So that’s a wrap for the Saas Fee course, the Peak leaders have now finished their BASI level 2 exam, it is crazy how fast the 9 weeks go! The group this year have been fantastic to work with, so we’re sad to see them go.

Over the final 2 weeks of the course, the trainees have been working through the level 2 exam with BASI trainer, Rob. The two week long exam gives students the opportunity to continue their development as skiers and instructors, while also providing plenty of time to prove to their examiner that they are up to the level 2 standard.

There were tested on a variety of skills in both skiing, demonstrating and teaching. Overall, Rob was really impressed, particularly with their teaching abilities!

Fortunately the snow was amazing and the pistes, super quiet! Check out the empty pistes for one of the long turn sessions during the exam…

This autumn we have been incredibly lucky to have literally wall to wall sunshine for most of the course, allowing us perfect conditions to maximise training time.

Saas Fee were also very proactive in opening as many pistes and lifts as possible to try and spread out any crowds, to ensure skiing was as socially distances as possible. It is great to see that it’s possible for us all to ski safely during the pandemic! Masks are worn on all lifts and in any enclosed lift station area, queues are socially distanced and most of the time you are out in the open, fresh air. So it definitely feels like the measures are working and skiing can be enjoyed in a safe way!

So after the two weeks, most of our trainees were successful in passing all aspects of the exam and 100% passed the teaching element. It is a tough two weeks, so it was great to see the team achieve some good results. For those who did not quite make the level on the technical part of the assessment, they will have the opportunity to retake just that element at a later date.

Despite the obvious difficulties this winter with COVID, almost all the trainees managed to line up some work and/or training for the season in a few different resorts around Switzerland. Many of them will be joining us in Verbier for some more training towards the level 3 and with plenty of snow on the ground there, we’re pretty excited to get started!