HOW DO YOU BECOME A SKI INSTRUCTOR?

My group gave the ski school race on Friday 20th March a real international flavour. Five countries were represented by my ten clients; England, Ireland, Portugal, New Zeeland and Malaysia. Like the Grand Slam on Saturday, the race was won by Ireland. In my class were three lovely ladies from SPICE. Well done girls! One of the men in the SPICE party asked me the question,”How do you become a ski instructor?” I thought that others may be interested, so here is how it is done.

I am qualified under the British Association of Snowsport Instructors (B.A.S.I.) and the Canadian Ski Instructors’ Alliance (C.S.I.A.), both hold training courses in Andorra and elsewhere in the world. However I shall only deal with the B.A.S.I. in this report.

Firstly, you have to be a good recreational skier. You must be able to make controlled parallel turns on a prepared piste. (You do not have to be instructor standard at he start of the course, it is the trainer’s job to get you to that level during the course)

The next stage is to book a level 1 course, this will be of one week’s duration. There will be modules on teaching and personal performance. You must pass BOTH modules. Pass or fail you will be given a written report highlighting your strengths and weaknesses and advice on your future training.

If you pas,you will receive your level one qualification ONLY AFTER you have attended a Child protection module. And hold a current first aid certificate. And obtain a Criminal Record Disclosure, under the Child Protection Act. And obtained 35 hours experience at a recognised dry slope or indoor snow dome.

Now having completed all the above and considered your trainer’s advice on when to take your level 2 course, you can now do the Level 2. This is a two week course and you will be tested on teaching skills and your technical skiing. If you pass one but not the other you may retake that module at a later date.

When you have passed both you will be issued with a licence to teach skiing in most but not all countries. PROVIDED that you hold a current first aid certificate, have an in date C.R.D. and have attend a BASI course or attended a refresher within the last three years.

After you have worked for at least 200 hours in a ski school, you can do two further courses (level 3 & 4) this will get you a better rate of pay.

Taking into account all the expenses, I think it will cost about £3,000 to become a level 2 instructor and legally work in the mountains. Now what to do with your new qualification?. Some people just want the personal satisfaction of qualifying and do not intend to work. Others may have a proper job and would like to work part time during the peak season. One company that will take qualified instructors for a couple of weeks each season is, INTERSKI from Mansfield.. They take school and college parties to Italy. .For those who want to work a full season, you must find a ski school who will offer you a contract.

France does not recognise foreign licences without a speed test. To pass this, you must complete a race within a percentage of a racer who has obtained a certain amount of F,I.S. points . This is like asking a driving instructor to complete a lap of a F.1 circuit a few seconds behind David Coultard or someone similar. Michael Schumaker is a brilliant driver, but is he the best person to teach Aunt Ethel to drive the Fiesta that she is getting for her 50th birthday? Personally I think patience is more important than speed when teaching.

Andorra. Before you can instruct here, you must attend an additional four day course. Other countries may have their own rules, you must find out before applying to go there.

The weather here is still great; we have plenty of snow left and very few skiers, so we are all enjoying great skiing.

RETURNING FRIENDS

Last week three of my intermediate group said that they would be returning to ARINSAL next year. They all thought that this resort was far friendlier than the ones that they had previously visited. This week 8th to15th March) we had several old friends in the resort; Steve, Colin and Janet, Jake and Krystyna. They all have been here several times before. When I mentioned this to other instructors, all the English instructors with an intermediate group, said that they had someone in their group who had visited Arinsal before, this endorses the fact that Arinsal is a friendly resort, where people wish to return to.

What makes it such a friendly place? I suspect that it is the size of the resort and the compactness of the village. Arinsal is a smallish resort with more than enough runs and lifts for the majority of clients. Usually you meet someone in the bars or restaurants that you met on the mountain. Most of the bars are within 5 minutes walk of the main lift in the village centre. So if you do not know anyone in the first bar, is very easy to walk to the next one. You sometimes meet some of the bar staff on the mountain or on one of the lifts. Most of the bars show videos of that day’s lessons. This is a great way to see yourself ski or even have a laugh at your friends’ misfortune.

.For the better skiers there is a short cable car trip to the lower but picturesque resort of PAL. This resort has several challenging runs and a long easy green and is mostly below the tree line, making it very scenic. There is a free bus to the remote and rugged resort of Arcalis, which is very popular with the locals and does not get many tourist s as it is some distance from the nearest hotel.

The weather this week started sunny and warm, ideal holiday weather. The pistes are uncrowded due to us having very few visitors. However the bars are still busy, I lost two of my beginners on Tuesday morning, due to the Monday night pub crawl.

