Instruction and Coaching

BEGINNERS

You will never forget you first days on skis! We will take things at whatever pace you want to go, ensuring safety, enjoyment and learning start early and continue right through. You’ll go away with enough ability to enjoy skiing on your own and with enough knowledge to make sure you can keep practicing and learning after the session ends.

BEGINNER/ INTERMEDIATE (You can ski green runs)

This is one of the most fun and satisfying parts of a skiing career, as you move away from the nursery slopes and start to explore the hill. We will ski the greens and easier blues, and work towards making your skis turn in parallel.

INTERMEDIATE (You can ski blue runs)

We will consolidate and refine your skills to help you ski parallel all the time and ski confidently on a wider range of pistes, including easy black runs. You will start to learn how to use the shape and edges of your skis to grip and control your speed and direction more and more precisely.

ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE (You can ski easy black runs)

Our aim here is to ski black runs with more confidence and when conditions are good we can venture onto easier bump runs, into open trees and onto easy ungroomed snow.

Nigel, Tobin and Otto's secret Vancouver Island backcountry ski spot.

ADVANCED (You cruise most black and double black runs)

Double black diamonds, bigger bumps, ungroomed snow and trees are what we are into here. To ski all this with confidence you need to develop a wide range of skills to a high level, and also, maybe, deal with a few mental challenges too. We will approach this stage in your skiing career in the way that makes you feel most comfortable, emphasizing safety and satisfaction.

HIGH LEVEL ALL MOUNTAIN SKIING (You ski everything but want to ski better)

The true all mountain skier is versatile and adaptable, they move easily on steep ground, from powder to ice and from groomed to ungroomed snow. Depending on conditions and what you wish to develop in your skiing our focus could be one of the following:

- Skiing steep ground

- Dealing with poor conditions

- Carving on the groomers

- Advanced tree skiing

- Adjusting to snow and terrain

PREPARATION FOR BACKCOUNTRY SKIING

Explores the technical aspects of skiing in ungroomed, variable conditions, learning the skiing skills you will need to allow you to move with increased safety and more fun in the wild snow. We will ski terrain to suit your ability, however you should be skiing black diamonds.

Nigel Harrison (second from left) having a bagel while class enjoys an apres

PREPARATION FOR CSIA COURSES

Arriving on course prepared mentally and physically gives you a huge head start. We will look at whatever aspect of your course most concerns you and develop your confidence in that area. If you have a CSIA manual bring it with you, if you haven't, I'll find you one.

ONE HOUR WONDERS

Does coaching work for you? Find out in this quick, low cost intro to what I offer

Mt Washington offers a great variety of terrain, all aspects and angles, treed runs, open bowls, and soft snow, if you know where to look for it, several days after the last fall. It's a great place to teach and a great place to learn.

KIDS...

When working with the little ones, a good coach’s priorities are: safety, enjoyment, learning, in that order, and no other. All kids can learn to ski, it’s just that some learn a bit quicker than others but once they get skiing, they love it. More often than not you have given your youngster a sport for life.