The Snowsports Thread 2015-16

Not a member myself, but looking at what you get, on the face of it, it's worth it alone for the off-piste ski insurance if you're into that sort of thing (depending on the details). Certainly worth the £5 over the standard membership!
 
Jokester said:
Not a member myself, but looking at what you get, on the face of it, it's worth it alone for the off-piste ski insurance if you're into that sort of thing (depending on the details). Certainly worth the £5 over the standard membership!
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Exactly what I thought regarding the insurance as a whole.

Due to my age (42) membership is £119/Year, up to 34 years old it's £69/Year. :rolleyes:
 
oh these are mega bucks, they bring my ski total to 8 (been an instructor for nearly 11 years now), I based them on a more aggressive rockered version of my existing K2 hell bents. From memory they are 127 under foot :eek:

price wise, circa £1400 with bindings and skins
 
Will Gill said:
oh these are mega bucks, they bring my ski total to 8 (been an instructor for nearly 11 years now), I based them on a more aggressive rockered version of my existing K2 hell bents. From memory they are 127 under foot :eek:

price wise, circa £1400 with bindings and skins
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Hi Will. I am looking at doing a ski internship over in Canada next ski season with EA. As you said you have been instructing for 11 years now I thought it would be rude not to ask ;) What do you do during summer seasons? Have you been teaching in different countries or resorts? Would you recommend it to someone like me (22 years old, love skiing, have enough funds to keep me going in case I were to struggle getting work). Any information is much appreciated as this I am sure would have an impact on my decision to go ahead with it.

Cheers
 
zakjattaway said:
Hi Will. I am looking at doing a ski internship over in Canada next ski season with EA. As you said you have been instructing for 11 years now I thought it would be rude not to ask ;) What do you do during summer seasons? Have you been teaching in different countries or resorts? Would you recommend it to someone like me (22 years old, love skiing, have enough funds to keep me going in case I were to struggle getting work). Any information is much appreciated as this I am sure would have an impact on my decision to go ahead with it.

Cheers
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Just thought I'd chip in on those instructor courses, especially since you mentioned Canada as I have a good bit of experience there.

Those courses are a crazy amount of money!
In comparison, you can take a level 1 test, which includes a few days beforehand of all the training you need and it was only $300CAD or so when I did it 10 years ago. Provided you aren't completely new to skiing or snowboarding, the pass percentages are quite high.

Big Canadian resorts like Whistler have job fairs at the start of the season where they hire people as ski and snowboard instructors with no qualifications whatsoever. They mainly just want people who have previous job experience with kids, they then pay for this same test and provided you pass, you have the job.

These courses obviously promise to get you to level 2, by which point in the season, resorts are typically going to need more instructors due to drop outs from injuries, people running out of money etc. At which point, if you turn up as a level 2 instructor (and even level 1 in many cases) then there is a chance you might get taken on for work. That said though, as a brand new instructor with no previous teaching experience, you will just be teaching kids, not guiding people through the backcountry.

Obviously the real crux about your future employment in Canada is whether you have a visa to work. Yes you can get the one year visa, so can do a working holiday, but in terms of anything long term, you would require sponsorship. When I was in Whistler, I seem to recall that they only entertained this for instructors who had at least a level 3 equivalent and could speak either fluent Japanese or Spanish.

What I'm basically trying to say is that most of the people I met who were doing these courses were taking a gap year and had convinced their parents to fund their snow holiday based on the fact they would become an instructor. The majority will never use this qualification afterwards. The reality is, you can still have a snow season for a lot less money and become an instructor.

If you are really serious about becoming an instructor as a proper career, you are probably better suited to getting qualifications in Europe.

And on funds... yes, you want as much spare as you can. Nearly all jobs in ski resorts pay peanuts, because its a lifestyle choice. You will probably find most jobs pay enough to cover your rent, food and a few beers now and then, but there is always the temptation of new kit and things to buy, which it won't cover.
 
Thanks for the information Nexus. I currently work in IT so I would be giving up a job that pays reasonably well to a job that like you say is a lifestyle change that wont pay much. For me this is as much as a potential lifestyle/career change as it is a 5 month holiday/gap from work. If all was to go well I would love to keep on doing ski seasons but its what to do in between this.

I have also been looking into Japan as the cost of living is cheaper and it pays more as demand is high on English speaking lessons out there. They accept an unlimited amount of Visa's whereas Canada will only accept 5,000 UK Visa's a year. Which I was told last night there are only 2,500 left already. Swings and roundabouts all over the place at the moment its just making a decision. If I were to take my qualifications over in Japan I guess this would eliminate the possibility of teaching in Canada unless I was to take their courses too?

