SAAS FEE 2019 – WEEK 4: THE BASI LEVEL 1
After three solid weeks of training in perfect weather and fantastic snow, our trainees headed into week four of the course ready to take on the BASI Level 1 ski instructor assessment!
But before they got stuck into the BASI Level 1, the trainees took the weekend to let their hair down in Saas Fee, starting with some Friday night drinks at Nesti’s ski bar.
On Saturday, it was time to tackle the high ropes course in the forest above Saas-Fee. Built and run by the Saas-Fee mountain guides, it is a series of increasingly precarious and challenging pathways between the towering trees of the forest.
Slightly nauseating for those who have a bit of a fear of heights, and especially for those still recovering from the night before!
The highlight of the high ropes however, is the final zip lines. Imagine, two 300m zip lines whipping you across a gorge over 100m below you, with Saas Fee’s numerous 4000m+ peaks towering above you! For the adrenaline junkies it certainly hits the spot…
On Sunday evening the Peak Leaders had the opportunity to meet their BASI trainers for the week. After meeting their trainers Hannah and Lee and chatting through how the week would run, any ‘pre-match’ nerves began to fade.
The BASI level 1 exam is a one week assessment of the trainees’ skiing and teaching skills.
The format is designed to avoid exerting unnecessary pressure on the candidate, where the trainer continuously assesses their skills and ability over the course of the whole week.
This avoids the need to create high pressure situations where trainees have to ‘nail it’ or risk failure.
Another great feature of the week is that the trainees have plenty of opportunity to continue to develop their skills throughout the exam. So with the guidance of their talented trainers, Lee and Hannah, our trainees continued to improve their skiing and teaching abilities.
One week later, we now have yet another group of new BASI qualified ski instructors!
But it doesn’t stop there, we now look towards the BASI level 2 exam at the end of the course and a few more weeks of training to prepare.
But first, a more chilled week of freestyle, avalanche training and some shadowing of real ski lessons!
