My life continues on in the States, but what few people know about me is that I continue to pursue my European ski qualifications. The US is one of the few countries where you do not have to be qualified to teach skiing. Most countries have minimum certification criteria, and some countries standards are higher. France is the country that has set the bar the highest, and there are only a few other national bodies that have a standard that France will accept. They are France (of course), Austria, Italy, Germany, Britain, and Switzerland.
For two years I have been completing my British Association of Snowsports Instructors (BASI) level 4. There are 8 components
- Technical (Skiing) Module - 5days
- Teaching Module - 5 days
- European Mountain Safety training - 4 days
- European Mountain Safety assessment - 3 days
- 6 logged back country tours
- European Speed Test (timed GS race)
- Written Project
- Interview
That is a total of fourteen assessed days and many more spent training to the standard. To put this into context to be fully certified through the American system it takes nine days, three of which are assessed.
I traveled to Hintertux, Austria to take part in the level 4 technical skiing exam. It was a hard week of skiing. There were 30 candidates spread over four groups. Everyone in the exam fell at least once, including the examiners. I had some mighty bruises on my legs and one of the girls on the course had a chance of making the standard until she hurt herself at the end of the first day. We skied so hard that we had a GS ski break in half!
I was successful and am very glad to have finished my BASI level 4. It allows me to establish a ski school anywhere in the world, which means I can now take my guests skiing around the world. I look forward to taking you on a world tour soon!