Sorry if I am being a pain haha! :D
 
I used to do IT/Hedge fund contracting in the summer and splash the cash I earned during the winter, I appreciate that's not repeatable for everyone but I got very lucky.

age wise for you I'd jump in head first, worry about life later on and once you get your quals you can earn fairly decent money and if you want to you can do summer seasons in NZ as well.

Regarding skiing with protection I have dainese impact shorts, back & chest protector and wouldn't ski without them. In the park I add shoulder and arm protectors too :)
 
zakjattaway said:
Thanks for the information Nexus. I currently work in IT so I would be giving up a job that pays reasonably well to a job that like you say is a lifestyle change that wont pay much. For me this is as much as a potential lifestyle/career change as it is a 5 month holiday/gap from work. If all was to go well I would love to keep on doing ski seasons but its what to do in between this.
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If it helps, one of my friends was in a similar position as you.

Working in a suitably paid job, for a very large company. He decided to leave and did a season in Canada at a ski/board kit shop. 6 months later, at the end of the Canada season, with friends he met, he decided to go to NZ and do it longer!

At the end of that, I believe he took some part time jobs here and there. Ultimately, he now works in Sydney for a very large consultancy firm in their IT area.

If you have no commitments, go for it!


I have also been looking into Japan as the cost of living is cheaper and it pays more as demand is high on English speaking lessons out there. They accept an unlimited amount of Visa's whereas Canada will only accept 5,000 UK Visa's a year. Which I was told last night there are only 2,500 left already. Swings and roundabouts all over the place at the moment its just making a decision. If I were to take my qualifications over in Japan I guess this would eliminate the possibility of teaching in Canada unless I was to take their courses too?

Sorry if I am being a pain haha! :D
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In regards to Japan, do you speak Japanese? I would be worried about going to what is probably Hokkaido and not being a fluent speaker.

Having had the opportunity to snowboard in Zao Onsen for a week, if I didn't have my friend there, it would have been a struggle.

FYI - Japan isn't cheap.

Hope it helps.
 
Hello from St Anton. One beautiful day of sun mixed in with some snowy but much more difficult conditions. Hurt my back today but hopefully a bath and some muscle gel should do the trick. Hoping for lots of GoPro action tomorrow.

9vbecp.jpg
 
Thanks for all the advice guys.

tlrBeta did he need to take any different instructor courses in NZ? I would love to go from Canada/Japan to NZ however the certificates are different. This may be one of the perks to go to Japan as the certificates are the same. I like the idea of being out of my comfort zone in Japan. The people I will be around will all be english speaking however outside of that hopefully I should pick up a little bit of Japanese. Ultimately picking where I am going is going to come down to where I will get the best opportunities to travel elsewhere. If qualifying in Canada means I can only really teach in Canada I may edge elsewhere.
 
Heading so St Anton on the 12th, first time there having only been to various resorts in France over the past few years. Group of 4 of us going, 2 intermediate boarders 1 skier and another boarder both beginer / intermediate.

Not really into park or overly technical stuff, just enjoy crusing down the mountain hitting the odds jump here and there. From what ive read Lech Zurs has lots of decent blues and reds. Any particular recommendations for best areas to head to?
 
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tlrBeta said:
In regards to Japan, do you speak Japanese? I would be worried about going to what is probably Hokkaido and not being a fluent speaker
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If you're heading to one of the bigger resorts - ie Niseko/Hakuba and to a lesser extent Furano, I wouldn't be worried about it. The majority of people working here don't speak any Japanese at all.
 
richyfingers said:
Heading so St Anton on the 12th, first time there having only been to various resorts in France over the past few years. Group of 4 of us going, 2 intermediate boarders 1 skier and another boarder both beginer / intermediate.

Not really into park or overly technical stuff, just enjoy crusing down the mountain hitting the odds jump here and there. From what ive read Lech Zurs has lots of decent blues and reds. Any particular recommendations for best areas to head to?
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Sonnenkopf on a sunny day was beautiful, especially the main run down to the bottom lift through the trees. As for St Anton - blue 17 (we called it the cruel mistress :p) was a great run and the Happy Valley run. Enjoy :cool::)
 
Glencoe. Anyone familiar with the lift systems here? Is there a way to get to the plateau cafe chairlifts without having to take the poma up after the access chairlift? Hard to tell from the piste map.

Going to hold my hands in the air and say I've packed the skis away for good and bought a snowboard after a few weeks in Japan/France recently. Although I'm riding to a decent standard, I am 100% terrified of the tows. I know, I know - don't be a little girl etc. Easier said than done though when there are a hundred angry skiers lined up waiting on you to stop thrashing around in the snow after your 10th failed attempt to make it to the top!
 
Going to les arcs tomorrow, any tips for les arcs/la plagne?
(Runs, food etc) - Staying in les arcs 1800. Not sure wether to go to la plagne 2 days or just one

(Going Saturday to saturday).
 
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