Ski Improver Courses in Banff

‘Twas a snowy night in Banff in January 2010 when the SnowSkool team (Phil, Dunk, Marion & Nick) sat down round a table. On the table were three large pitchers of beer and eleven glasses. Present was Doug (a CSIA Level 4 ski instructor), Mark (an IFMGA mountain guide), Dom (a pro freestyle skier), Martha (a performance level race coach) and Tim & Caitlin (two students from the Banff ski instructor course). The job at hand was to create the most exciting ski training course in the world. Have I got your attention?

The 13-week Banff ski improver course runs alongside the 13-week Banff ski instructor course and so the first four weeks is dedicated to bringing your skiing up to the standard required for the later weeks of the programme. In Week 5, you will sit your CSIA Level 1 ski instructor qualification. The instructor qualification offers a fantastic grounding for instant and on-going improvement in your skiing and it is crucial that you are skiing “correctly” if you are to progress. After this, the real fun starts...!

Over the course of eight weeks, you will undergo a ski training programme that will push your skiing to te furthest extent and challenge your mastery of the whole mountain. Two weeks will be dedicated to freestyle training as you improve your skills in and out the park. By the end, you should expect to be able to pull nice, long floating 360s and 180s, a ton of grabs and, in some cases, back and front flips. Your race training week will increase your speed on your skis as you learn racing lines and start smashing through the gates. Powder skiing and bumps clinics will help improve your overall skiing and as you adapt to different terrains and conditions. No longer will a field of waist-deep powder or a slope of huge whale-back bumps leave you fearful, you’ll be hitting them like a pro!

But we save the best to last. In the last two weeks, you will be in the safe hands of our partner company, Cirrus Alpine Guides. These IFMGA mountain guides will teach you to love, respect and cope with the Canadian wilderness as you embark on a two-week training course that will teach you skills you never knew existed. Crevasse rescue, winter survival and backcountry touring are just a part of a course that will excite you on an hourly basis. You will experience things and see places that will leave you breathless and full of stories that will last a lifetime!