Why choose ICE

Location is key! ski in/ski out accommodation at the foot of the piste. Everyone stays in the same apartment block, so the friends that you make on the course will all be nearby and not dotted around town like other tour operators. All apartments have their own ski locker and a balcony with a view to die for. The apartments are small, but let's face it... location is key!

At our office, we have a member of staff always available if there are any issues that come up from day to day. In addition to the directors of the company who are based in resort, we also have Resort Managers based in Val d'Isere who are always on hand.

The quality of food is excellent, with a real variety of menus throughout the course, and local specialities every week.

Many other operators make you pay extra for BASI course fees, first aid courses etc. On an ICE course, you only need money for apres ski and lunch, everything else is provided.

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.

Jo Pollard is our resident physiotherapist. An experienced snowboarder and fitness fanatic herself, Jo is at the top of her game in Val d'Isere and on hand to help prevent injuries and manage them when they occur as well as providing fitness tips prior to the course.

All of the training you receive on the course is delivered 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 certifications. They are trainers for BASI because of their expertise, skiing skills and experience. You will always get world class training.

Our training is delivered exclusively by BASI Trainers, rather than ski instructors who are contracted in from a ski school. With other gap tour operators, they simply buy in services from other organisations, and then bring them together to make an overall package. This is done without having any experience or expertise with the people who are actually in resort managing the course first hand.

Pass rates with ICE over the last five years:

  • BASI Level 1 Ski - 100%
  • BASI Level 2 Ski - 95%
  • BASI Level 3 Modules - 90%

ICE has been established since 2004 and during that time, we have qualified thousands of ski instructors. When you book a residential course with ICE, you are booking onto the biggest course of its kind with a wide range of ages and nationalities, so you are guaranteed to make friends. Large numbers on the courses also gives us the flexibility to put you in a group of your level, so you will never be slowed down or struggle to keep up.

Following your course, we can offer you the best contacts for job opportunities around the globe through the ICE network within the ski industry. This includes countries in Europe, Japan, and also the Southern Hemisphere in Australia and New Zealand.

Rather than being representatives who are just there for the season, ICE is owned and managed by James Duffield and Rupert Tildesley. They have both been based in Val d'Isere for many years, working as ski instructors within Mountain Masters ski school. This is a specialist ski and snowboard school in Val d'Isere. If there are any problems while you are on the course, it really matters to us that we resolve them quickly and effectively.