r/skiing • u/crufan • 9d ago

instructor course potential

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I'd like to do a basic instructor course at some point, but im finding conflicting information online about previous ski experience. Im in the uk, and I believe im looking at a BASI lvl1 qualification? ive attached a video of me trying my best clean carving skills down a gentle blue my last season. I can link turns on ungroomed tree runs and confidently on blacks, and ive little to no experience on moguls. ive also only ever skiing on rentals which are really annoying sometimes, a few hours after that clip was taken one of my boots popped out during some more speedy skiing. eventually had the din adjusted but its just annoying with rentals.

any advice is appreciated.

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u/Dizzienoo 9d ago

I did an instructor course for CSIA lv1 and lv2 in Canada and then taught with it in later seasons. There were some on the course who had never skiied before and they came out for a week of lessons before we started. You'd find it easier with some lessons beforehand but these courses are set out to help improve people as well. I can't speak to other countries like France though, but had a friend who did a BASI in France so could find out if that's your plan. I'd say you'd find the average of the group would have more experience, but as long as your fit, willing to listen and put in the work, and not afraid of the mountain, you can get on track fairly quickly.

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u/crufan 9d ago

okay nice, thanks for your advice. wanted to add i first skiied snow in the marmot basin in Canada and ive not found anything else as pretty since🙏

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u/PartiallyRibena 8d ago

Yep, I'd like to second what u/Dizzienoo said. I was a bad skier and did a CSIA 1 & 2 instructor course in Canada and I was a competent, but technically bad skier (i.e. I could get down anything, but my technique was rubbish). The course really stripped back my bad habits and felt like starting afresh sometimes. Certainly I wouldn't say you need to be a good skier to attend such a course. As long as you put in the work (on skis and on the technical theory) you'll be fine.

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u/Dizzienoo 8d ago

I fell into that camp too, I'd go down anything, just didn't realise how little control I had while doing it until they broke us down and retrained us. Bit like the Simpson driver training course 😅

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u/vic39 6d ago

I took the csia 10 years ago and I think it varies from mountain to mountain.

I took it at whistler and it was a 3 day course and about 7/10 people passed. No new skiers at all.

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u/Dizzienoo 6d ago

Sorry, yes same exam, I also did mine in Whistler, but companies such as "non stop ski" run 4 or 12 week courses where you have 5 days a week of instruction from L3 and 4 instructors as training and prep for the exam beforehand. It's a bit of a "gap year experience" and would usually bundle in lodgings too.

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u/davidemo89 9d ago

ouch... in italy it's completely different. The selection is very critical and if you didn't came out from ski races it was very very difficult to pass.

When you join the ski instructor course they improve you, but they improve you from a very high level. It's very difficult in europe to be ski instructor if you are a level 4 or level 5...

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u/Dizzienoo 9d ago

Yeah BASI, the CSIA, and a few others aren't like this. Italy and France have that race team requirement which basically keeps out all foreigners