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EA Ski & Snowboard

4.67 Rating
15 reviews
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About

Fast track your career as a ski or snowboard instructor and enjoy the best winter of your life with EA Ski & Snowboard. Whether your a seasoned professional or have only stepped on the slopes a few times, EA offers instructor training programs to suit all abilities.

On a training program with EA Ski & Snowboard you'll receive world-class training, gain an internationally recognised instructors qualification and get a guaranteed paid instructor job offer at your chosen resort.

EA courses are perfect for anyone wanting to fast track their career as an instructor or wanting to experience a winter gap year. Choose from more than 25 resorts across Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and the USA.

Website
easkiandsnowboard.com
Founded
2005
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Reviews

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Jane
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program
Program:
Become a Ski Instructor in Canada - Guaranteed job offer

Great training and a great job with like minded people

Feb 10, 2023

My daughter set off for the EA Lake Louise internship program in November 2022 and she is having the time of her life. She was assigned her own contact, Kerie, in the run up to her trip who was very helpful with information regarding the whole process, visa applications and flights. The Level 1 training took only 2 weeks and she is already training for her Level 2. A job at the end of Level 1 training was guaranteed which is a huge bonus! The work/life balance is perfect and she is teaching a mixture of private lessons, and group lessons to adults and children. She is also able to work additional hours on the resort lifts. We have been to visit and met some of her new friends from all over the world. In addition to her skiing she is now proficient in snow boarding and ice skating. The area is breathtakingly beautiful. This is an opportunity that should not be missed. We are so happy for our daughter and very proud parents.

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Mark
Male
United Kingdom
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program
Program:
Ultimate Winter Travel Experience: Improve Your Skiing & Gain a Qualification

Life changing experience

Feb 22, 2022

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
28
Male
Venezuela
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program
Program:
Ski & Snowboard Instructor Internships: Training + Paid Job

EA at Northstar

Feb 3, 2021

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
28
United States
1/5
No, I don't recommend this program
Program:
Ski & Snowboard Instructor Internships: Training + Paid Job

Unfortunate COVID Policies

Jun 2, 2020

I found this program back in 2018 and the interview process was very simple. The rep I worked with was extremely responsive and helpful. Because of my job and time for a sabbatical, I signed up for the Mt. Ruapehu New Zealand 2020 season.The real problem started as COVID hit in March. The communication dropped off and I was left in the dark on the status of my program that was scheduled to start in June. I understand the delays and uncertainty surrounding the pandemic. However, I was constantly requesting information because my rep seemed disengaged with the situation. I was sent a purposefully confusing email at the end of May, also telling me my rep had left the company. After a week of emails, I finally heard my program was cancelled and I would receive no refund. I was told I could transfer $4,000 to another program and would lose the other $2,000. As I mentioned previously, because of my job I am unable to transfer to another program during a different season. The company also had altered their terms and conditions document from when I signed back in July 2019. Now, EA has a different policy for COVID and delaying programs where you don't lose $2,000 for preparation costs. The company's run around responses and diminished communication leaves me feeling hopeless about ever seeing my money again. I wanted to share my experience because I know it is similar to many others in my program as we are all demanding refunds. I feel it is important for future applicants to understand EA's actions and lack of understanding during COVID.

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 & Snowboard

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.

By EA Ski & Snowboard on June 9, 2020
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Joshua
26
Male
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program
Program:
Ski & Snowboard Instructor Internships: Training + Paid Job

Lvl 1 at Club Med Tomamu

Jun 10, 2018

I had an incredible season. So many friends, so many memories!
I learnt so much about skiing, about teaching, and about communicating with a variety of nationalities and social backgrounds.
EA made the whole training process so easy. Their job was to train us and get us prepared for the exam, which is exactly what happened.
My season was Club Med Tomamu’s grand opening season so it was definitely not problem free. But that was due to Club Med understaffing the resort. It was a busy and sometimes overwhelming season but it was also the most incredible experience of my life. We had great accommodation, great food, in a beautiful and safe country.
In my opinion nothing can be a 10 but this was very close. It was a great experience and i am very thankful. 9/10 😁

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.
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Staff Interviews

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

Mark Crichton

Program
Ultimate Gap Year Ski Instructor Training Program
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!