11 Week Ultimate Ski & Snowboard Instructor Course in Canada

I participated in the 11 week programme in 2014, just a life change from the mundane post university life, and was thoroughly impressed with the whole package. With the four day a week training, and private one on one sessions with some of Canada's best instructors.

Not only do you get fantastic training, time off the hill is spent doing fun activities like heli skiing, snowmobiling and going to watch NHL games in near by Calgary.

And if all that doesn't get you excited, there's the amazing wildlife to spot whilst roaming through town, and charging through the amazing pow.
Not only does the base camp course set you up to be a better skier or instructor, it also sets you up with great life skills, and even gives you a chance to work closely with some of the great instructing that happens at Lake Louise, and sets you up well for a job in the upcoming seasons.

After three months out here in Canada's best ski resort, you'll find it hard to ski any where else. I know I have. I'm now fully employed by the resort and working in Canada's best office space.

So I did the 11 week training program in Banff, AB, Canada in 2013, once I had booked on the course and payed my course fees, Basecamp sent me tickets to the Ski and Snowboard show in London. They had a stall, I turned up and was greeted by some of the boys from Basecamp, we had a little chat. I had a wonder around. Then later that day, Basecamp put on a party for us at a local bar, so we could meet people from the course before we went. I thought this was excellent, as I got to talk to some of the people i would be spending the next 11 weeks with.

The actual program was well planned and organised, I felt the training was more than adequate for the Level 1 exam. I felt a better skier than the pass standard. The training was broken up by having different instructors through out the weeks and different activities put on through the course such as a hockey game (to see Calgary Flames V Vancouver Canucks) and tubing at the local resort. through out the 11 weeks I felt like any direct issues I had were addressed quickly and promptly.

4 days of training a week i felt was more than enough during the 11 weeks, and i found the 1-1s very helpful with my own skiing, also the small group sizes made the tuition more personal.

The accommodation i thought was perfect for skiers and snowboarders. It was close to town, with other like minded people from the group staying close to us so we always had people to venture in to town and see the local sights. It made things a lot better as we had breakfast included every morning and 5 meals at night provided. The accommodation had a kitchen so cooking was easy.

There were two main parts to the Basecamp experience; skiing at Lake Louise and living in Banff. Lake Louise was hands down the best resort I've ever skiied at. The trees, the terrain park, the powder...awesome. Banff was also incredible as being a secluded mountain town, it is a very close community which makes the social life way more fun. Basecamp made sure that everything from the accommodation, to food and any little problems you had were sorted out very efficiently. A great company and a great 11 weeks.