3-Week Ski Instructor Courses

Our three-week ski instructor courses are extremely popular as they provide the perfect opportunity to push your skiing to that next level whilst also gaining the Level 1 Ski Instructor qualification. This ski instructor course is ideal for either those who simply want a structured way of improving their skiing or for those who want to spend the rest of the season instructing.

When Are These Courses Held?

FERNIE - 13th March 2010 - 3rd April 2010
BANFF - 19th November 2010 - 10th December 2010
WHISTLER - 1st December 2010 - 22nd December 2010
FERNIE - 27th December 2010 - 15th January 2011

Where are these Courses Run?

Instructor Training and Seasonal Accommodation in Banff

We have put together the ultimate package for any one keen to live and work in Banff as an instructor for a season. By teaming up with a local couple in Banff who have been providing seasonal accommodation for Gap Year takers for many years. We have put their accommodation together with our Banff 3-week instructor course at the start of the season, in order to create the perfect opportunity for those keen to gain their instructor qualification at the start of the season and live in Banff instructing for the remainder – learn it, live it, love it!

Who's this course for?

Designed for those with less time to spare, this ski instructor course is ideal for those looking to gain the Level 1 ski instructor qualification and then go on to work in the same season. Thus it is suited to those on a Gap Year or career break; however if you only have three weeks to spare the course is an excellent way to dramatically improve your skiing as well as gain a qualification.

To find out which course is for you and to check your ability level click here

Dan Sherfield

3-Week Instructor Course - Case Study

Read Dan's story about the course followed by a season as a ski instructor.

I came to Canada with a working Visa sorted through BUNAC which was very easy to get but then I applied about a year in advance. It cost about £165. My plan was to complete the course with NONSTOP and then try and find a job using my qualification somewhere in Canada. I wasn't sure if I wanted to instruct in Fernie or not, it all depended on what I thought of Fernie and job availabilty.

I decided to get to Fernie a week or so before the course and NONSTOP were great in providing accommodation for me and a couple of mates who came out to visit over Christmas. Fernie was amazing from the moment I got there, though it took a while to get used to skiing powder rather than European groomed slopes! You'll notice as soon as you get there that all anyone talks about is powder! The course started on Boxing day and was a really good mix of people. It was an older crowd than I was expecting, with probably about twenty people 25 and under and the rest ranging from 25-60ish. This worked really well though and we were all put into accommodation with people of similar ages.

Skiing wise I got so much out of the course. The instructors really knew their stuff. I'm a very technical learner, so really enjoyed learning how skiing works but with the range of instructors we had we got to learn in all kinds of ways. My worry before the course was that I wasn't going to pass considering that my plans relied on me passing! In truth passing level 1 is more about showing the right attitude and in the end I think 23 out of the 24 people passed. Most of the people on the course will never use the qualification but it is the best ski lesson you'll ever have and everyone I skied with improved so much over the 3 weeks.

Fernie itself is awesome. European skiing doesn't even compare and until you've skied in powder you haven't really skied! The whole mountain is ski-able - there are no ropes anywhere, and while runs are named and some groomed, I'm pretty sure you could ski different lines through different trees every day for the whole season. The town is as laid back as anyone has told you. While there are only 8 - 9 bars, every night one of them will be packed and there will be someone looking for a party. I've been to Whistler and absolutely loved it for a weekend but for a season it would be Fernie every time.

Once I had passed and the course had finished I went to see Wendy, the resort director, who put me in contact with the kids ski school manager. After a 10 minute conversation with him I had a job, only a day after the course had finished! I was hesitant about working with kids as I have never dealt with kids at all but I was thrown in straight away and it was kind of a sink or swim situation. I surprised myself by actually being ok at it and surprised myself even more when I started to really enjoy it! The only problem is it doesn't pay very well at all. As a rookie I was on $9 and hour and you only get paid for the hours you teach. You basically either need savings or another job to get by comfortably. Even with this, I have already applied to instruct again in Fernie and can't wait to get back to the slopes.

Having got my level 1 I started working towards level 2 which I passed at the end of the season. The training was pretty good on the whole and you actually got paid for 3 of the training sessions you turned up to in a week.