Questions about becoming a ski instructor

[MadMadWorld]

i'd skip the instructor ( i did it for a season) and go patrol....lots of hanging around, piss-poor pay....a guy i was teaching with was a pilot and summed it up best...." there is 3 pages in the manual on how to land a F14 on a carrier, there are 15 pages in PIAA manual on how to do a proper wedge christie..."

at least with patrolling you are skiing.....

There is really only 3 pages on that??!!

 

[Hawkshot99]

not to go too far off OP's topic but what, in general, is considered the "best" job on the mountain in terms of maximizing personal ski time?

ambassador/guest service? see them all over just skiing and chatting and handing out hot chocolate coupons... don't see (or notice) them doing other stuff which i'm sure comes along with the job.

Depends on the person/mtn. Part time or full time? Do you want a life outside of skiing for family? Patrol requires medical traiming. I have a few friends going tjrough it now. For starters they have a 100 hr class before ever stepping onto the snow. Then you must train on snow. That is for a volenteer job....
My friend is a 3rd shift groomer. He works every night and gets off just at opening. He will ski almost every day for several hours. But when he goes home his wife/friends are all at work. During the season he doesnt get to see them but skis nearly everyday, and does it with no requirements on where/how he must ski.

Coming from someone who works in mgmt at a resort the best way to ski alot and be able to enjoy it is to have a good paying job and buy your pass.

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[dmc]

Coming from someone who works in mgmt at a resort the best way to ski alot and be able to enjoy it is to have a good paying job and buy your pass.

thats the way I roll... I work WAY too hard to have to work on the weekends...

 

[KevinF]

There is really only 3 pages on that??!!

My car mechanic once told me that my car's flywheel was shot and it would cost some enormous sum to fix it. So I looked up in a car repair manual what was involved with this, and they fit the entire set of instructions on one page. Of course, "step#1" was "Remove the transmission. See chapter 8 for details".

So I can imagine that you could fit the instructions for landing an F-14 on a carrier at night onto three pages. You just use the "For details, see chapter..." a lot.

 

[deadheadskier]

Coming from someone who works in mgmt at a resort the best way to ski alot and be able to enjoy it is to have a good paying job and buy your pass.

yup

The years I skied the fewest days in my life were years working in management at a ski resort. never again

 

[skiNEwhere]

thats the way I roll... I work WAY too hard to have to work on the weekends...

I've almost paid off my mortgage by working in the middle east a minimum of 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for almost 4 years now. I don't view instructing or patrolling as "work"

 

[ScottySkis]

I've almost paid off my mortgage by working in the middle east a minimum of 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for almost 4 years now. I don't view instructing or patrolling as "work"

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Is be a contractor better or worse then being in the military?

 

[dmc]

I've almost paid off my mortgage by working in the middle east a minimum of 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for almost 4 years now. I don't view instructing or patrolling as "work"

Word... I turned down a lucrative position in the Middle East. I would've worked my ass off the whole time too...

I'm just not down with doing anything except playing music for $ on the weekends... It's the way I'm wired...

 

[Cheese]

I've almost paid off my mortgage by working in the middle east a minimum of 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for almost 4 years now. I don't view instructing or patrolling as "work"

I think you're missing what AZers are saying here. If you truly enjoy skiing or riding and have the means to pay for it on your own, avoid being stuck on the bunny hill every powder day, blue bird day, hero corduroy day, etc. If you have the will to teach children or adults to ski or ride and are willing to sacrifice the type of days I mentioned to fulfill that goal, that's a different story. In the latter case you may wish to research PSIA and be ready to invest thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on snow to complete the levels and be the best instructor you can be.

 

[skiNEwhere]

In the latter case you may wish to research PSIA and be ready to invest thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on snow to complete the levels and be the best instructor you can be.

I did not know that. That was what I was wondering, what it would take to be like a level 8 or 9 ski instructor. Thanks!

 

[KevinF]

I did not know that. That was what I was wondering, what it would take to be like a level 8 or 9 ski instructor. Thanks!