Last night was St. Patrick’s day and the HOTEL PALARINE prepared a great Irish dinner, followed with music by the BORDERLNE BOILERs and a little dancing .The evening finished just before 3 am.. I have mentioned how quiet the resort is, to endorse this, I would like to point out that I am the only guest in the Palarine. In spite of this, STUART ( The Iceman) had prepared a full English breakfast for me on the Wednesday morning. The band did not make it home and so stayed the night. I was joined at breakfast by the glamorous two thirds of the group. (TREVOR, guitar and vocals) was not quite up to solids at that time of the morning. A great time was had by all.

HAPPY HOURS

Earlier this week, I was in the HOTEL PALARINE enjoying two drinks for the price of one, during happy hour. At 5 o’clock every evening, STUART (B.B.A.) strikes a gong and makes his usual announcement, ”When you hear the gong you can’t go wrong..” For the next hour all drinks are two for one. (STUART has informed me that he longer wants to be called the Best Barman in Andorra but prefers to be known as “ Ice Man.” Always cool, no matter how great the pressure during happy hour.)

This got me thinking, “What do other bars do?” So on my day off I went up to the village to find out about happy hours. EL CAU has the earliest start, 3 pm until 6 pm. They provide a free toastie with every drink. One drink and one toastie later, I was in EL MOLI at 3-30 pm downing two dinks and only paying for one. PRINCESA PARK has a happy hour but only in their bowling alley. QUO VADIS, CISCOS, SURF, EL DERBI, BARSOLANA. and ROCKY all have happy hours starting about 5 pm. They all differ, some offering free shots, hot dogs, nachos or two for one. Strangely, CISCOS have a happy hour 9 pm to midnight but only on Red Bull and Vodka. ROCKY has a happy hour between 11 pm and midnight at weekends prior to live music. There was a happy hour somewhere in Arinsal from 3 pm until midnight, with the exception of 8 to 9 pm. No wonder that Arinsal is such a happy place. I made copious notes about who offers what and between what hours. In the morning I decided to consult my notes but unfortunately, most of what I had written was illegible or complete gibberish. Rather than repeat my research. I have decided to publish this report but claim no responsibility for any inaccuracies.

I see on Ian’s news that some travel companies are saying the Arinsal in not available because they do not have a flight. First Choice, Crystal and Thomson’s are in Arinsal until the 12th of April. They are telling clients that certain hotels are full and directing clients to other hotels that they have made a guarantee to fill a certain number of rooms. This happened to a guest who had stayed here before. He had to walk to the PALARINE every night to visit the bar .If this happens to you, try another tour company or contact the hotel direct. Some travel companies will sell flight and transfer, so look around.

The guests this week, (1 to 8 March) did not have good weather. It was overcast with several snow falls, some quite heavy. But on Saturday afternoon the sun came out and gave them a super end to their holiday. The snow falls were not good for them but great for those coming next week.

SNOW AND BARGAINS GALORE

You will have read elsewhere on this site that we are enjoying the best snow for years but have had the fewest visitors for quite some time. I have heard my first complaint about the amount of snow. This came from a local resident, who takes visitors for walks in the summer. He fears that a lot of his walks will be closed due to lying snow well into midsummer.

We have just finished with the British half term week, usually our busiest week of the season. I had a good week with two groups. My intermediate group was particularly nice. They made friends with each other and if one fell, the person behind usually stopped and waited until they were assured that everything was O.K. and that the faller was up and had their skis on. Most of the group met in the evenings in one of the bars and watched a video of that day’s lesson. I had a London policeman in each of my groups. A coincidence, as I am a retired London Policeman.

We are expecting fewer visitors for the remainder of the season. Because of this, some of the hotels are already offering discounts. For example the Palarine Hotel has sent out an email offering two days half board and two days Vallnord liftpass for 120 euros and 30% off ski hire. This is aimed at the British living in Barcelona or on the Costa Brava but I am sure that they will be able to match it, or even better it, for longer stays. The ski shops are all offering deals. For example, the shop 5150 is advertising 20,30 40 % of clothes and equipment.

I am aware that on this site you will find information on how to get to Arinsal but I think it is worth repeating. Obviously booking with a tour company is the simplest but with the internet and budget airlines you may be able to organise it cheaper by yourself. There are about 5 airports approximately 3 to 4 hours drive from Arinsal. they are: Barcelona, Toulouse, Reus, Gerona and Carcassonne. There are 5 busses a day from Barcelona and two from Toulouse and Gerona. There are no busses from Reus or Carcassonne. If there is four or more persons in your party you may consider hiring a car for your journey to Arinsal. Bear in mind that you may need snow chains.

