Whats it like on a ski instructor course with job offer?

Jesicca is on a Ski Instructor Internship with EA Ski and Snowboard Training

Departing UK / Arriving in CANADA

Arriving at Heathrow, I checked in, said a “tearful” goodbye to my taxi driver/mum and headed straight over to the departures lounge. I quickly found some young (good-looking) guys and girls talking about snow, so unsurprisingly these were my first EA buddies! We spent the next couple of hours spotting people wearing ski jackets and asking if they were on the same program, with varying success.

The flight to Vancouver was uneventful, and we spent the first evening getting to know each other over a drink or two. The next day was spent making ourselves into authentic Canadians; getting SIN numbers, bank accounts and mobile phones, and drinking too much Canadian (the cheapest beer). Despite having flown nearly 5000 miles to escape the British weather, it rained all day.

Feeling slightly worse for wear, we made our way to the airport early the next morning to catch our connecting flights. More tearful goodbyes to our new chums heading to other resorts were followed by a quick flight to Calgary, along with the Lake Louise interns. A bus ride later, we arrived in Banff!

Banff is an awesome town, and we quickly headed out to explore. After stocking up on food and beers, we headed back to our chalet to unpack. It wasn’t long before we met the neighbours…

(SEE PHOTO "Neighbours" deer walking down street in Banff!)

We also met Gord, the Ski School director; after an exciting chat with him we’re all super stoked to start the season teaching at Norquay! The next day, those who didn’t bring their own gear got kitted out, ready for our first day on the white stuff.

Training

We’re now half way through our training, and we’re definitely all miles better than when we started. Lots of drills, with a few games mixed in, have made us into proper CSIA-style skiers ready for next week’s exam.

Yesterday was Norquay’s official opening day, and our first chance to get up the renowned North American chair. Norquay has some of the steepest terrain in Western Canada, and the powdery 50 degree slope left us with aching legs, and some of us covered head to toe in snow (myself especially). For those of us used to skiing in Europe, it was quite a change to the cruising groomers we’ve skied there.

Today is our only day off this week, which we celebrated by going out to one of Banff’s top nightspots last night. To shake off our hangovers and rest our tired legs, we headed to the hot springs this afternoon.

We have six days of training left before the four-day exam. After that it’s straight into teaching as Christmas is the ski school’s busiest time of year.

Jesicca is on a Ski Instructor Internship with EA Ski and Snowboard Training.