GAP SKI INSTRUCTOR PROGRAM

2008 GAP Ski Instructor Course Review

Norman Galbraith, 52 Self Storage/Farming, Ski instructor, Edinburgh A year ago, in 2007, I did some skiing with my cousin who is a ski instructor in Verbier and over some beers in the evening I told him that after 30 years of skiing I was still frightened of going fast and still frightened of heights.  He told me about the Warren Smith Ski Academy.  So I went to Saas-Fee in July, it seems to have changed my life, or certainly my skiing!

The instruction was so good that I immediately booked my eldest son on his gap year course with Warren and then allowed myself to be persuaded that I could do it at the same time and neither of us would tread on each others toes. (That’s important in a place like Verbier !) I am lucky that my business activities allow me to operate from a distance, and running English things from a computer in Verbier is not much difference from running them from a computer near Edinburgh.

The whole course was an exceptional experience.  I enrolled because I wanted to learn to ski well and Warren’s performance training was just what I needed.  It was interesting to discover some differnces of training with different ‘schools’. The BASI people teach a different way from Warren, and later we learned that the Swiss Ski School teaches a different way again.  I have subsequently learned that the Canadians do it differently too.  You soon get to realise that different trainers open up new avenues for your skiing which broadens your whole experience.

The Warren Smith instruction is intensive.  Just what I needed.  We had four different instructors who rotated and each taught the same style but in his own way.  They did not pull their punches when telling you what was wrong and in my group where I was 34 years older than most of my colleagues I was determined to keep up the pace.  We did some stuff I would never have dreamed of doing and I now ski much faster and much more confidently than ever before.  It must be something in my personality; now all I can see is how much more I can learn and I feel deeply challenged to go on again.  I have already mapped out a training plan to take me to the BASI 3 (ISIA) exam before I get too old!

I was injured part way through the course when someone skied into me.  Hard. I found out 6 weeks later that I had fractured my arm. Lucky I didn’t know at the time! It just hurt a bit, but the support I got from Warren’s team, and on one particular day from all of my group, really made me go for it.  Who would have thought that a group of people mostly under half my age would make such good friends and supporters and make our 3 months together such fun.

Our chalet of 12 people aged 17-55 (from all sorts of places), became a really tight knit community.  And the après ski?  Well that looked after itself. I had not really expected to be staying up until the small hours and buying a croissant from the back of the baker’s window as I wove (weaved?) my way home far too late.

I was not looking for 4 star accommodation or feeding; with 9 weeks in catered accommodation the price becomes important and I completely admire Warren & Peak Ski for putting together a package of comfortable accommodation with good wholesome attractive cooking turned out each day, by a host who went out of his way to keep us happy.  He even put out a cold buffet for the nights when we warned him we might not make it home for dinner! 

I was really pleased to do courses on avalanche training, emergency mountain first aid, child protection and dealing with difficult people, and our evening lectures on the two BASI courses were packed with vital information.  To go from full time businessmen to potential full time teacher in 9 short weeks is quite a step.  I was terrified (literally) of how I would deal with a number of young children belonging to other people, taking them out to the mountain when they hardly knew how to ski (and might not talk my language).  I had not even wanted to become an instructor.  Then, after the exam I had a short contract with the Swiss Ski School, (Verbier Sport +).  I came away from teaching so exhilarated and had so much fun that now I want to do more.

The main reason for moving on to the BASI 3 exam is that I want to ski even better still, and the exam is a good target to aim at.  I have asked Warren if he will coach me and I will spend several weeks training with his team over the next 12 months to see if I can make the grade, despite my age.  If my legs survive I will get it. 

In about week 7 of the course I suddenly realised one day just how much fun I was having.  30 people knitted together into a group of proper friends with a single aim in mind, and another 8 on Warren’s team…. to help us achieve that end.  I would have any of them to stay at home, and I have no doubt that I will ski with many of them in the years to come.

 

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