Julie has started the 5-week course in Austria, where she will be trained as a ski instructor over the next 5 weeks. Despite many new first impressions, Julie has found time to write about her first few days in this blog. So get ready to read about her first days on a Snowminds course and find out what has been happening! Enjoy.
Just like that, the first few days in Kaprun have gone by and it has been super cool!
We arrived in Austria on November 8 at 9:00 am, where we were then allocated our rooms. Everyone has been super friendly, so getting along with each other was been really easy. We did some unpacking and shopping, after which we had an information meeting about the practical things. Here we also had the opportunity to meet and see all the others at the hotel. In the evening we had an activity where we went out and did some “speed dating” so we could get to know each other. It was a super cool opportunity to talk to people from many different nationalities. We were all really tired and went to bed early so we were ready for our first day skiing the day after!
© Kitzsteinhorn
Saturday, November 9 was the first day of skiing !! We were all very excited. When we got to the top of the glacier we were assigned our trainer. My trainer is called Dario and is 26 years old. It’s so nice to have such a young instructor as he understands our mood and is just like us! Unfortunately, the weather was not with us for the start. It was foggy, cold and the visibility was not great…
However, the sun came in the afternoon and we had a great time! We were introduced to the well-known pflug – also called snowplough 🙂 We all thought we would be really good at it, because it’s “just” a snowplough, but we were surprised. Do you realise how hard it is to make a plow right??? It is very hard! But, we survived, and now it’s actually okay! Later in the day we went home and relaxed before eating. Here at the hotel we get a 3 course menu, that is a 3 course AUSTRIAN menu. I just have to get used to eating in a slightly different way than I usually do in Denmark, haha. In the evening we had a presentation about ski technique and then a “Games Night” with different games, which was super nice. We went to bed at 22.15 (yes, we were super tired after the full day of skiing!!).
KAISERWETTER !! wuhuuu
November 10 came the day we had been waiting for – it was ‘KAISERWETTER’ on top. Blue sky, beautiful sun and new groomed slopes, luxury. The day was fully enjoyed. We had ski lessons with our instructor from 9am to 3pm, where we then threw ourselves in a restaurant and got a hot cocoa with whipped cream. When we returned to the hotel, we had a presentation “How to be a good instructor”. Here we talked about what we think a good instructor is and how we would like to be ourselves. Of course it was in German (which we are becoming really good at). The rest of the evening was nice and cosy!
November 11 was skiing again. The wind was so strong on top that they closed all lifts except one button lift and one chair lift. We practiced our ski demonstrations, which are pflug, pflugstuyer, short turns and long parallel turns. After we finished, we went straight down from the mountain so we could shop for lunches (it’s reasonably expensive to eat at a restaurant for lunch every day, haha). However, we had a tight schedule as we had to be back home at 4.30 pm, where there were presentations around our gear! And of course, we had to take a bath, change clothes, eat a bit, etc – a lot of pressure on a girl’s apartment, if I have to say so myself! After dinner we had German training, where we got a little phrase book…an awesome gift !! The rest of the evening we enjoyed games and snacks, it was really nice!
November 12 Today has been a very nerve-wracking and exciting – we have Übungsprüfung (test exam). Here, three instructors stand and look at our turns, where you then get feedback and points for your demonstrations. It was nice just to experience how it really goes for the exam! Later in the day we had fun with Austria Nagel (a game with hammering nails into wood). Tonight we will have dinner and then we will have some fun, because we are free for the next few days !! All in all, the first few days have already been super fun, challenging and exciting. We have come close to each other and already developed great relationships !!
Thats all for now- until next time 🙂
Servus – Julie Rasmussen
If you want to go to Austria and join Julie in the snow, instead of sitting on the sofa all winter, grab one of the last spots on our 2 or 3 week course of departure in late November or January and become an instructor in Austria 🏂 ⛷ 🏂
Call +44 203 996 0913 or APPLY HERE