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EA Ski and Snowboard Training

Why choose EA Ski and Snowboard Training?

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Reviews

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Jane
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great training and a great job with like minded people

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Mark
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Life changing experience

Right from the word go we were this big crazy family who spent all day on the mountain and then all night hanging out having fun.

After 4 weeks of intensive training I felt like a completely different skier who could take on any challenge the mountain had to offer.

Working as an instructor was a dream come true, and there were constant learning opportunities throughout the season. I felt more self-confident after my season with the belief that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
I was nervous about travelling across the world on my own, but I didn’t need to be. The other interns all have the same interests and it’s the best feeling ever getting to know everyone. I’ve since travelled the world skiing with the people I met on my internship! My advice, give it 100% and embrace the moment - it’s going to be the most fun and set you up for endless adventures.
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Albert
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

EA at Northstar

Overall a great experience. Meeting new people, growing my own skills on the mountain and making very strong connections to continue working in this industry. It is my second year teaching (first through EA) and I have been able to build my confidence as an instructor as well as experience as a snowboarder. Also great is the opportunity to be able to keep on taking certifications and keep improving both my teaching and riding. Also the opportunity for travel is huge and definitely makes it a worthwhile investment.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Take your training as seriously as possible, be adaptable, and have a learning mentality.
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Allison
1/5
No, I don't recommend this program

Unfortunate COVID Policies

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If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
I would ensure the company wasn't able to change their terms and conditions like EA did.
Response from EA Ski and Snowboard Training

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Allison.

We were pleased to hear your initial experience with our team was positive. It is unfortunate your travel plans were affected by COVID-19 and that you were unable do the program at Mt Ruapehu. It has been a challenging time. The travel industry in particular has been hard hit and we appreciate it has been extremely frustrating for you. In the early stages of this crisis we were hopeful of being able to run our program at Mt Ruapehu and our operations team was in touch with everyone affected as a group. We apologise and understand that our communication was not as good as it could have been. Our team has been on reduced hours due to lockdown restrictions and at times we simply did not have the answers to know what we could and couldn’t do. Alex who you were dealing with decided to take another job opportunity but the remainder of our team is still with us and we are doing our best to retain all our staff. Ultimately we want to do the best for our clients and be here on the other side of this also.

As you note we have updated our standard terms and conditions. This has been to allow more flexibility for those now booking Northern Hemisphere programs due to government-sanctioned travel bans.

We have a number of people in a similar position to you and are doing our best to offer alternative program options. EA has been operating since 2005 and we want to ensure we are here for many years to come. We start planning our programs months in advance and operations, along with overheads and commitments to suppliers, have meant we have not been able to offer a cash refund. We have gone above and beyond the requirements of our terms and conditions to offer as much as possible in way of credits towards a future program along with additional credit as a gesture of goodwill to ensure losses to clients are minimised. We appreciate that for some, being able to do a program at a future date is not an option and we encourage you and anyone else affected to continue communicating and working with us.

Thanks again for your thoughts and feedback.

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Joshua
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Lvl 1 at Club Med Tomamu

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What would you improve about this program?
The visa situation was the only drama. Our EA rep could not get to club med Tomamu because of this.

Programs

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Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Mark Crichton

Job Title
Digital Marketing Coordinator
Mark grew up skiing on dry slopes and in the glorious Scottish hills before undertaking an EA Ski & Snowboard internship in Lake Louise, Canada. After traveling between Canada and New Zealand working as a ski instructor, Mark now lives in Queenstown and is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for EA Ski & Snowboard.

Mark likes to think of himself as a bad environmentalist and an even worse surfer.
Mark Crichton

What is your favorite travel memory?

Well, that's a difficult question, I can probably narrow it down to 3 favourite memories:

#1 Living in Lake Louise on my EA internship in what is endearingly named 'Stables'.

Coming home after a day at work on the mountain then heading straight onto our back garden park setup with some beers was easily one of my highlights.

Road tripping through resorts such as Revelstoke, Kickinghorse and Fernie another amazing highlight.

And more recently traveling and exploring New Zealand in a campervan before and after the ski season!

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

Each day, I become somehow more passionate for travelling and skiing and having worked 3 seasons instructing I thought I was already pretty into it. It probably has something to do with scrolling through pictures of our interns epic seasons. Writing about these incredible destinations and courses day in day out does give me a little bit of the FOMO feeling.

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

I met my friend Matt Gillespie on our season in Lake Louise with EA, and his story still inspires me to chase your dreams to this day.

Over several nights in the pub, and most of the season, Matt would talk about his dream of owning a lodge in a ski resort. After heading back to Australia to do a season in Perisher, the next thing I hear is that he's bought a lodge in Japan (The Ranch) and started a company called Hakuba Snow Tours! Four years on it's still going strong and I'm heading over there to get my first taste of Japow, this winter!

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

I have been eyeing up our Queenstown level 3 internship for a while as that has just about everything I'd be looking for in a season. I'd also love to head back to Canada and do the full season snowboard training in Revelstoke; I'm a decent intermediate snowboarder but I'd love the opportunity to take my snowboarding up a level. The 11-week training program is probably the quickest and easiest way to make that happen.

I managed to get a few days at Revy while doing my internship in Lake Louise; ever since then, I've wanted to go back. The vibe in the town, the riding potential on the resort, and the amount of rad backcountry terrain nearby make it very high on my bucket list!

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

We are the original Ski & Snowboard instructor course provider and, having started it all, it's very unique to see that the company hasn't lost sight of why we are here.

Having been on an EA internship gives me great pride hearing about all the new interns we have coming in each season. Because I know they are going to have a rad, life changing experience.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

Having a great team, with a shared goal and strong core values. At EA Ski & Snowboard, every member of our team is passionate about the ski and snowboard industry and about helping others get into the industry. During the NZ season, we regularly go out riding together which creates an epic bond between the team. Plus, having meetings on the mountain makes those monthly catch-ups a little more bearable!

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