Timberline Canadian Alpine Academy

I spent 7 months doing the winter internship and white water course in banff, with Timberline. I had the best time of my life. I learnt so many new skills and met the best people. They have great connections in town, so you are well looked after. The staff are just a lovely as they see on the phone. Not one bad word to say. If you need them for anything they are there and if they can’t help you they will help you find someone who will. I worked up at Mt Norquay, and I had the best time ever. I couldn’t recommend working there anymore for your internship. You get to study subjects such as photography which I learnt so much from and discovered new passions. Timberline organise fun activities for everyone to enjoy such as curling, skating and heliskiing. So much fun to be had. Heliskiing was the best day of my life. I also did my AST 1and 2 and I learnt so much. We also did our 40 hour advanced wilderness first aid certification, which I really enjoyed. I learnt so much during the 6 months skiing and fell in love with the industry. After this, I did the white water course, where we got certifications in swift water rescue, canoeing and rafting. This was the best month ever. My favourite part was going on a 5 day canoe trip in BC on the Kootany River. I learnt so much and made lifelong memories. Weather this is a gap year for you or you want to pursue a career in the outdoor industry Timberline is an experience you will never forget and I am so beyond grateful I got spend 7 months with them. It’s the most magical experience in the most beautiful national park. A big thanks to all of the Timberline Staff for all they did to make our winter the best one ever.

My time at the Timberline Canadian Alpine academy was the best Winter I’ve ever had. I decided to go on the Winter Skills Instructor Internship Program. This course was amazing, and I experienced everything that I could have dreamed of on a Ski season. Which included getting my Level 1 ski instructors’ licence and a helicopter tour around the Banff National Park, which is stunning.
All the team who worked at the academy were fantastic, very professional and were on call 24/7 to help you with any problem that you may have. The director James McCutcheon is also extremely hands on and is always ready to take your call if you have an emergency or just need someone to talk too.
While I was in Banff, I worked at the Lake Louise Ski resort as a Ski instructor which was a really great experience, I was working alongside others that had been working in the Industry for over 40 years they all made me feel very welcome. They were also very helpful giving you a hand with your lessons if you ever got stuck or had to many kids to handle.

I would just like to say thank you to James and his team at Timberline, it was never about the money for them it was about taking care of there students and making sure they had the best experience ever.

Timberline Alpine Academy is an experience of a lifetime. I did the six-month internship program at Lake Louise ski resort. The program provided us with all the required training to become level one ski instructors, and most students became full-time instructors. They also presented a variety of opportunities to us that enriched the main course of the program. These opportunities included avalanche training, touring, ice skating/ hockey, wilderness first aid, cat-skiing, heli-skiing, trips to Calgary and surrounding ski resorts. I highly recommend this program to anyone looking to improve their skiing or is outdoorsy in any sense.

The 2020/2021 season with Timberline was unreal!
It was a time where I met amazing people from around the world, spent every day in the magnificent Canadian Rockies and learned so much about myself!!

Over the winter my skiing changed massively, and I became a much stronger and confident skier than I ever imagined. The training team at Mount Norquay were incredible, and Timberline did an excellent job at organizing our trainings, education and certifications to come out of the program with so much knowledge. The staff were extremely supportive when challenges arose and helped work with you to be able to keep everyone happy and safe.

This year was an incredible opportunity to pursue my passions and challenge myself, when most of the world was in lockdown. And because of my great experience on the course I didn't want to leave Banff and decided to stay in town and continue exploring the connections Timberline helped me establish.

I will be forever grateful for this experience and will cherish the memories & friends I made :)

I ended up on the Timberline website the summer before my gap year and registered without really knowing what to expect... the mountains alone had sold me on the experience, and to me that was enough. I never expected to end up with a program like Timberline, and count myself lucky for it every day. From the first day when I talked to James on the phone I felt like a part of a greater family already. I only went on to meet more people on the program where we all connected over our love for the Rockies and formed a bond that was deeper than any of us expected, I'm sure. Although my time with Timberline was cut short do to circumstances beyond their control, I can safely say that these were some of the best months I've ever spent. I can't recommend it enough, and will treasure every moment in Banff for years and decades to come.