Deciding on a Career Break or GAP course is a once in a lifetime decision. So, you need to make the most out of every minute. We realise working a season is often the ultimate goal, and our ‘Pre-season’ ski instructor courses help you do just that. We offer two options: our 4-week intensive ski instructor course in St Anton, or the longer 10-week ski instructor course in Saas Fee. Should you go short or long? Read on and find out…

St. Anton for 4-Weeks

Humm, 4-weeks does not sound very long, which is probably the first thing to consider. If you have not done a lot of skiing, or are a bit rusty on the two planks, remember you’ll need to ‘pass’ the Austrian Ski Instructor Level 1 or ‘Anwärter’ exam in that short time. Be prepared! The good news is the coaches in St. Anton are from the famous Ski Schule Alberg, so if anyone can help get you to the level they can!

Another thing to remember on this course is you need to “Sprechen Sie Deutsch”. Of course, we make things easier for you with German classes (and you can brush up beforehand with lessons online like this from the BBC) but you’ll need to know the basics at the very least on arrival.

A plus for the 4-week course is that it is, well, only 4 weeks. You don’t have the chance to slack off, or slip back into old ski technique habits – it’s an intensive month of getting you ready for the exam. Another advantage is the ski school director is on hand and watching, so if you pass the chances of landing that elusive job is very high!

As on any Peak Leaders course, accommodation is excellent and there’s a host of other activities like moonlit ski tours, fitness sessions and maybe the odd après (or two).

Talking of which, St. Anton is an epic resort to spend a winter. Record snowfalls, only an hour from Innsbruck, or a direct train ride from Zurich, so if you do end up staying – and working! – for the season, all your buddies can visit easily. And as St. Anton is known to be one of the best après ski parties in Europe – check the Krazy Kanguruh if you don’t believe us – then you’ll be sure to be popular.

Here’s a video so you can hear what our 2014 crew thought of St. Anton.

St. Anton is one of our most popular courses. Don’t delay if you’re thinking about booking, call us and find out how you could be teaching this Xmas!

Saas Fee for 10-Weeks

10-weeks sounds like an eternity compared to 4 … but they’ll be gone in a flash! The biggest difference on the 10-week course in Saas Fee is that you’ll be preparing for two sets of British Association of Snowsports Instructors (BASI) exams – unlike the single Anwarter exam in St. Anton.

Don’t worry though, the BASI Level 1 and Level 2 exams are all included in the price. Training before each BASI exam is by current or ex-BASI Trainers, or the top level Swiss/Italian instructors. And with Saas Fee being the chosen training ground of world-class athletes, you can be sure the pistes will be the perfect playground for you to progress.

BASI Level 1 happens around the 3^rd week of the course, so not too different from the St. Anton timeframe. The level is almost the same, so again, be sure to have maybe brushed up on some skiing (maybe a day or two in a UK snowdome or dry slope) or paid close attention in the early part of the course! Following on, you’ve 5-weeks of training to make the step up to the more difficult BASI Level 2. And this is the main challenge of the 10-week course – you need to stay on top of your game, and always trying to improve. Don’t be fooled that 10-weeks makes it any easier to pass. You’ve still got to work hard to earn the grade.

Saas Fee is definitely more mellow than St. Anton, but there’s still some cool little bars n restaurants – and you might run into a few famous Pro-riders in town!

Work-wise – we’ve got links with schools and operators all over Europe. During the course you’ll have the opportunity to chat and meet some potential employers. It’s up to you to impress them – and pass your exams! But if you do both, that season job will be waiting.

Here’s a video we shot of the Saas Fee crew a while back, so you can hear it from them, and the BASI Trainers assessing the exams.

Saas Fee is a great course which always fills up quick, so drop us a line for more information!

If you want to have a chat about our ski or snowboard instructor courses contact us here and we’ll happily answer all your questions.