BASI Level 4 - My Journey to the top as a ski instructor

Six years ago I completed my accounting qualifications and made the decision to cut loose and try to become a ski instructor. I think my interest in finance and business has been very useful and you will see why when you read further. A friend of my Mum's friend skied and recommended a person to talk to, she gave me a number to call, it sounds convoluted but this is the way I found my first ski contact...I'd looked online and everything seemed to supposedly be the best course and with so many options a decision was impossible to make... So I needed to speak to someone for advice, I phoned this guru I had the number for, it was for a ski instructor called Dave Beattie. Little did I know this one call was going to change the course of my life from the office based accountancy to the magnificent workplace of the European Alps.

2007

In the 2007 ski season I ventured to Courchevel, France, I knew no one there and spoke no French but I had signed up to become a ski instructor! I had skied before, only about 4 times but I considered myself an advanced skier because I could struggle my way down a black run. In reality I was enthusiastic at best. After my first week on the course it became apparent that there was perhaps more to this ski instructing than I had originally thought. With some great tuition from Dave Beattie, Izzy Milne and Dave Morris I passed my BASI Level 1 and Level 2 qualification. Throughout my first season I got on really well with Dave Beattie and it became apparent that he had played a pretty pivotal role in British skiing over the last 25 years. I suppose in many ways he was my mentor.

I headed off to work in Italy for a short while(2 weeks I think) before returning to Courchevel to complete the season with a friend I had made on the course. At the end of the 2007 ski season I had officially caught the ski instructing bug, worse than the ski bug because it is much more expensive to satisfy! In the summer I completed the Common Theory course(part of the level 3) in Aviemore Scotland.

It is probably worth explaining briefly how the levels of BASI work, here are the various modules at the time of me doing the system. good snow conditions

Level 1 - Teach and Technical exam(5 days)
Level 2 - Teach and Technical exam(10 days)
- 70 hours ski school experience
- First Aid Certificate
Level 3 - Technical exam(10 days)
- Teaching exam(5 days)
- Level 1 Race Coach(3 days)
- Level 2 Race Coach(4 days)
- Common Theory Course(5 days)
- Second Discipline(5 days)
- Second Language
- 200 Hours Teaching Experience
- Level 3 Mountain Safety Course + Exam(6days)
Level 4 - Technical Exam(5 days)
- Written Project
- EuroTest
- Teaching Exam(5 days)
- 6 Logged Ski Tours
- European Mountain Safety Training Course(4 days)
- European Mountain Safety Exam(3 days)
- 200 hours Teaching Experience
- Interview

2008

In Nov. 2007 I started training for my Eurotest with Dave Morris and working as a ski technician for skivo2 (Dave Beattie's company) In March 2008 I passed my Eurotest. I'd thought the sooner I passed the Eurotest the better(a race in which you must achieve a certain time, considered by many as the hardest thing to pass.) I still hadn't completed Level 3 or Level 4 but I had the hardest thing done, great news! The journey home was interesting as my friend and I decided to leave our race suits and ski boots on and make our way back by train through Germany and Switzerland to France. I remember at one point being stranded in Zurich wearing ski boots, race suit and with skis on our shoulder. The idea of it now is moronic, but the joy of passing the notoriously difficult Eurotest seemed to have clouded our judgement about the practicalities of walking through a major city wearing ski racing gear.

At the end of the 2008 season I was in Zermatt,Switzerland completing my Level 3 technical exam, which I passed. By this point though I was so financially stretched that I was working 2 full time jobs over the summer to try and pay off debts from exam fees. Labouring on a building site and then working in a restaurant at night, I could probably have returned to accountancy but the truth is I really liked labouring and having a laugh my mates at the restaurant! Working for 80 hours per week was tiring but they allowed me to clear debts so come the 2009 season I could try and get some more exams done. It also had the added bonus of keeping me pretty fit, so I went and ran a marathon for charity which I felt I didn't have to train for, retrospectively this was stupid as I had to take the next 4 days off work because I couldn't walk, no training simply took it's toll on the body.