Just to be clear, PSIA certification levels go 1 through 3, PSIA student levels go through 1 through 10. There are further subdivisions within the PSIA-L3 certification level (i.e., staff trainer, examiner, etc. -- i.e, somebody's gotta be good enough to see if you can pass the exams!)

Once (if) you've achieved PSIA Level 3, theoretically you're "good enough" to teach anybody. At many smaller mountains, L3's are few and far between. As cheese mentioned, it's a long and expensive process to get there. If at some point you'd be interested in achieving L3, you'd want to work at a mountain that has a proven track record of getting candidates to pass (i.e., they have the on-staff trainers who can coach you on a regular basis).

 

[Cheese]

Also, in the 15 years I instructed the employee rules changed substantially. Insurance remains a large cost of the ski industry and the cost of insuring employees forced policy changes about skiing while on duty. Whether the resort you choose enforces strict rules about taking the shortest and easiest route to your class or clinic obviously varies. When I started we could make powder turns from the summit, hit the bump runs half way down and finish up with a couple hits in the park before reporting to the lineup. It was encouraged as a ski school advertisement. When I left a couple years ago most instructors would avoid wearing a ski school uniform until the very last minute to avoid being recognized on the slopes.

 

[MadMadWorld]

Also, in the 15 years I instructed the employee rules changed substantially. Insurance remains a large cost of the ski industry and the cost of insuring employees forced policy changes about skiing while on duty. Whether the resort you choose enforces strict rules about taking the shortest and easiest route to your class or clinic obviously varies. When I started we could make powder turns from the summit, hit the bump runs half way down and finish up with a couple hits in the park before reporting to the lineup. It was encouraged as a ski school advertisement. When I left a couple years ago most instructors would avoid wearing a ski school uniform until the very last minute to avoid being recognized on the slopes.

I avoided wearing my uniform in case I wanted to do stuff I wasn't supposed to. Or basically feel like I am JUST a skier.

Where did you teach?

 

[LiquidFeet]

If you are an aggressive skier who hits every skiable piece of terrain on every mountain you ski at speed, that doesn't mean you can pass the PSIA Level II or III exams. Those exams require a knowledge base that PSIA clinics teach you, which you get to pay for and go to on a regular basis, sometimes out of state. The point of the two-day PSIA clinics you take every other year is to build your versatility on skis so you can teach all levels of students. They guide you in becoming an analyzer of what is holding a student back and what might help dissolve that blockage - and move the skier along towards new skills. You have to be able to analyze their movement patterns and understand the cause-and-effect relationships.

The clinics also train you to ski better, and with more versatility. For instance, you have to be able to ski in a wedge, and initiate turns in that wedge a certain way and not other ways. Why? So you can demonstrate this in front of a class and not confuse your students. You need to be able to do simple parallel turns at incredibly slow speeds on mild terrain, with no stemming, with parallel shins, with simultaneous tipping, so you can demonstrate that to your students. If you do not already do this when you ski because you are always going fast, you will find that you'll have to learn to do it, s-l-o-w and clean. Some who become ski instructors discover they aren't as skilled in their skiing as they thought when asked to do things slowly. You might find that learning to do this slow stuff on mild terrain is emotionally painful.

You need patience with students who have paid you to teach them to ski, but they can't keep their skis parallel when first trying to side-step up a mild incline right in front of the base lodge. Those students may be doctors, but they can't duck-walk up a hill without sliding down backwards. The concept of edging the skis is foreign to them. They may have difficulty with the concept of fall line. You need to be helpful and understanding with their innocence, and keep working with them until they get it.

Does this sound like fun? If so, then you're an instructor at heart.

 

[Cheese]

Where did you teach?

Waterville Valley Kids Camps

 

[mattchuck2]

I'm going to echo what a lot of people have said about the Ski Instructing gig. It's something you do if you really like teaching, not for money, not for freeskiing time, not for prestige. It took me about 5-6 years and about $2000 (gas, food, lodging, events) to get my Level 3 in Alpine (a little less for Tele, because I did some of it at the same time), and that was coming in as a pretty good skier (a lot of people fail the certification exams - which aren't easy - and have to take them over and over and over again).

