First of all, a massive well done to all our Peak Leaders trainees on completing the BASI level 1 exam this week! We are now already nearly half way through the Saas Fee course, time really flies by out here. We have been super lucky to have 4 amazing weeks of skiing, with incredible snow conditions and weather.

This week was all about the BASI Level 1 exam, which sounds like it would be a full-on, stressful experience. But thanks to the structure of the BASI courses and the fantastic work of the trainers (James and Craig), the trainees found it to be a fun and productive week, with lot’s of learning and improvements.

All BASI exams are run in a way that feels very unlike any other exam you may have experienced before. First of all, they seem pretty long, a week for the level 1 and two weeks for the level 2. But the idea behind this, is that there is time to learn and develop your skills throughout the course. It also means that you have plenty of time to show you can consistently perform at the required level. This makes for a much less pressurised and stressful experience.

Throughout the week the trainees were required to show both their technical skiing skills and their teaching skills. The trainees have to teach mini sessions to the rest of the group, focussing on one stage of the basic beginner’s progression. The idea is that the level 1 course sets instructors up for teaching the early stages of skiing in a fun and safe way.

It’s also worth noting that despite being the first level on the BASI pathway, it is well recognised and valued around the world, we have known many instructors to find work in a whole range of countries, from Japan, to Canada and the US.

So it was definitely time to celebrate on Friday evening, a few beers were enjoyed, washing down some first class pizzas from the local pizza maestro, Don Ciccio.

Off snow, the trainees have also been taking in the last of the autumn sunshine with some volleyball, football and hiking down in town, before winter sets in. Saas Fee has been showing off some awesome autumn colours lately…

We’re now starting to see the cold weather set in and the first big snowfalls are in the forecast, so we’re all excited to start skiing the lower slopes off the glacier and hopefully get some powder turns in soon!

Next up, the trainees have a solid 3 week training block to prepare themselves for the BASI level 2 exam!

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Finally, we also had to say goodbye to a couple of trainees this week, with Kyle and Jack from the US on the Level 1 package, they have now moved on to explore Europe a little more! However we also have four new trainees joining for the Level 2 package, so it has been great to welcome them to the team!

Check in soon to find out how the next training block goes!