I hope to see some of you enjoying the good snow and open space.

ANY SNOW DUE.?

I was asked this question by a visitor five days after the resort had been closed because of avalanche risk. There is about two metres of snow at the top of the mountain and I was unable to use the ski rack outside the café, as it was almost buried by snow. Yet we have people wanting more. We have had injuries at night, due to people slipping on the snow in the village. Some did not fall because they were drunk, but if they had been more sober they may have prevented themselves from falling.

We have had complaints from parents that their class is too slow for their child and some young British children are skiing without crash helmets, although it is illegal for Andorran children to do so. Some parents do have the wrong priorities.

ALEX and MICHELLE are delighted to be in the top class with MARCUS, (Arinsal’s Tony Blair). VICKY is happy travelling at a more leisurely pace with KEVIN. In fact, they have been so tired after the skiing they have had a couple of early nights. .Something the girls are not used to.

We had St Valentine’s day last week. Regular readers may have seen that STUART (BBA) is having a price war with Wetherspoons. .when I pointed out that they were offering two steak dinners and a bottle of wine for £14-99, he immediately responded by offering two pints of Stella, a packet of cheese and onion crisps AND a Snickers bar for 7 euros on Valentine’s day.

The snow is great and there will be a lot less people here next week, so we are all looking forward to some superb skiing..

I AM BACK

As I have not submitted a report for some weeks now, some people thought that maybe I had died. If I had, there would be rejoicing in the ski school as all the other instructors would move up one place in the batting order. No, but my computer died. Thanks to the skill of one of the instructors, KEVIN, it is now working again.



During the past few weeks we have had a lot of snow. This meant that the instructors have not been asked the most common question, after “What do you do in the summer?. That is “Any snow forecast?” We have so much snow that guests have been asking “Any sign of sunny days on the forecast?” This is great for those arriving later in the season. We have so much snow that I have heard a director of Vallnord say that he wants to stay open until the 3rd of May, to catch the Spanish May Day bank holiday.



I had a visit from my wife, Barbara and my lovely daughter Alexandra last week. They did not want to ski as they came for the Sun, Shopping and Saunas. Well two out of three isn’t bad. They had plenty of snow instead of sunshine. However they enjoyed their visit and the food in the PALARINE. They were well looking after by a new member of staff, ALEX, who would like to be called SBBA (Second Best Barman in Andorra). STUART is training him well.



Next week is half term, the busiest and most expensive week of the season and the least popular with the instructors. Everywhere is crowded and lots of pushy parents wanting their child to go higher and faster than everyone else. Please remember, whatever your priorities are, the instructor’s main concern is the safety of the children, not their speed.. We must be aware that there are lots of anti-social and inconsiderate snowboarders charging down the slopes and thinking that everyone must give way to them because they are on a board. I would like to apologize to those considerate boarders who have taken the time to read the F.I.S. Rules of the Piste.(The highway code for everyone involved in snow sports). The one bright spot for instructors amongst all the families is the arrival of three very vivacious and glamorous ladies. I refer to ALEX, VICKY and MICHELLE. This will be their fourth visit. They always arrange to be in the 12 o’clock ski school, as this fits in with their social life, much better than a 9.30 am start..



Now that my computer is working I hope to resume my weekly reports. Meanwhile I would like to say that I had a great day’s skiing today, with good snow and sunshine

A DAMP END

Unfortunately, we have had a wet and windy end to the week. It is no consolation to this week’s clients, telling them that the people last week had wonderful weather. Like a beach holiday, there is not much that one can do about the weather. This time of the year, we usually enjoy good conditions. It may make feel bette,r that I have been hearing from home that the weather in the UK has been foul. Most people here enjoyed the skiing with a taste of the new snow.

Now, for a bit of random news: the PALARINE had a flying car in the garage this week. A group of very nice people are driving this car from London to Timbuktu and hope to fly it across the straights of Gibraltar. They stayed at this hotel before driving through Spain. Their progress can be found online at skycar expedition.

I may be in for a hectic social few days. Tonight I am going to a 21st birthday celebration for Ciara, one of my beginners, in the Derby. Then tomorrow, it is a Burns Night Party in the Barsolana. Next Thursday, there will be a grand Scottish Dinner Dance, to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns. There will be roast Scotch beef and other Scottish dishes, including haggis. There will be jigs and reels, and dancing to music by TREVOR, who will be accompanied, this year, by the beautiful IRENE on her flute. It sounds like a great evening but I will have to keep reminding myself that I shall be working on Friday, with the weekly ski school race.