SAAS FEE 2019 – WEEKS 5, 6 & 7
The Peak Leaders have now completed the level 1 exam and following a few more weeks of training, they are now ready to take on the BASI level 2 ski instructor qualification. Here’s what they have been up to over the past few weeks!
After some well earned celebrations over the weekend, the trainees initially moved into a week of shadowing, freestyle and avalanche awareness training.
It was fitting that we received a solid snowfall that week with some nice powder turns to be had!
This, as well as an unfortunate avalanche incident involving some ski tourers elsewhere on the mountain, set the scene for the team to learn more about how to stay safe when skiing off piste. Although this is not assessed on the BASI Level 2 exam, we think it is super important for all our trainees who will go on to do seasons in various resorts around the world, to have a basic knowledge of avalanche risks and how to use the rescue equipment!
In addition to this, we also think the freestyle elements of skiing are incredibly valuable to our instructor training courses, so we also include a day with a professional freestyle coach. Marco put the team through their paces, teaching them a number of cool tricks on piste before moving into the park. Check out Cat, showing us all how it’s done…
In the week following the level 1 exam, the trainees also had the opportunity to spend some days shadowing some real lessons, from ‘Kandahar’ ski club and ‘Ski Zenit’. This is a really valuable experience as it allows the trainees to get a feel for what life is really like as a ski instructor with real clients!
Following that week, it was time to get back into the normal routine with two more training weeks. For the first of these weeks, the trainees were lucky enough to have an extra pair of eyes watching their skiing, with Jack joining the coaching team for the week to see how we run our coaching sessions.
The final two weeks of training have been awesome and allowed for some amazing progress in everyone’s skiing ability. The conditions were perfect with huge snowfalls right down in the valley. This allowed us to train off the glacier for the first time, giving us some more terrain to test the trainees’ skills leading up to the level 2 exam.
With the arrival of winter, cold temperatures and snow on the ground, came a change in the weekly fitness sessions. With some fun little circuit training sessions in Saas-Fee’s sports hall, the trainees developing their strength and speed with this one…
Following these final weeks of training, the team are ready to tackle the BASI level 2 exam, a two week assessment of their skiing and teaching skills. Check back in for an update on how they get on!
