On 30 November twenty aspiring ski instructors made their way up the endless switchbacks from the valley to the legendary ski resort of Verbier in the Swiss Alps. Ahead of them were seventy days of all-round skiing education which should see them qualified as BASI Level 2 instructors. Although the village was looking slightly green for the time of year, a trip on two cable cars up the mountain revealed some temptingly hard and fast pistes. These provided plenty of scope for instructors Emma Cairns and Jonas Sundstedt to help the trainees make the changes in their skiing which they will need to pass BASI Level 1 in only two weeks’ time. Jonas’s group was particularly thrilled to ski the mountain ‘as if they’re riding a pig’, thus learning some valuable lessons about the best width of stance to ski with and some amusing comments from the British Army ski teams training nearby. Meanwhile Emma emphasised the need for skiers to have good core strength by holding a planking competition against a backdrop of stunning mountain vistas Away from the slopes the trainees were soon immersed in an in-depth, two-day first aid course which all agreed massively increased their confidence in dealing with any accident on the piste. An unexpected bonus was that the baby resuscitation dummy ‘volunteered’ to double as a suitably festive baby Jesus on Chalet Terrier’s Christmas tree. The trainees also took their first fitness class at Verbier’s Wholey Cow gym. With early sessions working on mobility and muscular endurance for skiing through yoga exercises, some of the trainees were pushed outside their comfort zone. However, any pain was definitely worth the healthy glow afterwards. The group’s Texan representative, Clint, certainly achieved a deep state of relaxation as testified by the loud snores echoing around the studio… Over the last few days a deep chill has been in the air of Verbier, with more snow surely to follow soon. The trainees now turn their attention towards developing their teaching skills during their last week of training before they meet their BASI assessors for the first time
