George's First Season as a Snowboard Instructor

George took the 11 week snowboard instructor course in Fernie in the 2012/13 season. He went on to complete his first season as a snowboard instructor in Japan before heading down under for a season in Australia. We caught up with him to find out a bit more about it...

What were you doing before and why did you decide to take a Nonstop course?

I knew before taking the Nonstop 11 week snowboard instructor course in Fernie that I wanted to live in the snow. After finishing my first season as a rep I was pretty sure that the route I wanted to go down was instructing.

So I came back and looked into it, I spoke to Max from Nonstop but never really booked anything as I had broken my leg. I found myself in a pretty good job in the UK, earning OK money. 6 months down the line I was just bored with work and so I looked into courses again. I finally put the deposit down and as soon as I did that, I was ready to leave work and get on the board again.

I chose Nonstop over the others because when I looked into what companies offered, I found that what was different were the extra 'More' activities offered. All of them were things I would enjoy; improving my riding, improving my teaching skills or just general knowledge and activities. The other thing that got me to go with Nonstop was just how well they presented themselves, always keen for a chat, helpful and knowledgeable.

Tell us a bit about your Nonstop course experience? What are the days or experiences you particularly remember?

The course was just amazing. 11 weeks of pure riding with tuition from some of the best snowboard instructors I have met. To top it off, I was in one of the most beautiful mountains I’ve ridden with some of the best powder riding I have ever done (and I’ve just finished a season in Japan!)

Once the 11 weeks of training started I thought it was going to get all serious! But the instructors are so laid back and they improve your riding to the standards needed, whilst they teach you all the tech you need to know for your Level 1. And on a powder day you ride until there is no powder left, which is rare.

So we all nailed our Level 1 and had a week of fun, cruising about and relaxing, before starting our training for the Level 2.

Looking back on the course and saying what particular days are memorable is hard, it is all just unreal. But I will mention a couple. Cat-skiing was crazy fun, being able to ride fresh powder every run. The fact that you are riding down and when you get to the bottom you see the Cat just arriving to take you back up to a new spot is an awesome thought.

I tried touring as well which I loved, going off the back of Fernie on the split board seeing different parts of the mountain. I almost enjoyed the actual ascent more than the descent, splitting is awesome. You have to try it!

Night skiing, powder skiing, digging and sleeping in a snow cave, avalanche safety training and name that tune are all particular memories but my favourite day was possibly the day it was raining.

Going up towards the hill it was all gloom as it was raining. We got ready to get into our lessons, grabbing a plastic bag to wear, and then the instructors come over and said we were going to learn penguin slides. All the snowboarders went up the first chair together and from the top it was a Chinese downhill to the bottom… This started the day of fun, sliding down the slopes on our bellies, slashing all the banks and spraying each other. It turned what could have been a wet, horrible day into a brilliant day.

How did you go about getting an instructing job?

I was a bit lucky with my first snowboard instructing job. Sadly I didn’t get a visa for Canada that year and applied for sponsorship. I put all my eggs in one basket, banking on getting sponsorship at Fernie. It left it until September before I thought ‘what if I don’t get it?!’ Unfortunately I then found out I didn’t get the sponsorship and so I was applying franticly everywhere. They were all full.

Nonstop had asked me to help them on their stand at the London Ski & Snowboard show, which I did. I’d been told all the information I needed to know by Rupert (the owner) and was ready to chat to potential Nonstoppers about my time in Canada.

One of the first people I spoke to was somoene asking for us to send over any Nonstop trained snowboard or ski instructors to their stall as they had jobs going. I just said ok, took her card and she left.

When Rupert returned I gave him the card and told him about them looking for instructors. He asked if I had told her I was an instructor. I realised I hadn’t! So the next day I went over to her and had to admit I was in fact an instructor looking for a job! We both laughed, had a chat for an hour, and then at the end of it she offered me a job in Japan!

Was it straightforward getting a visa for Japan?

I found that the visa application process for Japan was really rather simple. I went onto the Japanese working holiday visa website and on there was all the information I needed to get together before going to the embassy as you can’t apply online for it.

I simply printed off the application form, filled it in, got a passport photo of myself and wrote an itinerary of what I would be doing there for up to 12 months (I Googled places that are popular with tourists and hotels that I might stay in). I didn’t write anything detailed as they only want to have a rough idea of what you will be doing. I didn’t write that I would be going out to work or that I already had a job out there, as the visa is deemed for a holiday and travelling and if you get low on money then you can work. I wrote the reasons on why I wanted to go there – culture, food, language etc again not detailed.

Then all I needed was a doctors letter of health, a print out of 3 months of funds totalling over £1,500 with a return flights or £2,500 with a one way flight. Then I took all the information to the embassy with my passport, waited a week and BOOM, a visa for Japan!

This is a link I used and was really helpful: http://www.paulsadventure.com/japanvisa/

What was that first lesson experience like?

