age 16 years old
It is recommended that applicants have completed at least 16 full weeks of skiing

One thing to remember, even if you’ve met all the criteria above … whatever your level, the 10 week ski instructor course will challenge – and improve – how you already ski.

Changing how you think about skiing

One big way in which the course challenges you is by making you think about how to ski.

The Saas Fee group on their “teaching days” getting to grips with improving others

Because it is not just your skiing that is examined by BASI, it is also your understanding and ability to teach skiing to others.

And that can sometimes be difficult.

Normally, with most sports you don’t “think” very much, you just get on and “do”.

But on the instructor course, even the simplest turns get broken down so you can help others learn them more easily.

It is often these “basic turns” that are the hardest to master on the course.

Mastering the basics can be fun too!!!

So what does 10 weeks improvement look like?

Here is Guy …

… and here is Tom

If you’re thinking about a gap year or career break … make sure you’ve a solid foundation and be prepared to work hard with our trainers like Element Ski School in preparation for your BASI exams.