Are you thinking about doing a season in Austria? This blog will give you a little insight into what to expect and what a day as ski instructor could look like. Read about Julias’ everyday life and the experiences she made in her seasons in Skischule Bad Hofgastein.
Now first of all, no matter where you will work as an instructor there will never be a day that’s just like the other. Every a day as ski instructor is different, but that’s exactly what makes the season life so exciting!
I have worked in Skischule Bad Hofgastein for five seasons now and can tell you that there will be surprises every day!
The by far biggest part of most of the ski schools is the”Kinderskischule”, where in high season we (in Bad Hofgastein) usually have around 350 kids in group lessons. Don’t worry, they are not all gonna be your responsibility, you will only have to take care of 8 – 10 of them 😀
So what would a day as ski instructor with a group like that look like?
7.45 – 9.30
Usually, I will get up at around 7.45 to have a chill morning with my housemates. After we had breakfast we will walk to the ski school where at 8.45 we all gather for a quick morning meeting. Since we use an app where we can already see the evening before our lessons, the meeting is done pretty quickly, and there is some time to have a coffee with my colleagues or go for a quick morning run on the freshly prepped slopes.
9.30 – 12.00
At 9.30 we all go to our meeting points where within the next half hour the kids will be dropped off by their parents and where we start with some warm up games. At 10.00 I take my group and start my lessons! Depending on what level my group is, I will stay down in Kinderland or go straight up the mountain with the gondola. The so-called “Gasti Land ” that we have in Gastein is one of the biggest practice areas you can find in Austria, which makes working there super fun as you have so many different options like parcours, fun slopes, carousels and even a snow-football field! Even the older and more advanced kids really enjoy it there! And you will see that sometimes it is not so easy to impress them!
I usually like to start my lessons with a fun exercise, a little game on skis or a quick race through the fun slope just to bring the mood up in the morning. At the end of the day it’s a success if the kids learned something without realizing they were learning the whole day. Makes sense right? Don’t forget the kids are still on a holiday! That’s why I also try to keep all the exercises we do during the next two hours as fun and interesting as possible.
12.00 – 13.00
At 12.00 our lunch break starts. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s gonna be a break for us instructors! Of course there’s a difference if you have older kids in your group compared to having kids that are very young and need help with taking off their jackets, cutting their Schnitzel or going to the toilet. But generally us teachers try to help each other as much as we can. That’s for sure one of the best parts about our ski school. Even though it is one of the bigger ski schools and we can be up to 120 people working in the high season, we see each other as one big family.
13.00 – 15.00
When we are done with lunch at 13.00 we head out for our next two hours of lessons. Here we keep training by doing exercises and skiing in different terrain. Just before lessons are over at 15.00 I like to discuss together with the kids what we did today, what was fun, and what we will do tomorrow. One more “zicke zacke zicke zacke” and the kids are free to go! 😀
15.00 – 16.00
After a good day with my group and a little chat with their parents when they get picked up, there will probably be some time for one more run together with my friends. Even though we will have to leave the mountain at some point since lifts close at around 16.00, that’s not when our day is over.
16.00 – open end 😀
Afterski is of course a part of a ski instructor’s life! You will always find someone that is up for having a beer or two by the bar just next to the ski school office. But other than that we really like to have dinners together, organize game nights, movie nights or even go night rodeling! You can see, you really never get bored here!!
I hope I could give you a good insight on how a day as ski instructor could look like if you go on a season and maybe you wanna join me on my next adventure?
Check out our courses and programs in Austria for the upcoming season!!