I was really nervous before my first lesson as it was just under a year since I had done anything with regards to snowboarding or teaching. But my roommate did comfort me by saying that in his first lesson someone had ‘had a little accident in their pants’…

But when the lesson came around all the 11 weeks came back to me, we used what slope we had and no one had a little accident! Nailed it. The people in my first session were on a 3 day lesson so it was really nice to have the same people for 3 days. After that first lesson you become completely relaxed with meeting new people and just going straight into getting them riding.

What's a typical day instructing like?

A typical day would be arriving for a quick morning meeting at 9:40 then lining up at your post. Clients would come over and you chat to them, try and figure out what their riding skill is and place them into the correct group. Once 10:00 comes, off you head to the slope.

I enjoy this part as you need to figure out where to start off, is it sliding, garland turns or from scratch. Once that’s sorted you start the quick ride progression, building their confidence up and improving their riding. At 12:30 you have your lunch break for an hour. Then back out for two more hours if you have returners. If not you are put on standby for any private lessons or to help groups with splits. If nothing comes about it’s off to free ride.

What pay, tips, perks, training, etc does the job offer you?

The pay will range with every job you get. I’ve had £10 an hour and also £150 for a week. Generally speaking the more qualifications you have the higher your pay. There can also be bonus schemes going on throughout your season.

I would say never to expect a tip off a client so when you do get one it’s an awesome feeling as it shows you’ve worked hard and impressed them. If you don’t get one it doesn’t mean you haven’t worked hard or impressed the client but it may not be something people think about when taking a lesson. If someone offers to buy you a beer or lunch then take it, you get to understand that person better through talking, you build a bond and through this you can teach them quicker and have a laugh with them.

Any training that is given to you by the company I would take. Partly because I want to improve my riding, teaching and increase my qualifications but also it shows the company that you are wanting  to improve which in return can give you more work. If the training is mandatory then just go enjoy it and also maybe try and take a training session.

But at the end of the day you are living, riding, earning some money and enjoying the snow meaning… First tracks and snow for days. What is better than that?!

Do you have any particularly special stories from your season’s instructing?

One lesson I will never forget is a beginner lesson with a rather large Hawaiian who had never seen snow before and rides big waves back home. I wasn’t sure how it would go but after an hour he was lapping the beginner slope just charging. Not with the best technique but he was having fun, taking big crashes and getting up and back on the chair. He was a hero.

Another memorable lesson would be a lady who I had for 4 days, after 3 days she was still struggling with turning, she could get it but it was all way over processed in her head. On the third day I remembered something we had done which was to think about your breathing as you’re coming down the hill. She slightly improved through this and so I asked her to sing a song out loud whilst coming down, she nailed it. So for the next two days we were singing whilst riding and she was tearing it up.

What's it like "doing seasons"?

Personally I believe everyone should do a season, whether it is instructing, training, repping, chalet hosting or waiting, anything to experience the amount of fun, riding, improvement and close friendships you have.

Because you are living in that resort you become part of the community and have to see things in a different way which can change the way you think and see things. You also get to see the place for itself and not just the tourist attraction that you would see when going for a week.

You can try and learn the language if its foreign, try the culture see the sights and you have time to do it all as you are there for 3+ months. Seasons are also a good way of travelling the world, experiencing different snow conditions and seeing the transformation of the mountain from snow to green as well as different cultures sometimes.

If you are living with co-workers you become really close friends with a lot of them, you are with them almost 24/7, in the same lodge, same work and when it’s your day off you go and ride with them too.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m currently counting down the days before I fly off to Australia to teach at Mount Hotham for the season. Once I’ve finished at Mount Hotham I’m travelling back to Canada to hopefully work at Fernie. The whole time getting more and more training and teaching under my belt so as to take my CASI Level 3 in the 2014/15 season. From there I am going to look at getting my evaluating qualifications, improving my riding and going for my Level 4 at some point.

One of my instructors said I could have his job of instructing for Nonstop in the next 8 years so that is what I am looking to achieve in the future!

And finally, what advice do you have for people thinking of taking a course?

If you are thinking about it then do it. Don’t mess about with the whole ‘should I, shouldn’t I’. I did for 2 years and as soon as I had put the deposit down I knew it was the right thing to do and now I wish I’d booked it 2 years earlier.

If you have any queries then talk to Nonstop. I spoke to them via email but if you can ring them even better as they can answer any questions you have and the people at Nonstop love riding as much as you and are super excited to talk about it.

What I would say though is to take a camera and maybe write a note on each day as it will be a book full of memories.

The 11 week snowboard instructor course is the best thing I’ve done and I almost want to do it again. Just go and enjoy it!!

Useful links

If, like George, you are a qualified instructor, you might like to check out our recent blog about ski and snowboard instructor job vacancies in Europe and Japan.

If you fancy becoming a snowboard instructor or a ski instructor, you should check out our ski instructor and snowboard instructor training courses. 

Since writing this blog in 2014, George has gone on to work more winter seasons as a snowboard instructor. We caught up with him again in February 2015 to find out how things were going...this latest blog was the result