Why Choose ICE?

There are many providers who run Gap ski and snowboard instructor courses, however when you book a course with ICE, you book a course with the people who actually do the training and assessing. ICE is run by Instructors for Instructors. Here are just a few of the reasons to choose ICE over some of the other tour operators who run similar courses.

1. Because we are part of BASI, all of the training you receive on the course is by our team of skiers, who are all trainers and assessors for BASI. This means that the people who train you, are also the team that deliver the BASI certification. They are trainers for BASI because of their expertise, skiing skills and experience. You will get world class training.

2. ICE is owned and managed by three people (Mark Jones, Rupert Tildesley, Dave Cowell) We have all been based in Val d’Isère for the last fifteen years working as ski instructors and are partners in Mountain Masters, a specialist ski and snowboard school. This means that the team of people that coach and manage the course, actually own the company, rather than being representatives who are just there for the season. If there are any problems while you are on the course, it really matters to us that we resolve them effectively.

3. We are not a tour operator, we are part of BASI, so the training you get is coming straight from the governing body itself, rather than ski instructors who are contracted in from a school. With gap tour operators (which is every other ski gap provider) they simply buy in services from other organisations, and then bring them together to make an overall package, without having any experience or expertise of people who are actually in resort managing the course.

4. We have the highest pass rate in the Alps; 100% at Level 1 Instructor level and 90% atLevel 2 Instructor level.

5. We have a fantastic team behind us in Val d’Isère. We have an office based in Killy Sport, the most prestigious ski/snowboarding shop in resort. Within our shop, we have real specialists in their field who can help in every aspect of equipment and set up.

6. We have a full time Physiotherapist, Lucy Macdonald from PhysioVal with us on the course, she has been based in Val d’Isère for many years and is one of the UK's leading physios in snowsports.

7. At our office we have a member of staff who is there everyday to help with any issues that crop up from day to day. In addition the directors of the company, who are based in town, are on call 24/7.

8. We have apartments which are being completely refurbished over this summer. They are designed for 4 people, but we have a maximum of 3 in each apartment. They are all south facing, and are literally 50 metres from the slopes.

9. Food is provided by a local restaurant, run by a family from Val d’Isère. The quality of food is excellent, with a real variety of menu throughout the course, with local specialities every week.

10. There are no hidden extras on our prices, with many of the other operators you have to pay extra for BASI course fees, first aid courses etc. On the ICE course, you only need money for après ski and lunch. Everything else is provided for.

11. Because of our experience within the ski industry, we have enough contacts to guarantee you work following a successful result on the course if you want to go straight into the job. We are the only people able to offer this.