2009

I was still running the ski rental for skivo2 but spending everyday skiing with some fantastic skiers. My level was getting high enough to free ski with the best guys on the mountain. Ex French team members, Olympians and the Level 4 British Instructors based in Courchevel. Throughout the 2009 season I completed my off piste mountain safety exam and at the end of the 2009 winter season I headed to Hintertux, Austria and completed my Level 3 Teaching and Race coaching exams. That was me a BASI Level 3. Summer 2009 was the first year of the skivo2 kids academy Dave Beattie and I set up, we took kids from the UK and developed their skiing in the summer on the glacier of Les 2 Alps, it was a great success and has grown year on year since. We are now the busiest we have ever been on our summer programme and our winter kids academy course are always busy too.

2010

I decided I should probably start working as an instructor in France in the winter despite not being a Level 4, this is possible with the test technique(similar to the Eurotest but Slalom not Giant Slalom). Not many Brits have passed this exam, especially those from a non-racing background, but I thought I would give it a go...I trained pretty hard, it was a totally new discipline for me, but I couldn't get enough of it! Before Vancouver Olympics I was training with Argentina's Agustin Torres as he was heading out to compete a week later, just me and him on a piste, seemed surreal bearing in mind a few years earlier I was destined to a life behind a desk and had skied only 4 times and here I was training with a guy that was off to the Olympics, crazy! This season my skiing took a huge step forwards! I also completed my European Mountain Safety Training in Courchevel part of the BASI Level 4

2011

I passed the Test Technique in Alp D'Huez, France and started working for a French ski school in Meribel, as well as still running the skivo2 ski rental in Courchevel. This was brilliant news because now I could afford to try and complete the rest of my exams. At the end of the 2011 season I went and completed the Level 4 Technical and Teach exams back to back in Hintertux, Austria. As a result of my training for the test technique I completed the level 4 exams without too much pressure. The last things I had to do were 6 logged ski tours(all have to ascent greater than 1000m) and then the European Mountain Safety exam. These would have to be completed next season because now we are in April/May 2011.

2012

I worked for Skivolution (A company operating pre-season in Kaprun) for November through to Mid- December. I also acted as mentor on the skivo2 instructor training programme during the season. I completed my 6 ski tours with my friends, all of whom very capable on the mountain, I would lead and navigate, make decisions on likelihood of avalanches and they would make sure everything I was doing was correct. I ended up skiing some of the scariest, steepest and narrowest couloirs(a corridor between cliffs or rocks), toured up glaciers, dodged through crevasses and skied some of the deepest powder I have ever encountered. When you have ropes and ice axes in case you get into trouble you soon realise you're away from the safety of the piste. At the end of January 2012 I completed the European Mountain Safety Exam in La Grave(Direct translation - The Grave...Gives you an idea about the terrain!)...I passed. Now a BASI Level 4, I applied for my Carte Pro, waited for a while and now I have the Basi Level 4, Euroski Pro and Carte Pro. 2012 has been a great year with all the exam passes but in addition and to me more importantly ALL of the guys which I mentored through the ski instructor training programme passed, 100% pass rate! Fantastic! We put a huge amount of effort into this programme and we have created a fabulous course! These students have all now either taught in Italy or are currently teaching in Australia at Mt. Baw Baw. And I have just received an email from their boss informing me that one of them has won the "hero of the month award" A little proud moment strikes me despite not knowing exactly what the award is actually for.

So a journey of exams and work that had started with a ski instructor course in Courchevel has passed through Pila-Italy, Aviemore-Scotland, Obersdorf-Germany, Zermatt-Switzerland, Hintertux-Austria, Alp D'Huez-France, Les 2 Alps-France, Kaprun-Austria, Meribel-France, La Grave-France and finally landed back in my favourite location of Le Praz, Courchevel-France. An exciting adventure that has taken me from an accountant to a BASI Level 4 with a few little projects on the way.

If you are thinking about getting into the skiing industry and are looking for an instructor training programme / gap year ski course, skivo2 offers outstanding quality! Based on feedback - beyond expectations in all areas and 100% pass rate speaks for its self.