Working In The Ski Industry
Q & A Session with Phil Purdie, Director of SnowSkool Ltd.
Since 2003, SnowSkool has been offering ski & snowboard instructor training programmes in Canada and New Zealand. Let's find out where, did it all begin?
Wiski: Did you always want to work in the Ski/ Snowboard Industry?
PP: No. I was always a keen boarder but, after Uni, I pursued a career in Investment Banking. I soon had enough of that and so headed over to Canada to spend my savings on a season in Banff. I had an awesome time but returned having spent a lot of money and actually achieving very little...I guess I felt a little short-changed. So I begun my research into ski & snowboard qualifications and realised it was all very possible and that there were already two or three companies doing this. I worked out my figures and thought to myself 'I can do this!'
Wiski: Where did you begin?
PP: On the phone really: from the UK, I touched base with the Ski School at Sunshine Village and they were great: they seemed very interested in the idea and keen to help. Because I was familiar with the town, organising accommodation and food was not a huge strain either and so the major elements of the course were in place. I borrowed a small sum of money from my father, built my own website, designed my own brochure and kicked off an advertising campaign - looking back it was all very rudimentary!
Wiski: And the punters started flowing in?
PP: Well actually, yeah...almost immediately! SnowSkool has always made a point of being very keenly-priced so it was no surprise really, yet very exciting. When I spoke to the first student ever to submit a booking for a SnowSkool programme, I asked if he was sure... thankfully he said yes! By the summer, we had fifteen bookings which was my target and so I upped my targets to thirty...and we still exceeded that!
Wiski: How was the first SnowSkool season?
PP: Great, thanks! Everyone got on really well, we had some great skiers and snowboarders, a pass rate of 100% and some rip-rocking conditions. It could not have gone better and I am still in touch with so many of those guys now...many are still working season-after-season in Canada and elsewhere. From a personal perspective I was constantly on edge, worried about ensuring that everything went perfectly. I did not sleep much for three months and did not have as much time to ski as I had hoped. But it was all good fun!
Wiski: Why did you choose Banff?
PP: I knew Banff really well. I knew it was the perfect location for a course of this nature - world-class skiing, vibrant nightlife, cosmopolitan town, a great variety of restaurants...what more could you ask for as a seasonnaire?
Wiski: And did the same principles apply when you selected Big White?
PP: Not exactly...the Big White programme was originally put together for more mature 'gappers', or career breakers because of the luxury accommodation and more initimate atmosphere in the resort. In practice, we attract a huge age range on both courses and so it is difficult to predict what course each individual will prefer.
Wiski: Which course would you attend?
PP: Difficult one! Big White is great...the snow is so dry and light, there is some great terrain and lift queues are non-existent. The accommodation is great as it is ski-in/ ski-out and there is almost nothing better than sitting in the hot-tub at the end of the day. On the other hand, Banff is a mecca for skiers and snowboarders and the nightlife is second-to-none. Fortunately I do not have to choose as I divide my time between the two!
Wiski: So it is a jet-set lifestyle for you then?
PP: Haha?I wish! People tend to assume that this job is a four-month gig, i.e. we do nothing between April and November and then ski and drink in Canada for the months of December, January, February and March. But this is not the case. We work very hard all year round and, yeah, we do spend a lot of time in resort but we are working most of the time...the ultimate mobile office! I probably get ten-fifteen full day's skiing per year.
Wiski: What advice would you give anyone considering setting up a company offering Ski or Snowboard Instructor Training Programmes?
PP: Don't...I have enough competitors as it is!
SnowSkool (www.snowskool.co.uk) runs ski & snowboard instructor training programmes at the Canadian resorts of Sunshine Village, Banff & Big White, British Columbia, Cardrona Ski Resort in New Zealand and in The 3 Valley's in France.
For more details, www.snowskool.co.uk or telephone: 0871 223 0060.
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