I'm not much of a people person, I'm not very patient, and I'm not particularly skilled at telling people how I do the things I do on skis, but I have a few things going for me that not a lot of people have:

1. I really, really want people to ski better and I'm stubborn in that I keep trying new things until something clicks
2. I have a really good skiing-based memory, and I remember a lot of drills that I use in various situations
3. I get bored really easily, and I like to ski, so while other instructors stand on the side of the hill talking, I'm taking people skiing
4. I like selling the "mountain lifestyle" as much as I like skiing - I think that the more people we have skiing, the better

These guys are right, it's not easy. But I get done teaching a full day of lessons and I still want to squeeze in a couple of free runs before the lifts shut down. That's how I know I'm still cool with teaching. When I start to hate skiing, it's time to quit and refocus on what makes it fun.

 

[riverc0il]

ambassador/guest service? see them all over just skiing and chatting and handing out hot chocolate coupons... don't see (or notice) them doing other stuff which i'm sure comes along with the job.

I talked to an ambassador at Cannon once. I am sure every mountain has a different program. As I understood the Cannon program, they needed to commit to a bunch of weekends in advanced, especially holiday periods, and they took stints directing traffic in lift lines for two hours at a pop. I think they had to spend half their day helping out in some way rather than free skiing. Didn't seem like it was worth it for the free pass unless you love the mountain and can stand not skiing on powder days while everyone else is.

If I wanted to do on mountain service, I'd go patrol. But even patrollers get stuck sitting at the top shack and spend a decent amount of time doing drills and annual training. But at least they can nail first tracks on a powder day doing a few trail inspections to mark obstacles. I don't think I'd be able to yank a pass though.

 

[legalskier]

I'm hoping to be one next year. But the problem is, while I think I am a pretty good skier and maintain good technique even on more technical terrain, I really don't know how to teach someone else. Skiing is like walking to me, you can't explain how you do it, you, ya know, just do it.
Do resorts teach you how to teach skiers? Do they start you off teaching a certain skill group (beginner, intermediate, advanced), age group (children or adults), or group size (private vs group)?
What do resorts look for when hiring instructors?

Here's what PSIA says about becoming an instructor: http://www.thesnowpros.org/BeaSkiorSnowboardInstructor.aspx
As far as how that fits into the mountains you're interested in, I imagine a good way to find out is to contact the ski school director, or approach an instructor there and ask. Their websites probably describe what they're looking for & offer. E.g., I checked the website at an area I ski at a lot, which says-
Even if you have never taught before, we will give you the training and fundamentals necessary for you to succeed. This season we again offer our four day training clinic, which will provide you with the skills needed to become a professional snowsports instructor. Seasonal part-time opportunities will be available for the 2012-2013 Season.
What we expect from you:

• Must be able to Ski or Ride Intermediate (Blue Square) Terrain
• Must be able to commit to 3 weekends a month during the operating season (December through March).
• Must be professional and courteous with our guests

What you get:

• Hourly wages and incentives for private lessons
• Excellent training
• National certification programs
• Ski Pass Incentive Program

(http://www.belleayre.com/psia/index.htm)

Sounds pretty specific.
If you do become an instructor, for heavens sake do not be like the one I unfortunately got for a "complimentary" lesson on my very first day almost 50 years ago. I still remember him looking down his superior Austrian nose at me, a little kid who could barely lift long heavy wooden skis with wet snow on top to sidestep up the hill with all the adults in the group. He could barely hide his contempt. Not surprisingly, I never took another lesson for decades- I taught myself despite that guy.
Instead, be more like this guy-

I like his attitude!
:grin:

 

[skiNEwhere]

Instead, be more like this guy-

I like his attitude!
:grin:

I think I met him at the Boston Ski Expo a decade or so ago. I don't remember his name, but his hair was exactly like that (similar color), he told me he used Elmer's Glue to stick it up

 

[Smellytele]

To be honest I know some level 1 and level 2 instructors that obviously passed the test but are not that great of skiers. They may know how to teach but as they say those who can't do teach (It is sad that I have to write this but that part was a joke). I am in no way saying that this is the norm but these people seem to ski okay when doing drills but in real life situations it seems not to translate for them.